Winter 2013 - West Virginia Raptor Rehabilitation Center

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Winter 2013
Volume XXXI, Issue 1
The Falcon
A Quarterly Newsletter for Our Supporters
Our Mission
To rehabilitate and release
injured, sick, and orphaned
birds of prey while inspiring
environmental awareness
through education for the
benefit of all living things
Annie
By Liz Snyder, Operations
For the West Virginia Raptor Rehabilitation Center, the sun shone a
little less brightly on Thursday, September 6th of 2012. Annie,
(Anastasia) our long-time mascot and friend left this life peacefully
after more than 27 years of bringing joy and enthusiasm for
environmental causes to a generation of West Virginia's children and
their parents.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Annie arrived at the Center on October 29, 1987 simply as Case #
290. She was found with jesses around her legs in the back yard of a
Annie
1
Charleston residence. She was determined to be imprinted on humans
Catch, Fix, and Release
2 and in no time at all, her unique blend of a gentle soul and fierce spirit
won over Center volunteers and educational program audiences
Golden Eagle
3 alike. Annie was an adult bird when she joined the ambassador bird
Education Report
3 staff; she likely hatched in 1985 or earlier, which would make her at
least almost
Leave a Legacy
5 28 years old
First Donation Awards
5 at the time of
her death.
Rehab Report for 2012
6 Annie was a
hard worker,
Education Program Schedule
6
earning her
Adopt-A-Bird
7 keep in mice
and rats
Membership Form
8 (eating nearly
2400 lbs!) by
participating
The Newsletter is going
in an
digital. Starting now we will post it
average of 44
on our website @www.wvrrc.org It educational
will be published quarterly and we
events each
year, doing a
will send postcards notifying you of
record 63
the posting for a while until we get
programs
used to the change. We can e-mail
them to you if you want but they are during one
year for a
about 12mb. If you want it e-mailed
total of 1140
please send your e-mail address to programs
Shela@wvrrc.org If you want us to reaching an
continue mailing it please contact us. audience
(see page 8)
Thank you
(continued
on page 2)
Page 2
(continued from page 1)
audience of over 170,000 people over her lifetime. She was considered the "easy" bird, in that she was the
most gentle and reliable ambassador bird and taught many volunteers how to properly hold and handle a wild
winged creature. She had the sweetest expression, but could inflict serious damage with her talons in a
moment of inattention on the part of her handler. Annie was truly one of a kind and there will be no replacing
her in the hearts of those who had the honor of knowing and working with her over the years. She loved
"drumstick rubs", and hated dogs. She enjoyed stretching her wings in a nice sunny breeze and chirping for
her mice. She will be sorely missed, but as her name means "free to fly again", we know she will live forever
in our memory. May you fly high on a fair wind, Anastasia.
Catch, Fix, and Release
By Liz Snyder
The WVRRC was extremely busy last year with ongoing construction at the Ridge and managing the day to
day activities involving the care and feeding of our birds. For year 2012, we had an intake of 75 birds. There
were times I wondered what we would do if just one more bird needed our services. Somehow, when that
call came, we managed to make room. I would like to convey to all our members just exactly how much
effort goes into the rehabilitation process.
Typically, when an individual finds an injured or orphaned birds, they call us and
leave a message on our voicemail system. Volunteers periodically check the
system and respond back to the caller as expeditiously as possible to ascertain
exactly what type of bird the individual may have, what happened to the bird,
generally assess the situation, provide advice on capture and control of the bird,
and make arrangements for bird transport if necessary. We have a number of
transporters who move those birds often on short notice, devoting their time and
gas to our cause. I would like to particularly thank Ronda Salter, Glen Jarrell, Karen Denbign, and Mary
Cole who have each logged many miles on short notice, through all sorts of weather, uphill both ways to
bring the birds to our location.
We make every effort to answer every call to include those non-raptor pleas for help in caring for baby
songbirds, injured ducks, you name it, and we’ve probably heard a story about it. Susanne Coulson has
graciously been handling these types of inquiries with patience and fortitude.
Most people are genuinely interested in our work and in the welfare of the
bird they found. It is a pleasure to provide insights and education to those
who take the time to contact us. Did you know that if you touch baby birds,
the parents won’t disown them and will continue to care for them? So if you
see a baby and find the nest, put it back if at all possible. No one cares for a
baby bird as well as the parents. Once we have the bird in hand we do an
examination of its condition by taking a weight and feeling the keel
(breastbone) to get an idea of how well the bird has been eating, observing its vision capabilities, ability to
stand, maneuver its wings, feather condition, and the color of the bird’s mouth. We will then take the bird to
our veterinarian if necessary, for further treatment or place in an ICU cage for rest and recuperation. We will
provide food specific to the bird’s requirements.
Once a bird has recuperated sufficiently, we will transfer it to a flight cage for exercise prior to release. We
try to take the adult birds back the location where they were found and
(continued on Page 4)
Page 3
Golden Eagle
By Liz Snyder
Hello all, we’ve started the new rehab year with a “golden”
opportunity! On February 5th, 2013 , we received a call from
our West Virginia Department of Natural Resources colleagues
reporting to us they had a possible golden eagle in Marion
County in the Mannington area. Office Randal Koscis told us the
bird was dragging something and it was likely a trap. After some
telephonic collaboration between Mike Book, Liz Snyder, and
DNR police officers on the scene, and the eagle wrangling, giant
efforts of Sheila Armfield, the bird was safely captured. The bird had indeed
been caught in an illegally set and baited trap which was holding the bird’s
middle toe just above below the first knuckle on his left foot. The golden
appeared to be in good shape otherwise, and was delivered to Dr. Ron
Thompson for a more thorough examination and assessment.
(continued on page 5)
Educational Report
Upcoming Programs
February 20, Good Hope Four Fold Fighters 4-H
March 23, Marietta College
April 12, Lifelong Learners/Pierpont College
April 16, Cheat River Outfitters
April 26, East Park Boys and Girls
May 3, Short Line Elementary
May 18, Girl Scouts
May 23, Fairview Public Library
Last year, was a record year, for the WVRRC regarding our educational
team, both volunteers and bird ambassadors. We traveled 10,354 miles
spending 805 volunteer hours on the road, preparing, or at the
programs. We were at booth style programs, schools, or other venues for a total of 81 programs, at which there
were over 18,600 adults and children in attendance.
August 3 & 4, Marietta Inland Waterways Festival
We hope to make 2013 as
exciting as last year, with both
new birds and new volunteers.
The WV Raptor Rehabilitation
Center truly does have the best
volunteers with all of the passion
and knowledge they bring to the
table.
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(continued from Page 2) involve the finders in the release, if possible. The babies, well, returning them to
the wild is a bit more complex than simply opening a cardboard box and watching them fly away. The babies
are released using the hacking process, which begins with assessments of the bird’s flight capabilities, and its
ability to take live prey. Once we are certain the bird can perform these basic functions necessary to survival,
the bird is moved to an elevated cage or hack box in a suitable environment in order to allow the bird to
acclimate to the surrounding territory. The bird is fed through a small side
door to minimize human contact. After a few days in the hack box, the
front panel of the box is lowered and the birds are free to go. We leave
food on the door for a few days following a release so they can return to a
familiar place for a snack if they haven’t been successful in their hunting
efforts.
We had 19 fledglings and juveniles last spring! You’d have to work really
hard to find a more demanding creature than a squawking red-shouldered
hawk, covered in white down, shooting poop (and hitting the garage door
from 5 feet!). Then we have those baby kestrels, and the little screech owls that are off-the-chart on the
cuteness scale. Regardless of the adorability factor, they all were fed
multiple times a day by our rehab volunteers who lovingly prepared
a feast of minced mice and mouse stew. What goes in must come
out….but I will spare you the details of the cleanup. What was an
easy half hour of work, turned into hours of scrubbing, disinfecting
and repapering of cages, cleaning the instruments of feeding, and
food preparation for the next feeding shift and next day.
Many hours, painstaking procedures, and some tears went into
tending to last year’s crop of young raptors. I will remember
Squiggly, who was just covered in blow fly larvae from an unknown injury, floating peacefully in the cat
litter bucket hot tub of raptor-temperature water to drown the parasites. He didn’t make it, but we tried our
best and I am sure his last hours were better than they would have been if we hadn’t picked him up on
Memorial Day.
So here’s a Tip O’ the Wing to all the Rehab Volunteers—Sheila, Cassie, Megan, Kelly, and Susanne, who
gave so much of their time and resources to see us through that busy, busy time of year!
On behalf of all of us squawking fledglings, human and feathered...Special Thanks for Mike, who provided
coaching on how best to feed, examine, and situate all of the babies. All of us rookies really learned a thing
or two from his nearly 30 years of hands-on raptor rehabilitation experience and behavioral observations.
Our favorite Velociraptor, where would we be without you?!
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(continued from page 3) Dr. Thompson was unable to save the toe, which was amputated while the bird
was under anesthesia on Thursday morning. By that afternoon, Sheila, Liz, ad Cassie with construction
assistance from John Smith (of the Grounds Keeper), the bird was comfortable in a flight cage with a big
tasty rat for dinner. We will be keeping an eye on his toe, watching for any sign of infection and he is
currently underweight. His prognosis for release is good, and we will be posting his status on our Facebook
page.
We would like to remind everyone that Bald and Golden Eagles are federally protected under the Bald and
Golden Eagle Protection Act. The WVRRC is mandated to report, to federal agents any
bird we receive that has been a victim of trapping, shooting, or poisoning. If you see
any suspicious activity, please say something to your local law enforcement office or
the WVDNR. We are excited to have the
opportunity to help this magnificent
bird, and this story may well have a happy ending for our golden but other
beautiful raptors are not so lucky.
Please help by being aware of your surroundings as you go for that nature walk
in the woods.
Want To Leave A Legacy For
With our relocation and new building being constructed on
Bunner Ridge the WVRRC has taken one BIG step
forward. Now, we all need to look to the future; where
will we be in another 25 or 50 years?
For pennies a day, you will be leaving a legacy with the
WVRRC and assuring our future. Your legacy will not
only help in the future but will help TODAY, with
potential grants for the Center. In addition, all Legacy
Members will have their name on the plaque displayed at
the new Center, along with your own personal plaque.
Call Bob or Jessica at 304-366-2200 to find out what
YOU can do to help preserve your legacy with the
WVRRC.
Thunder, the American
Bald Eagle, and Mike
Book, Chairman, in
Charleston at a recent
educational presentation
for the WV Trophy
Hunters Association.
FIRST DONOR AWARD
Last Spring we changed our mailing address to
our new home on Bunner Ridge. We thought we
would make a game of it so we offered up a
challenge to all of you to see who would be the
very first to send a donation to our new address at
2290 Bunner Ridge Rd. Fairmont, WV 26554
Well, we didn’t have a winner, we had two. We
received these two donations on the same day.
A $2 bill along with the names in a decorative
frame will represent these two donors. The
framed award will be prominently placed on the
wall of the Education section of our new building.
Both are from Morgantown, WV . We thank each
of you,
Susan M. Breiding
And
Georgian Steinhardt.
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Rehabilitation Report
Raptor Disposition—January 1 – December 31, 2012
SPECIES
TOTAL
RELEASED
DIED OR
EUTHANIZED
PENDING
TRANSFERRED
American
Kestrel
Barn Owl
6
5
1
1
Barred Owl
8
4
Broad-winged
Hawk
Peregrine
Falcon
Cooper’s
Hawk
Eastern
Screech-Owl
Turkey Vulture
1
2
2
Great Horned
Owl
Red- shouldered
Hawk
Red-tailed
Hawk
Sharp-shinned
Hawk
TOTAL
3
2
1
4
1
2
1
1
1
1
1
23
1
1
12
6
4
1
12
4
4
16
3
10
2
1
1
1
75
31
29
7
8
WVRRC BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Michael S. Book, Chairman
Marilyn Bowman
Robert Boyle
Liz Snyder, Operations
Allen Parks
Sheila Armfield, Education
Santa made his rounds, in 2012, at the WVRRC and
took a photo with all of the educational birds.
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Yes! I would like to adopt a
at the level of
My check for $
is enclosed.
Your Name:
.
Address:
Is this a gift? Yes No
If yes, name for Adoption Certificate:
Species
Bald Eagle
Vulture/Great Horned Owl/Hawk
Screech-owl/American Kestrel
Caretaker
$250
$200
$150
Steward
$100
$90
$80
Parent
$30
$25
$20
The Ridge Update
We are very close to moving in to our new building and flight cages at “The Ridge”. Just a couple of days of warm
weather and we could complete everything needed on the outside. We still need to finish the enclosures, which
includes build perches, boxes, enrichment areas for the individual birds.
If you would be interested in sponsoring one or more, of the flight cages and help cover the costs associated with that
type bird, we will make and proudly display a plaque with your name on it. To sponsor a cage at the Bald Eagle level
would be $1,500, Red Tailed Hawks/Great Horned Owls would be $850 and the smallest cage at Screech Owl size is
$450. This would cover making the flight cage habitable for the birds.
The donations can be mailed to our address, or we have a PayPal link on our website. If you would like to make a supply donation, we are always in need of Sisal Rope, Lysol Wipes, Clear Storage Tubs, and Ziploc Bags (Gallon and Quart
Size).
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Non-Profit Org
WEST VIRGINIA RAPTOR REHABILITATION CENTER
2290 Bunner Ridge Road
Fairmont, WV 26554
U.S. Postage PAID
Permit #87
Clarksburg, WV 26301
Phone: (304) 366-2867
Fax: (304) 592-1482
Email: raptor@wvrrc.org
Facebook: facebook.com/WVRRC
Return Service Requested
Please visit our website
WWW.WVRRC.ORG
Working to improve the environment for ALL living things.
WVRRC MEMBERSHIP FORM
Membership in the WVRRC is open to anyone who shares an interest in our mission. Annual
memberships are available in the following categories:
Student / Senior
Individual
Family
$7
$10
$17
Supporting
Donor
Sponsor
Patron
NAME:
ADDRESS:
$35
$50
$100
$500
To Join: Please complete this form,
enclose a check or money order
made payable to WVRRC and send
to:
MEMEBERSHIP LEVEL:
WVRRC
Would you like your newsletter emailed?
2290 Bunner Ridge Rd.
Email Address:
Phone Number:
Fairmont, WV 26554
OR
Join online@ www.wvrrc.org