Wildlife Release - Chintimini Wildlife Center

Wildlife Release
Bringing You the Wonders of Wildlife
AN ANNUAL PUBLICATION OF THE CHINTIMINI WILDLIFE CENTER
Volume 22 • Issue 1 • FALL/WINTER 2012
What’s Inside
This Northern Pygmy-Owl was one of the more than 1,100 animals admitted to CWC this year.
Almost There….
Chintimini’s Education Center Expansion
Project—A Brief History
From 1989 to 2006, Chintimini Wildlife Center operated on only five acres
north of Corvallis. Due to the nature of the location, it had not been possible
to have the Center open to the public, and the site was strictly used for
rehabilitation. There were no facilities to provide on-site educational programs
or allow the public to view our nonreleasable raptors. Many people did not
know of our existence until they found an injured or orphaned animal, and this
lack of awareness was preventing us from generating the community support
that was necessary to keep our organization viable and growing.
In 2006, through the generosity of landowner Kinsey Green, Chintimini
had the opportunity to purchase an additional 4.6 acres next to our existing
5-acre parcel. The new property contained a beautiful ash swale wetland
and an upland area, which would provide a perfect location to house a new
education center complex. Chintimini’s Board of Directors made the decision
Continued on page 3
Education Center Expansion.....................................
Letter from the Director..............................................
Join Founder’s Circle.....................................................
Charitable Donations...................................................
CWC Environmental Education Philosophy.........
Wildlife Education Program Services.....................
After-School Club Program........................................
Squirrel Appreciation Day.........................................
Summer Education Programs .................................
Our 1,000th Patient......................................................
Website News.................................................................
Wildlife Garden Project ..............................................
Foundation Grants........................................................
Sponsor An Education Program..............................
Volunteers Needed .....................................................
Facilities Update............................................................
Geosciences 300 Students Rock..............................
Another Record Year.....................................................
Sponsor An Animal......................................................
Our Commitment to Serve .......................................
Animal Care Program Supporters............................
Veterinary Thank You’s................................................
Animal Care Director News.......................................
Business Partner of the Year .....................................
Nurturing Baby Birds...................................................
Thank You Albertsons..................................................
CWC 2013 Calendar......................................................
Chimney Swifts..............................................................
Many Helping Hands....................................................
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Contributors to Wildlife Release
Writers: Mary Estes, Sharnelle Fee,
Nicole Kryger, Jeannie Lorraine,
Jerry Paul, Jeff Picton, Ronda Wiggins.
Editors: Judith Paul and Jeff Picton
Photos: Claudia Benfield, Karin Donoyan,
Mary Estes, Nicole Kryger,
Jerry Paul, Jeff Picton,
Barbara Spreadbury, Ronda Wiggins.
Design: Barbara Spreadbury
The mission of Chintimini Wildlife Center is to provide care for injured and orphaned wildlife, with the goal of
returning them to their natural habitat, and to foster a connection between people and wildlife through education.
From the Executive Director
EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR
Jeff Picton
Chintimini Wildlife Center has always been the epitome of a selfsufficient organization. It is through a dedicated and passionate
group of volunteers and a few staff members that our services are
primarily provided. Our financial needs have been met primarily
through the support of you, our local donors, and the results of
fundraising and education programs each year. This combination
of passionate volunteers, supportive donors, and community
collaboration has provided the means for Chintimini Wildlife Center
to steadily grow in scale and scope of programs for over two
decades.
BOARD OF
DIRECTORS
President
Jerry Paul
Vice President
Stacey Dean, MD
Treasurer
Kathi Franklin
For 23 years, Chintimini Wildlife Center has made a determined effort to alleviate
the suffering of Oregon’s injured and orphaned wildlife and to inform and educate
the public on the need for wildlife conservation. You have helped us accomplish so
much that it makes me proud and, frankly, in awe of the power of a community of
caring individuals coming together for a cause.
Secretary
Nicole Kryger
Board Member
at Large
Shawna Harvey
Associate Board
Member
Sabra Thomas, DVM
STAFF
Animal Care
Program Director
Mary Estes
Education Bird
Program Directors
Kris Downing
Victoria Bernhard
Volunteer
Coordinator
Brianna Beene
In this newsletter, we would like to focus on the last six years--since the day we
decided to expand our services to the community and launch an ambitious campaign to
create the Chintimini Education Center. The articles in this newsletter tell the story
of how your support has moved Chintimini steadily towards our goal of developing
an outstanding educational resource in our community. And while we haven’t quite
reached the completion of this project, we are very, very close.
We will also report on the steady increase in animal patients we have seen in this
same time period; tell you about this year--the busiest animal care season we have
ever experienced; and share with you the story of our passing the milestone 1,000th
animal mark.
With this growth comes, of course, growing pains. As new structures are built, more
programs offered, amd more animals taken in, we sometimes struggle to keep up with
it all, both monetarily and time-wise. The dedicated volunteers at Chintimini work
miracles, but there is, and always will be, a need for paid staff to provide continuity
and to oversee all of the programs. Payroll and many of our operational expenses
come from “soft money,” such as gifts from individuals who support our work.
As Chintimini’s needs increase, expansion of our donor base will be necessary in order
to meet future service demands, such as increasing animal admissions and staffing for
our new Education Center. We rely on you, our loyal supporters, to not only support us
with your generous gifts, but to spread the word about our organization and the good
work that we do.
I believe that Chintimini provides an invaluable service to our communities. We
are the only rehabilitation facility in Benton, Linn and Lincoln counties, and we also
take in animals from other areas as needed. Without Chintimini and your support,
these animals would have nowhere else to go. We also offer outstanding educational
opportunities, with a focus on local wildlife and programs that feature live animals,
which makes us somewhat unique.
Chintimini has accomplished a great deal, but it still has a long way to go. With the
help of our wonderful Chintimini supporters, I know that we’ll get there.
"Wildlife Release" is available via e-mail and will also be posted on our website.
If you would prefer to receive your next copy electronically, please e-mail your request to chintimini_wildlife@comcast.net.
Copyright (c) 2012 by Chintimini Wildlife Center. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without permission.
This newsletter is printed on 30% recycled post-consumer stock and may be recycled with white paper.
http://www.chintiminiwildlife.org v E-mail: chintimini_wildlife@comcast.net v Telephone 541-745-5324
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Chintimini’s Education Center Expansion Project—A Brief History continued
to purchase the property and begin an ambitious campaign
to expand our facilities and develop an environmental
education center to better serve our community. To this
end, a three-phased Site Development Plan was developed,
with the completion of Phase I resulting in Chintimini
being able to open a portion of the facility to the public.
This decision led to many hurdles that had to be overcome
over the past six years. First was the need for an enclosed
Nursery. A series of interpretive trails were developed
throughout the wetland to allow visitors to better explore
this unique ecosystem.
County requirements led to our having to get septic
approval, build a 300’ driveway and parking area suitable
for emergency vehicles and school buses, develop a
handicapped parking space, and meet handicapped access
requirements for our new yurt. At the same time new
power, phone, water, and internet lines were installed to
service the Education Center.
It has taken time to accomplish all of this, but with your
help we have moved ahead steadily with our vision and
are currently working on the last few items on our Phase
I check list--constructing security and privacy fencing,
informational kiosks, and signage. If all goes according to
plan, we hope to have our new facility ready for a grand
opening in the spring.
The Education Center Yurt under construction.
space where we could provide our education programs
year-round. During the summer of 2008, we built our new
Education Center (a 30’-diameter yurt) through a grant
from the Collins Foundation, support of Founder’s Circle
members, and over 3,000 volunteer hours.
A wetland restoration project was implemented,
and through a grant from the Oregon Watershed
Enhancement Board, and many, many volunteer work
parties, Chintimini has made real progress towards
eradicating invasive, nonnative plants on the property
and creating diverse wildlife habitat through the planting
of over 3,000 native plants, many of them donated by
Sevenoaks Native Nursery and Second Growth Native
Very few of these projects were funded by grants; most of
the funding came from donations from caring individuals
Many tons of rock went into forming our new driveway and parking lot.
in our community. Many businesses contributed to our
expansion project through the gift of construction materials
and discounts on materials. (see page 16) And of course
many, many thousands of hours of labor have been donated
by hundreds of generous, caring individuals throughout this
project.
Over the years Chintimini has developed a series of
nonreleasable birds-of-prey display cages on the property
and now has ten cages available for the public to view these
magnificent birds. A wide variety of on-site educational
programs designed to educate the public about the wonders
of wildlife also have been developed. (see page 6)
Heavy equipment is used to remove invasive blackberries.
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Invitation to Join the
Chintimini Wildlife
Education Center
Founders Circle!
Completed yurt, driveway, parking lots and landscaping.
As our expansion project continues, our plan is to continue
to add on-site educational opportunities for the public,
including a science-based evening/weekend lecture series
with natural resource professionals as guest speakers, nonschool-day programs, service learning opportunities, teacher
training workshops, elderhostel programs, home-school
programs, and nature and interpretive walks, talks, and
other activities.
We envision developing a docent program with volunteers
trained as site naturalists who can lead nature walks, make
presentations, and answer the public’s questions about
native wildlife. When Chintimini does open its doors for
public visits, we will probably start small and be open only
for a few days each week, with the aim of eventually having
regular daily visiting hours.
This new facility will enable us to provide a myriad
of educational opportunities designed to foster an
understanding
and
appreciation
of wildlife
and the
environment.
Our goal is
to cultivate
a sense of
responsible
stewardship
of our fragile
planet.
Nonreleasable education Barn Owls, Rhett and Kiska,
pose on Education Center sign.
Having a
destination attraction such as this will result in increased
visibility and awareness in the community, which will
translate to an increase in financial support and longevity
of our programs.
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As a Founders Circle member of the Chintimini Wildlife
Education Center, you enjoy the satisfaction of helping to
create an outstanding educational opportunity for our entire
community. In 2008, we started this program to generate
funds to meet the expenses of developing our Education
Center and on-site educational programs. We began
by asking 100 people to contribute $1,000 each to this
program; so far 45 generous people have become Founders
Circle members.
We invite you to join this group of wonderful people who
want to make a significant contribution to the wildlife
and people in our community. Become a member of the
Chintimini Wildlife Education Center Founders Circle
today!
Double Your Charitable
Donations to Chintimini
Wildlife Center
We would like to offer our sincere
thanks to the staff of Hewlett-Packard
Company for their continued generous
support of Chintimini Wildlife Center
through their Workplace Giving
Program. Through this program, employees at HP can
make tax-deductible charitable gifts to CWC, which
will then be matched by the Company. To date, we have
received over $25,000 through this wonderful community
support program.
Does your business have a matching gift program?
Many of the larger companies do and often will match your
gift dollar-for-dollar, doubling your contribution! This is a
great way to increase your donation and make a significant
gift to Chintimini. Check with your department head or
manager and find out if your business supports this type of
charitable giving program.
Chintimini’s Environmental
Education Philosophy
Chintimini’s education
staff and volunteers
are proponents of the
concept of a “Nature
Deficit Disorder” that
is taking place with
some of our children
Kids and parents enjoy the “Pond Party”
where, in this age of
Family Day Camp.
technology, they have
become out of touch with the natural world. One of the
primary objectives of Chintimini’s education programs is
to provide opportunities for children to reconnect with
nature, through hands-on, place-based experiential learning.
We do this through the mediums of outdoor, hands-on
activities and exposure to our live, nonreleasable birds of
prey.
Our education
programs are designed
to focus on the
diversity of wildlife
in our own backyards.
Using Chintimini’s
9.6-acre site as a
model, we strive to
educate the public
Curious young minds learn about local wildlife.
about ways to provide
habitat for wildlife
and to teach them to understand the biology and behavior
of local wildlife they are likely to encounter. Our ambitious
goal is to document every living thing on our piece of
property (plants, animals, insects--everything!) and create a
database with information about these species so that when
Chintimimi visitors encounter a specimen, they have the
resources to learn all about it and its position in the web of
life.
We realize that this generation of children learns in a less
traditional way than did we adults. Being raised in a hightech, digital-information age, they process and absorb
information in an innovative way through technology.
Just taking these children out into the woods may not be
enough. To address this concern, Chintimini’s education
programs integrate outside, hands-on activities with hightech indoor data collection and information processing.
Using technology that includes live animal video feeds
for observing and learning about wildlife biology and
behavior, audio-visual technology that allows for interactive
classroom participation,
GPS tracking of onsite wildlife signs and
activities, database
management of compiled
information, and
website development
and management,
our goal is to get kids
outside to observe and
monitor the natural
world (while moving
around and getting
exercise), then have
them bring their data
back into the classroom
Young student watches Stacey Dean, MD
for further analysis
teaching how to suture a banana.
and dissemination
of information using advanced technology. We believe
that children of this generation will embrace this style of
learning and that we will meet our goal of connecting them
with nature through science.
Chintimini’s education program expansion efforts will
further our goals and follow our philosophical ideologies in
helping people
feel connected
to wildlife
and their local
environment,
stimulating
critical and
creative thinking
skills, and
empowering
youths and
adults to become Third grade students at Jefferson Elementary School
have the opportunity to examine raptor talons.
environmentally
responsible, productive, and contributing members of
society.
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Wildlife Education
Program Services
In our unique profession, Chintimini
Wildlife Center provides firsthand information on the problems
associated with human/wildlife
interactions and the value of
environmental conservation.
We have developed a series of
Summer Camp participants learning about
environmental education programs
native mammal anatomy.
designed for all age groups,
from preschoolers to adults, which serve local schools, community
organizations, civic groups, families, and the general public. Through
these programs, we have reached thousands of people through hundreds
of presentations or exhibits with our message of understanding and
appreciating wildlife.
Chintimini on-site and outreach education programs
currently include:



Wildlife Rangers Youth Summer Camp
Activities focus on wildlife ecology (species identification,
habitat, reproduction, behavior) and wildlife habitat restoration
(on-site projects, mapping, surveying).
Wildlife Rehabilitators Summer and Spring Break Camps
Activities focus on wildlife rehabilitation techniques and
medical care practices.
Family Wildlife Days
Saturday morning programs include hands-on activities on
topics such as raptors (live presentations), mammals, reptiles, insects,
etc., with an art project and sensory awareness walk.

After-School Wildlife Rangers Program
Rangers discover wildlife seasonal adaptations, migration,
family life, habitat needs, tracks, anatomy, and more through
fun activities. Rangers record findings in their Wildlife Journals.

Birds of Prey Live Presentation and Interactive Program
CWC volunteers visit schools, youth, or other groups with
live, nonreleasable education birds and provide a program on raptors,
wildlife rehabilitation, or related topics.

Living with Wildlife Program
Public education lecture and slideshow focused on methods to
humanely resolve conflicts with “nuisance” wildlife without causing
harm to animals.
For more information about these and other educational opportunities at
Chintimini, visit our website at www.chintiminiwildlife.org.
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MARK YOUR CALENDARS!
Wildlife Rangers
After-School Club
Winter Season:
Wildlife Adaptations
We will look from the land to
the sky and talk about different
forms of adaptations and what
makes them important.
K-1st Grade
January 29-March 5, 2013
Tuesdays: 3:30-5:30 p.m.
2nd-5th Grade
January 31-March 7, 2013
Thursdays: 3:30-5:30 p.m.
Cost $75.00
Spring Break Camp:
Nature Immersion
March 25-March 29, 2013
9 a.m.-4 p.m.
(Pre- and post-care available)
1st -3rd Grade
4th -6th Grade
Cost $185.00
All events are located at:
Chintimini Wildlife Center
Education Facility (yurt)
311 NW Lewisburg Avenue,
Corvallis
Register before January 6, 2013
Registration forms are available on
our website at
www.chintiminiwildlife.org.
For more information,
please contact
Ronda at 541-609-8990
or send an email to
chintimini@alyrica.net.
CWC After-School Program
by Ronda Wiggins
As a wildlife educator, I feel it is important to nurture
children’s natural curiosity about wildlife in a safe and
fun environment. We are lucky to have that environment
at Chintimini Wildlife Center. Each season during the
school year, Chintimini Wildlife Center offers children
the opportunity to join the Wildlife Rangers Club. This
after-school program offers two hours a week of wildlife
exploration and fun, a snack, and a new understanding of
the world around them that will last a lifetime.
The Wildlife Rangers Club began as a club for grades 2nd5th; however, due to popular demand, we added another
Wildlife Rangers program last spring for kindergarten/1st
graders. It has been a great success! In two short seasons,
we have had dozens of budding wildlife rangers exploring
the Chintimini grounds! I am amazed at their capacity to
take in and understand the world around them.
This fall, the Wildlife Rangers Club was full of curious
minds ready to learn about animals that are used as scary
Halloween symbols. Using games, crafts, videos, and
interactive PowerPoint shows, the children learned about
wolves, bats, spiders, and
ravens, with special guest
appearances by Chintimini’s
own education birds, Ferdinand
the Turkey Vulture and Tskili
the Great Horned Owl!
The club also provides an afterschool snack to the children,
BUT there is a catch. It is
always stressed that wild
animals do not have pantries
or refrigerators from which to
grab a snack! They must find it! The children must utilize
their foraging skills to find their snacks just as animals do
in the wild. The kids love it and are always asking when
they get to look for a snack!
As Chintimini Wildlife Rangers, the children have been
behind the scenes to see what it takes to care for the
animals at Chintimini, including watching the release of
two ducks that were cared for by Chintimini staff.
Many thanks to A&S Accounting for sponsoring the
Wildlife Ranger Club after-school program! Their help
in providing a place to print all of our flyers pertaining to
the program, as well as paying for snacks and supplies for
the program, is greatly appreciated by not just the humans,
but also the animals. Their generosity allows more of the
money collected from the program to go directly into
helping care for the animals at Chintimini.
5th Annual Squirrel
Appreciation Day
Please join us in commemoration of the 5th Annual National Squirrel Appreciation Day as we
celebrate all things squirrely while raising funds for squirrel food, medical care, and rehabilitation
at CWC.
National Squirrel Appreciation Day will be held Saturday, January 26, 2013, from 6-10 p.m.
Greg Little of Squirrel’s Tavern has graciously donated his establishment for this squirrely
event, and string band Wild Hog in the Woods will provide musical talent for the evening.
CWC receives all proceeds from donated Oregon microbrews and signature liquor drinks.
Raffle drawings will be held throughout the evening, including squirrel-related prizes donated by local merchants. Additional
sponsors always appreciated; please call CWC at 541-745-5324 if you would like to participate in sponsorship.
This year we are trying something completely different! Instead of a Squirrel Trivia contest, we are going to host a
“Squirrel” Costume Contest! Contestants have two choices--come dressed like Corvallis’ favorite Squirrel lover–Squirrel’s
Tavern owner Mr. Greg Little, or come dressed like an actual furry squirrel.
Come join the fun! Squirrel’s Tavern, January 19, 6-10 p.m. We guarantee you will have a squirrely good time!
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Chintimini’s Summer Education Programs-a Continued Success!
Chintimini had another successful
summer season this year offering
unique and informative educational
programs to local families and
youths. Dozens of children attended
our week-long Wildlife Rangers
Summer Camps, where topics
such as local wildlife biology and
behavior, habitat improvement, coexisting with wildlife, and wildlife
rehabilitation were the focus. Also
offered was a Wildlife 101 camp,
where the children made their own
Hanging pine cone bird
feeders made during camp.
shelters using the skills they learned
during the week. On Thursday of that week, the children
were dropped off in the morning and stayed the night in
Chintimini’s beautiful ash swale under the stars. The night
was filled with a campfire, hot dogs, marshmallows, bat
watching at the pond, songs, and games. It was an amazing
evening of fun! The next morning, the children picked
fresh blackberries, and our very own Jeff Picton made
blackberry pancakes and sausage for breakfast!
Families with young children had the opportunity to
explore nature together under the guidance of our trained
wildlife educators during our Saturday Family Day Camps,
where parents and their children participated in handson activities and crafts designed to teach them about the
wonders of wildlife! These programs will continue to be
offered each summer at Chintimini, so check our website
or watch for more information about these programs in the
local media as we get closer to summer.
The Chintimini Pond provides a tremendous resource for exploration
and discovery.
Our 1,000th Patient!
For the first time in Chintimini’s
history, we have passed the 1,000th
animal admission mark in a year. This
record-setting patient was a species we
don’t see very often--an adult female
Northern Pintail Duck (Anas acuta).
This particular Northern Pintail
that was admitted to Chintimini
on September 8 was found on the
beach near Florence, thin, cold and
unresponsive, but with no other injuries. It had probably
encountered a storm
while migrating and had
been blown to shore.
After a month of TLC
at Chintimini, the fat,
healthy duck was set free
to continue on its journey.
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Please visit Chintimini’s website at
www.chintiminiwildlife.org for exciting new patient
photos, video clips, information about local wildlife,
upcoming events and educational programs,
and much, much more!
Many thanks to web designer, Karin Ellison, for her
dedicated volunteer efforts keeping our website current
and dynamic!
Wildlife Garden Project
One of the planned features of our new Wildlife Education
Center is a large “demo” wildlife garden that will showcase
naturescaping
designs that benefit
wildlife.
This year a
generous grant
from the Corvallis
Evening Garden
Volunteers planting native plants in our butterfly
Club gave CWC
garden.
the start needed to
purchase over a hundred native plants for a Butterfly Garden.
With the help of Willamette Gardens owner Esther
McEvoy and Mt. View Elementary School parent naturalist
Sarah Uebel, plants were selected and planted this spring.
Plans are in the works to create additional garden plots,
including hummingbird, rain, rock, and beneficial insect
garden areas, and individuals with an interest in landscaping
and wildlife who would like to help with the design,
implementation, and funding of these projects are being
sought.
Volunteers Needed!
We are currently looking for
volunteers to serve as docents and
naturalists when the Chintimini
Education Center becomes
open to the public next year.
Applicants should have a good
basic understanding of biological
principles, good interpersonal and speaking skills, and a desire
to educate the public about the wonders of the natural world.
Individuals with teaching experience preferred.
For more information, contact Executive Director
Jeff Picton at chintimini_wildlife@comcast.net, or
541-745-5324, ext.6.
Many Thanks to the Following
Foundations for Their Support!

The Autzen Foundation for their generous gift of
$3,480 to purchase a set of stainless steel intensive
care cages to house large animals.

The Benton County Foundation for their gift of
$500 for scholarships for youth participating in our
Wildlife Rangers Summer Camp Program.

The OSU Folk Club Thrift Shop for their gift
of $700 to purchase a digital video camera for
documenting rehabilitation cases and developing
instructional and promotional videos.

The Karen M. Schroth Charitable Foundation
for Animals for their generous gift of $6,100 to
construct a new waterfowl rehabilitation facility.

The Kinsman Foundation for their continued
support of our animal care program. Their very
generous gift of $10,000 was used to offset our
animal care expenses for the year.

Simple Actions Family Foundation for their
ongoing support and their gift of $800 for general
operations.
Sponsor an Education Program!
Help ensure that the youths participating in our spring
and summer camps and in our after-school programs
have a phenomenal experience! By sponsoring one
of these programs, you can help us offset the costs
of educational supplies and equipment or provide
a scholarship for disadvantaged youth. Join A&S
Accounting as a Sponsor and help educate our youth
about the Wonders of Wildlife!
For more information about sponsoring a Chintimini
education program, contact Executive Director Jeff
Picton at chintimini_wildlife@comcast.net.
“This camp was amazing!!! I felt like it was very well organized and the information
that was taught was fantastic! Avery (my daughter) loved the hands on experiences
and learning about so many different things. All of you did a fantastic job and I know
Avery (and I) look forward to participating in more activities here.
Thank you so much for an amazing week! Great job!”
Quote from a Summer Camp Program Parent
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We thank the following list of
donors for making the
Rehabilitation Cage construction
projects a success.
Businesses:
JTI Supply
Joe Richards--owner
Donated bulkhead fittings and elbows
for drain lines; loaned us his hole saw
Scafco Steel Stud Mfg. Co.
Guy Burbank--Branch Manager,
Salem office
Discount donation of steel studs
at large contractor’s price
Mainline Pump and Irrigation
Larry & Shirley Cole--owners
Sold us 4” ball valves at cost
Honey Tree Apiaries
Ethan Bennet--owner
Donated plywood for concrete forms
Oregon Whitewater Adventures
Kay & Dave Loos
Donated 280 feet of rebar
Individuals:
Dave Mackenzie, Corvallis
Donated satellite dish
Ed Tuttle, Corvallis
Donated wood for concrete forms/
volunteered his contractor services
Clay Stephens, Alsea
Donated satellite dish
Sussanne Maleki, Corvallis
Donated a load of pressure-treated
lumber in various sizes
Dave & Sue Bailey, Corvallis
(Good Neighbors of Chintimini)
Loaned us their Kubota tractor for
moving gravel and dirt for this and
other projects during the year.
And a very special thanks to:
Mark Meyer and his
construction crew-Rick Lorraine, Jeff Picton,
Logan Picton, and Jeremy Meyer
for this beautiful facility.
Facilities Update
by Jerry Paul, Site Manager and Board President
“Not Just Animals Need Rehabbing” was the theme for this year’s construction
projects. Cages and mews that were built when Chintimini was first established
more than 20 years ago are still being patched together. Many of them do not
provide the safe and healthy environment our injured and orphaned wildlife
need to meet our goal of returning them to their natural habitat. This year, you
have helped us make real progress toward correcting this situation, and we thank
each of you highlighted in this report.
30’ x 30’ Flight Cage Rehabilitation
The 30’ x 30’ flight cage has been used to house
injured and orphaned birds for almost 20 years. It
has served us well, but it was in need of serious
repair.
20 year old flight cage in need of
We prepared a Plan in which our volunteer
repair.
Chintimini construction crew and students from
OSU Geosciences 300 class would strip the plywood and framing from the
bow framing; the bow frame and netting were still in good shape and would
remain in place. The flight cage would be rat-proofed by digging a 2’ wide
by 2’ deep trench around the perimeter of the cage, installing 1/2” galvanized
hardware cloth in the trench, and back filling with pea gravel. A double-door
entry system would be added so that the patient housed in the flight cage would
not escape when the caretakers enter the cage.
A list of materials was developed to
replace the framing with pressure-treated
wood, to which we would attach metal
siding. After we showed this proposal to
Spaeth Lumber Company, asking them
for their help, they generously agreed to
donate all the materials to rehabilitate
the 30’ x 30’ flight cage. Thanks to
Spaeth Lumber Company, the many
CWC can now provde better facilities for the
OSU Geosciences class work parties, and recovering raptors in the renovated flight cage.
our Chintimini construction crew, we will
continue to rehabilitate raptors in a safe and healthy environment for the next 20
years!
Waterfowl Rehabilitation Cage
The inefficient waterfowl cage also
needed some attention.
10
Our old waterfowl cage was becoming more
work, which outweighed the benefits the cage
provided. The fiberglass pond, much deeper
than necessary, took a full day to drain and muck
out the bottom and another eight hours to refill
with clean water. Every time it was cleaned, the
patients were without a place to swim for up to
two days. It was time for a new facility.
In June 2011, we took a field trip to meet with Sharnelle
Fee, Director of the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of
the North Coast in Astoria. The Center does a lot of sea
bird restoration, and we wanted to see the construction of
their waterfowl rehabilitation facility. We found that they
use old satellite dishes for the ponds.
In June 2012, we received a grant from the Karen M.
Schroth Charitable Foundation for Animals in the
amount of $6,100 for the construction of a new Waterfowl
Rehabilitation Facility.
We retained Mark Meyer, one of our construction
volunteers, to design and oversee the construction of this
new waterfowl facility. Mark went to many businesses,
explaining our project and asking for their help. Searching
Craigslist, he found satellite dishes and other materials he
needed to construct this facility.
We applied for and received a grant from the Autzen
Foundation to purchase a set of stainless steel kennels that
will be placed in this room to complete the remodel.
Owl Display
Cage
Tom Olsen, who
has helped us
on many of our
past projects, was
retained to build
a small corner
addition to the
Our nonreleasable Northern Pygmy-Owls
enjoy their fancy new home.
educational bird
bungalow to display
our two Northern Pygmy-Owls. This was funded by a very
generous gift from long-time Chintimini supporter, Ruth
Saily. Our Educational Bird Program Director, Victoria
Bernhard, finished off the cage décor with bonsai trees and
other natural elements to make their cage homey. The owls
have moved in, and we often find these little guys sitting in
their tiny trees.
Landscaping and Fencing
The completed Waterfowl Rehabilitation Cage, ready for occupancy.
Baby Animal Care
In 2011, we hand- or bottle-fed almost 300 orphaned
babies. The room we were using in the raptor barn was
inadequate. The food was being prepared in the kitchen
of the clinic, taken to the raptor barn next door to feed the
babies, and then the feeding utensils had to be brought back
to the kitchen for washing. This took a tremendous amount
of time, so we converted a feed storage room across the
hall from the kitchen into the baby care room, moving the
storage room into the raptor barn. With the help of Rick
Lorraine and Noah Lev-Sieger, we insulated, paneled,
and painted the walls and ceiling and installed a counter all
around the perimeter of the room for the incubators to sit
on. Corvallis Floor Covering donated vinyl floor covering
for the storage room remodel as well as the entire clinic and
provided us the coving material at their cost.
Jay Zambrano, who bid $380 to install the vinyl flooring,
gave us a $180 discount off his final invoice.
We are in the process of constructing a wooden fence
around our parking lot and entry way to provide security
and privacy for our facilities.
Mary’s River Lumber donated 500 1x6x6 fence boards to
this project. A work party consisting of Hewlett-Packard
Company employees stained most of the boards for us as
part of the local United Way Day of Caring event.
Volunteers from Hewlett-Packard Company stain fence boards as part of the
United Way Day of Caring.
11
Ham/Mock Landscape Services donated and placed
six boulders which serve as the foundation for the entry
landscaping. Second Growth Native Nursery donated
several hundred native plants, and a work party of
students from OSU Geosciences 300 class used these
plants to begin landscaping.
Philomath Rental Center has continued its support of
Chintimini by discounting the rental fee on the excavator
we used for this landscaping project.
So far we have completed a 40-foot section of the fence,
but still have another 100 feet to go. You can help us
complete this fencing project with your donations for
the pressure-treated wooden posts and rails.
Handicapped Parking
Jay Swing Construction was called on again to pour the
slab for the handicapped parking space. The Chintimini
construction crew extended the gravel walk from the yurt
to the parking space. Benton County Public Works
Department loaned us the stencil for painting the
handicapped symbol on the parking space, and a wheel
stop and handicapped pole sign were installed. This
completes another one of the requirements needed to
open Chintimini’s doors to the public on a regular basis.
This report would not be complete if I did not recognize
and give a very special thanks to my Chintimini
Construction Crew--Rick Lorraine and Mark Meyer,
who have tirelessly devoted many hours of their time to
all our projects and the ongoing list of other construction
and maintenance projects necessary to keep Chintimini
operating. A shout-out to you both from all of us you
serve here at Chintimini.
Geosciences 300 Students Rock!
Special thanks to the instructors and students of Oregon State
University’s Geosciences 300 “Sustainability for the Common Good”
class for their many hours of labor assisting Chintimini Wildlife Center
with its Natural Area Enhancement Project. This class focuses on
students’ personal impacts upon Earth’s resources, and a requirement
Executive Director Jeff Picton (left) poses with a group of
Geosciences 300 student volunteers.
of the class is for the students to participate in a community service
group project. For years we have benefited from this class by having
student groups do invasive species removal, native species planting,
and habitat enhancement on our nine-acre site. To date, students have logged almost 300 “person-hours” of labor at Chintimini
through this class and have made significant contributions to our work.
12
Another Record Setting Year at Chintimini!
This spring and summer were by far the busiest season CWC has ever
experienced. Between the months of April and September, 919 injured or
orphaned wild animals--82 % of our total to date--were admitted, averaging 153
animals per month, or more than 5 animals per day.
Animal Admissions
1000
Number of Patients
To date, the Chintimini Wildlife Center (CWC) has provided rehabilitation
services to 17,371 injured and orphaned animals. In the last six years, CWC has
seen a steady increase in patients admitted. (See graph.) In fact, a new record
has been set in each of the previous six years, with an average annual increase of
almost 100 animals per year. In 2012, CWC passed the 1,000 animal mark for
the first time in its history, and so far this year 1,109 cases have been admitted,
setting yet another new record.
1200
800
600
400
200
0
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
The season started off hard and fast, with 112 animals arriving in April--far
more than usual, followed by a record setting May--228 patients! (To put this into perspective, in 2011 we took in
93 animals in the month of May). We attribute this increase to a mild winter and spring and increased reproductive
success and survivability of young.
Our busiest day was on May 28, when 23 patients representing 10 different species were admitted. There were
also multiple days in May and June when at least 15 animals per day were received. During the entire spring and
summer season, care was provided for 85 different species of native wildlife.
Currently, the average cost for rehabilitation services is approximately $100/animal. Therefore, any significant
increase in the number of patients served has a corresponding cost component for providing those services. There
is no reason to expect these numbers to decrease in the future. Your ongoing generous donations will ensure that
CWC will be able to provide quality care for the animals to come.
Looking for something that is
completely different?
Find out how you can give the gift of wildlife care to someone special
in your life. Visit our website: www.chintiminiwildlife.org for more
information.
Choose a CWRC gift adoption for the holidays, special event or just
because you are fond of those critters. Your sponsor money will help
ensure your chosen animal a safe, secure environment and plenty of
‘Tender Loving Care.’
OUR COMMITMENT TO SERVE
These are the primary goals of the
Chintimini Wildlife Center:

Provide a community resource where the
public can bring injured and orphaned
wildlife for medical care and release back
into the wild.

Provide a consultation and education
service to help the public humanely resolve
wildlife conflicts.

Provide a community resource where the
public can learn about wildlife natural
history, biology, behavior, management, and
habitat protection/enhancement.

Provide a resource for K-12 students to
study, interact with, and conduct research
on wildlife and the environment.

Provide a place where the public can view
nonreleasable wildlife through interpretive
trails and exhibits.
13
2012 Animal Care Program Supporters
Chintimini Wildlife Center would like to gratefully acknowledge the following
individuals and organizations for their ongoing generous contributions of food
and supplies for our animal care program. Without this critical support, quality
care for our injured and orphaned wildlife patients could not be provided. Thank
you, everyone, for caring about your wildlife!
Many thanks to:
Albertsons--Store Manager Marc Pool and Meat Department Employees Jeff
deVault, Travis Griffin, and Joyce Wagner for the donations of meat and fish
scraps to feed recovering animals.
Anderson’s Blueberries--Todd Anderson for the lugs of blueberries provided to
feed our wildlife patients.
Del’s Feed Store--for the generous donation of quality dog and cat food, bird
seed, and other animal feed for our patients.
Good Samaritan Hospital--Toni Woodley-Horvath and the nighttime surgical
team at Good Sam for all the medical supplies they have donated to us over the
past several years.
Heartland Humane Society--for their donations of dog and cat food, and
animal bedding such as towels and fleece.
Hazelnut Hill--for their many, many pounds of hazelnuts donated for our
squirrels.
Linn County Dog Control--for the many bags of dog and cat food they have
donated to us this year.
OSU Facilities Services--for making Chintimini the recipient of their
department-wide Christmas Holiday Gift Giving event to raise funds and food
for our animal care program. Special thanks to Office Specialist Mary Stanley
for her tireless efforts to help Chintimini!
SafeHaven Humane Society--for their generous donations of dog and cat food.
Wild Birds Unlimited--for their continuing support of our work through their
program of collecting donations on our behalf from their customers and for
providing us with quality bird seed to meet the needs of our avian patients.
Many thanks to the
veterinarians who
graciously contribute
their time and expertise
to Chintimini!
Rob Bildfell, DVM, DACVP
Associate Professor
Anatomic Pathology
Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory
OSU College of Veterinary
Medicine
Sarah Maxwell, DVM, MS, DACVO
Veterinary Ophthalmic Consulting
Madeline Rae, DVM, MS, DABVP
(Avian Practice)
Amazon Veterinary Diagnostics
Sabra Thomas, DVM
All Creatures Great and Small
Veterinary Clinic
and
CWC Associate Board Member
Julianne Vickstrom, DVM
West Hills Animal Hospital
Avian & Special Species
Jennifer Warnock,
DVM, PhD, DACVS
Assistant Professor
Small Animal Surgery
OSU College of Veterinary
Medicine
You may connect with us
Chintimini has a
Facebook page!
Become a friend today and
you’ll be just a click away
from exciting Chintimini
Wildlife releases, amazing photographs and
an upcoming events calendar.
Find us on Facebook at:
http://www.facebook.com/chintiminiwildlife
14
Scan the QR CODE above with your
smart phone bar code app
and find out more about CWC.
From the Animal Care Director
by Mary Estes
With this insanely busy year saving lives, I for one am
thankful that we are all still alive! Indeed it was a busy,
busy year for us at CWC, and there is no way we could
have made it through so successfully without all of our
hard-working volunteers, but a special shout out to our
remarkable shift leaders, generous transport volunteers, and
our dedicated homecare volunteers.
Our CWC shift leaders play a crucial role in the clinic.
They are responsible for helping train new volunteers,
answering the phones, organizing animal rescues, admitting
new patients, and performing initial exams, all while
making sure the many patients are being fed and cleaned
as directed and all the shift volunteers are completing the
numerous duties of their shift. It’s a busy job.
When the patient load
is high and a shift’s
volunteer numbers are
low, stress is immense.
There were numerous
times this year where
a shift leader learned
that only one of six
volunteers was going
to be on their shift that
A hungry baby Raccoon is bottle fed.
day. It is practically
impossible to get everything done with only two people per
shift during the busy season, but our shift leaders helped
pull CWC through those trying times, and patients were
always taken care of to the best of our abilities.
Sometimes the endless cage cleaning, the perpetually
overflowing dirty laundry, the everlasting washing of dishes,
the limited kitchen counter space, the constant ringing of
the phone while the admission doorbell never stops buzzing
can all be rather exhausting, but our shift leaders never gave
up. Whether the four-hour shift turned into an eight-hour
shift, or someone got puked on by a Turkey Vulture, or
the smell of skunk remained forever on someone’s favorite
jeans, it didn’t matter. There were always important jobs to
do and they always got done.
Then there are our CWC transport volunteers. There are
many times when someone finds an injured animal and
either has no way of getting the animal to us at CWC
or they are not comfortable approaching the animal. If
someone from the animal care shift cannot go on a rescue
right away, we call a volunteer from our transport help
list. It is not a long list, but
definitely a list often used.
The people on this list are
usually able to make the
time to go rescue an injured
animal, night or day.
Sometimes just as a
transport volunteer has
got into bed with a good
An orphaned Gray Squirrel quickly
book, the clinic may call
learns how to be syringe fed.
needing help; or someone
may travel an hour for an animal that is nowhere to be
found; or someone may arrive to find the animal, but it is
too late. Whatever does or doesn’t happen, these transport
volunteers’ efforts are golden. Their willingness to go the
extra mile, literally, is extraordinary.
Some of our more experienced volunteers who have proper
training and meet certain requirements may take part in
our homecare program. The homecare program is mainly
caring for very young patients, primarily mammals, who
will need round-the-clock feedings until they are old
enough to eat on their own, at which time they come back
to CWC for the rest of the rehabilitation process.
We have only a small handful of homecare volunteers, but
their work is endless. Whether it is getting up throughout
the night to bottle feed a newborn raccoon, or setting up
one’s whole day in two-hour intervals so those three little
squirrels get their syringe feeding on time, it is rewarding,
yet extremely taxing, work.
There have been so many times this year that we have all
felt overwhelmed and overworked. Whether it was wishing
that we had brought a dinner to the 5 p.m. shift (because
by the time we were done it was almost midnight), or that
mallard duck with the injured leg flew off the moment our
car pulled up, or wishing we could get just one full night’s
sleep, we all pulled through and did what we needed to do,
because without all of our hard, endless work, the injured
and orphaned wildlife of our area would be less well off.
“To provide care for injured and orphaned wildlife, with
the goal of returning them to their natural habitat, and to
foster a connection between people and wildlife through
education.” This mission of Chintimini Wildlife Center
would not be possible without the
dedication, generosity, selflessness, and
backbreaking work that we all put into
this wonderful organization. Many
thanks to all of our outstanding CWC
volunteers!
15
CWC Business Partner of 2012
Chintimini first met the Spaeth family last fall when Dave Spaeth brought his sons, Ian and Alex,
out to spend the day helping with the renovation of the Red Barn. Last summer, Ian worked on
the Thursday PM animal care shift, while his brother compiled and delivered the materials they
donated for the 30’ X 30’ Flight Cage Rehabilitation. This family commitment to Chintimini has
earned them our special recognition as Business Partner of 2012. Thank you, Spaeth Lumber,
for your continued and generous support.
Projects completed in 2012 with the help of our local business partners:
30’ X 30’ Flight Cage Rehabilitation
New Baby Care Facility
Owl Display Cage
The Wildlife Garden
Waterfowl Rehabilitation Cage
Handicapped Parking
Landscape and Fencing
Keeping it Going
Stage 1
While opening up our facilities for public visitation will be a significant accomplishment, there
are many more projects and programs we would like to develop in the near future. For these
ambitious goals to become reality, we need your help. Your support of our mission will improve
visitor educational experiences and provide continued quality care for wildlife patients.
We gratefully acknowledge all of our generous 2012 business partners. Please give your
patronage to those businesses that support the Chintimini Wildlife Center.
Stage 2
Stage 3
Construction and Building Materials
Spaeth Lumber Company
Mary’s River Lumber Company
Mainline Pump and Irrigation
Swing Construction Inc.
Scafco Steel Stud Mfg. Company
JTI Supply
Corvallis Floor Covering
Landscaping, Site Planning, and Design
Ham/Mock & Associates Inc.
Seven Oaks Native Nursery
Willamette Gardens
Eateries
Groceries
Albertsons
Safeway Stores
Fred Meyer
First Alternative Natural Foods Coop
Veterinarians
All Creatures Great and Small
Computers, Networking and Accounting
David Wells, Curo-fix
Comcast
A&S Accounting
Equipment Rental
Philomath Rental
Squirrel’s Tavern
New Morning Bakery
Pet and Animal Supplies
Wild Birds Unlimited
Del’s Feed Store
Become a CWC Partner
 and ensure sustainability of our critical mission services
Completed Project
 and provide your products to worthy projects
 and get positive community exposure and recognition
 and broaden your customer base
 and make a real difference in the quality of life for our wildlife and our community
Whom to Call
Please contact Jerry Paul, CWC Board President and Site Manager, at
chintimini_wildlife@comcast.net if you have questions or would like more information.
Home at last...
16
We would love to add your name to the list of our partners.
Nurturing—Good for Baby Birds;
Good for Volunteers
by Nicole Kryger, Board Secretary/Marketing Director
Baby Turkey Vulture just a few days old.
Chintimini Wildlife Center relies upon the help of compassionate and dedicated
volunteers. Rain or shine, volunteers donate their time and efforts caring for sick,
injured, or abandoned wildlife 365 days a year. Typically, volunteers work a morning
or evening shift, one day per week. May through September, the busiest months of
the year, a third shift is added called the “midday” shift, which cares for baby birds.
The baby bird nursery is a warm, tender place filled with cozy baskets of snuggled-in
baby birds. The babies may have fallen from their nest or been orphaned due to the
loss of a parent bird. One of the main responsibilities of a “middayer” is to tirelessly
feed, clean, and care for these numerous baby birds, providing a great opportunity
for unique and exciting experiences for both new and current volunteers.
Gosling and Duckling keeping each other
company.
Caring for baby birds, depending on the age and species, may require feedings for
hatchlings every 20 minutes, encouraging juveniles to learn to eat on their own once
an hour, and everything in between. It also includes cleaning the birds and their
nest baskets after every feeding, replenishing food and water dishes, and attending
to medical needs. A successful shift is an exercise in skilled time management and
close attention to detail.
While the volunteers nurture the babies day in and day out, the babies offer
something in return to the volunteers: amazing and unique learning opportunities.
Volunteers learn about species differentiation and identification, general bird
anatomy and growth tendencies, hear various live vocalizations, and witness
countless behavior tendencies for each species. Working in the baby bird nursery
has even helped some volunteers conquer Ornithophobia (fear of birds) and replace
it with new-found admiration and respect.
Baby Red-Tailed Hawk waiting for food.
This orphaned baby American Robin is just
one of hundreds of hungry mouths needing
to be fed.
What is most remarkable about the midday shift is listening to volunteers share
their experiences. You can hear the enjoyment and appreciation in their voices as
they discuss successful feeding rounds. You can see the amazement and wonder
on their faces when they show up to their shift and talk about how much each bird
has grown incredibly from the previous week. If you happen to walk by the nursery
door, you can hear the gentle coaxing and reassuring words from the volunteers to
each baby in its nest while being fed and cleaned.
It is an extraordinary and enriching role
to nurture baby bird patients as a midday
volunteer, but even more rewarding
is knowing how volunteers are deeply
heartened and forever affected from their
simple act of caring for baby birds during
a midday shift at Chintimini Wildlife
Center.
You can help make a difference for these
baby birds. For information about volunteering at Chintimini Wildlife Center, Successful release of a young Steller’s Jay to its
original habitat.
please visit our website: www.chintiminiwildlife.org.
17
Thank You for Your
Support Albertsons!!
CWC Will Miss You!
by Jeannie Lorraine
NO!! Can’t be!! Albertsons is closing? How on earth did I
miss this bit of news?
As usual, I traipsed into my favorite Thursday morning
hangout, Albertsons, with shopping cart in hand making a
beeline for the meat department to collect their weekly pile
of expired meat they so generously saved all week to donate
to us, Chintimini Wildlife Center.
Jeff, head meat cutter, didn’t greet me with his usual joke
about making “turtle soup” for supper (knowing that I
home care those critters) just to get his usual rise out of me.
“Haven’t you heard the news?” he said.
News? What news! I had absolutely no idea what he was
talking about, referring to, alluding to, reminding me of-nada.
Then he told me that Albertsons was closing and that it was
in the paper just that morning. Joy went right out of me; I
was shocked! (Obviously I hadn’t taken a second to glance
at the headlines in the local paper that morning).
I was so very concerned about him and all the other
wonderful people working there that I had come to know:
the other meat cutter Travis; Store Director Marc; the
checkers who waved me
through the check-out line
with a cheery “hi,” knowing
my reason for being there,
my cart overflowing with
meat; the head of the produce
department, Dino, who let
me paw through his bins of
discarded produce for fruit
and greens for our animals;
and the other store employees
who knew why I was there and asked every week, “How is
the beaver? The raccoon? The eagle?” Rattled, I thought of
our animals as well as the fate of these kind people. What
about meat donations? The bobcat, the raccoons, not to
mention the turkey vultures--what about them? They all
need meat.
18
A week went by before I was able to pull myself together
enough to tentatively begin to ask other grocery stores if
they would help. I’m not good at begging, but one look at
that bobcat and I knew I had to gut up and begin to beg.
Refusals were aplenty. Too dicey, afraid someone would be
ill. UNTIL I went in to Trader Joe’s to see if they would
donate. I was met with a smiling face, a “you know we
always give what we can to the food bank” (we’re obviously
not the food bank and I commend them for that donation),
“but,” he went on, “I think we can help with meat that has
expired and cannot be donated to the food bank.”
BINGO!! All we needed to do was write a letter on CWC
letterhead requesting the donation. Really??? I’m ON it!
Clutching Captain Kelly’s business card (all employees,
and now I, call her Captain, a testament to her popularity
among her employees). I fairly ran out of that store,
directly to my car, already composing the letter in my head.
Thanks to a generous donator, we have enough meat, for
now, to feed our critters who need it, but when that runs
out I am optimistic that we will be able to procure the
expired meat from Trader Joe’s to nourish our wild animals
when we require it. Trader Joe’s has been pivotal in this
community for their well-known generosity to the needy-human and animal--just like Albertsons has been.
A Great Gift!!
$12.50 (includes shipping)
Call (541) 745-5324
That Bird
in Your
Chimney
by Mary Estes
In Oregon, if you have
a bird in your chimney
between the months
A female Vaux’s Swift incubates her eggs in a
of July and September,
nest inside a chimney.
chances are it is a Vaux’s
Swift. Occasionally, there may be other species of birds
who have gotten stuck in your chimney, but swifts are the
ones who choose to be there. After this short period of
time nesting in residential chimneys, they take to the sky
with their awe-inspiring aerobatics while congregating
at large industrial chimneys all over the West prior to
migration.
Vaux’s Swifts are a rather small, dark bird, with long
pointed wings, weighing only about 19 grams. They are
insectivores and forage, drink, and mate while in flight.
Although often commonly miscalled a Chimney Swift,
their close relative, the Vaux’s Swift is the species one
will most likely encounter in Oregon. There are some
distinguishing features of each species, but to keep it
simple, the Chimney Swift’s range is in the eastern United
States whereas the Vaux’s Swift’s range is that of the West.
The Vaux’s Swift makes a fascinating nest out of small
twigs and its own saliva. The
nest adheres to a vertical surface
and has the shape of a half-cup.
Once the eggs hatch, the vocal
chattering of the young swifts
is quite recognizable and occurs
throughout the day, every time
the adults fly down the chimney
to feed their young.
These birds are not perching birds; all four of their hooked
toes point forward, enabling them to cling and climb on
vertical surfaces. Thus, a brick chimney or a hollowed tree
snag makes for a great nesting location.
Once the young swifts are old enough to fledge from the
chimney, typically around three weeks of age, they leave the
chimney and will prepare for their lengthy migration, which
is as far as Central America and northern parts of South
America.
During the month of September, these remarkable aerialists
will gather by the hundreds and thousands at various
locations that host a large, brick chimney. As dusk arrives,
these fascinating birds will, one by one, whirl and descend
into the chimney for the night. It is a remarkable visual
performance that many people gather to watch.
So, what should one do if a swift is found in your stove
or fireplace? Call us at CWC! As these little ones are
learning to fly, they can often fall down below the damper,
where they cannot climb or fly back up. If they have just
recently fallen, are uninjured, and the parents are still there,
we will want to get the swift back up the chimney above
the damper, then make sure the damper is securely closed.
If one is unsure how long the swift has been stuck, the bird
should be brought to us at CWC as soon as possible.
If a swift has been stuck down in the fireplace for more
than a day, he will most likely be cold, dehydrated, and, to
some extent, emaciated. Easy signs to tell that the swift
is not in good shape include: eyes shut or squinty, lack of
vocalization, lack of movement, underweight (the bird’s keel
is sharp to the touch), and the inside of the mouth is pale
rather than bright pink. When in doubt, it is always best
to bring the bird to a licensed rehabber who can properly
assess the condition of the bird and decide if it needs
rehabilitation.
Most consider swifts a rather difficult bird to rehab. They
require a varied diet of proper insects with supplementation,
and they have to be hand-fed every 20-60 min (depending
on age and condition) from sun up to sun down. These
birds will not eat on their own in captivity, so the gentle,
yet experienced touch of one who has worked with these
remarkable birds is needed to hand-raise them and
successfully release them back into the wild.
Please recognize that being a good host to this
extraordinary species of bird is important. If you know
there is a nest of swifts in your chimney, let them be; they
will be gone before you know it. If you need to have your
chimney cleaned, do so after September and be sure the
swifts have left. These remarkable birds are already facing
habitat loss of natural preferences, such as tree hollows,
and that is why they have chosen your chimney. Consider
yourself honored to be hosting a family of swifts in your
chimney!
19
NON-PROFIT
ORGANIZATION
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
CORVALLIS, OR
PERMIT NO.50
311 Lewisburg Avenue
Corvallis OR 97330
Bringing You the Wonders of Wildlife!
Many Helping Hands
by Sharnelle Fee, Director, Wildlife Center of the North Coast
In April 2012, a severely injured mature female Bald Eagle was captured by volunteers from
Wildlife Center of the North Coast near Astoria. It is believed the eagle fractured its wing
by striking a power line.
Bald Eagle with pins in its wing
recovering in Chintimini’s ICU.
X-rays revealed a complex injury that would require specialized equipment and expertise
to repair. The eagle was transferred for surgical evaluation to the American Wildlife
Foundation in Molalla which, in turn, consulted with Dr. Jennifer Warnock at the Oregon
State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Corvallis. It was determined that OSU
could provide the best chance for success. Dr. Warnock repaired
the fractured wing using an external fixator with pins attached to
the delicate wing bones.
The eagle received post-surgery medical care at Chintimini Wildlife Center in Corvallis, as
well as months of rehabilitation in an 80’ enclosure to encourage flight and to strengthen the
wing. She improved so rapidly that Chintimini transferred her to Cascades Raptor Center in
Eugene for advanced conditioning in a larger flight cage.
On Tuesday, August 28, the dedication and collaboration by four wildlife centers and the
OSU Veterinary Hospital was rewarded with the eagle’s successful release back to her original
territory in Astoria. A “hatch year” female Bald Eagle that was found starving and weak by
Wildlife Center of the North Coast was released as well. It is hoped that the juvenile eagle will
remain with the mature female long enough to acquire important survival skills.
Eagle in flight cage, ready for
release.