Tag: Wildlife Clinic
Bird Safe Philly: Helping Migrating Birds on their Journey North
April 18, 2022[caption id="attachment_275001" align="aligncenter" width="500"] A common yellowthroat, one of the many species of migrating birds passing over the city. This one collided with a plate glass window, but happily was only dazed, brought to the Wildlife Clinic, treated, and released-- a conservation success story.[/caption]
It's migration season and millions of birds are right now pouring over the city of Philadelphia on their way to northern nesting grounds. A river of warblers, flycatchers, shorebirds, hummingbirds, thrushes, and more are heading to their ancestral mating grounds.
And Bird Safe Philly, a new partnership, hopes to make their travels safer. Birds colliding with…
Weathering the Storm: How wild weather affects wildlife
August 26, 2020Fallen tree limbs and storm damage got you down? If the recent inclement weather and severe storms are having an impact on your neighborhood, imagine what they are doing to the homes and shelters of our smaller wild neighbors!
From downed trees and flooding to high winds and extreme heat, wildlife is feeling the effects of severe weather patterns just as much as humans. The consequences of these storms are clearly seen in the number of animals admitted to the wildlife clinic which are often 4-5 times higher following stormy weather than would be seen on a typical day. Here…
Wildlife Clinic April update
April 27, 2020[caption id="attachment_271390" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Virtual happy hour for Wildlife Clinic staff and volunteers to stay in touch during the lockdown.[/caption]
While human society undergoes rapid changes and we all make necessary adjustments to our daily routines, local wildlife have been going about their usual spring activities of breeding and nesting. The important work of the Wildlife Clinic must go on and our staff are adapting to our new “normal” as best we can under the challenging current circumstances.
“We are still coming in everyday to not only provide treatment for the animals that we already had in care when this…
Cooper’s Hawk Rehabilitation
April 1, 2020
This beautiful juvenile Cooper’s hawk was brought to the Wildlife Clinic in late February after being found on the side of a busy highway. Thanks to the quick actions of a kind rescuer, he was able to receive prompt attention, including treatment for head trauma and surgery to repair a wound on his chest. When he arrived, he was not even able to stand, as shown in the first picture. But after nearly 4 weeks of healing, and some recovery time in our flight cage, he was successfully released on March 17th.
It is because of the quick thinking and…
Saying goodbye to our patients
March 27, 2020[caption id="attachment_271325" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Flying squirrel 19-1849 receiving a feeding[/caption]
It’s hard to say goodbye to patients who have been with us for a long time, and this flying squirrel was cared for at the Wildlife Clinic for 129 days!
Last November we received 2 baby flying squirrels, both with their eyes still closed. They had been found in an attic, and unfortunately the finder was not willing to attempt to reunite them with their mother. Both babies were thin, dehydrated, and hypothermic on arrival, and sadly one little squirrel didn’t make it. We were able to help this little…
Helping an injured bird
October 29, 2019By Rebecca Michelin, Director of Wildlife Rehabilitation
You may have heard the devastating news- a study published this month in the journal Science reports that the total breeding bird population in the continental U.S. and Canada has dropped by 29 percent since 1970.
While there are numerous factors contributing to this decline, human-made alterations to the landscape have certainly played a significant role, and we see the results of this clearly at the Wildlife Clinic at the Schuylkill Center. Since mid-August, the wildlife clinic has treated nearly two dozen birds, from mourning doves and woodpeckers to warblers and vireos, all…
Barn Swallows on the Wing
September 19, 2015By Anna Lehr Mueser, Public Relations Manager
This summer our wildlife clinic enjoyed treating a number of young barn swallows. These graceful birds, iridescent blue on their backs and wings, live almost their entire lives on the wing, explains wildlife rehabilitator Michele Wellard. Once released, the barn swallows in the clinic’s care will take to the skies, landing only in their nests. Several groups of baby barn swallows were brought into the wildlife clinic on July 31, likely from several nests. The babies had fallen from the nest and the people who brought them in explained that they were unable…
Drunk Cedar Waxwing at the Wildlife Clinic
December 8, 2014By Michele Wellard, Assistant Wildlife Rehabilitator
The woman who brought the waxwing in said he seemed "tame." He just sat on her finger and wouldn't move, and that's what prompted her to call the clinic. She was convinced the bird had been raised by humans. When she brought him to me, perched on her finger, I thought he had a sort of 'faraway' look about him - like he wasn't entirely present. There was just sort of an odd affect about him. Additionally, he also was in absolutely PERFECT feather, and he was in great body condition - upon palpating…
Baby Squirrels in November: Unusual Wildlife at the Clinic
March 27, 2014By Rick Schubert, Director of Rehabilitation, the Wildlife Clinic
Anyone who has worked on a farm in a temperate climate knows that winter is no time to take a break; wintertime is a race against the clock, reorganizing, repairing, cleaning, planning, and preparing for the upcoming busy season. Wildlife rehabilitation is no different. Although we take in injured adult wild animals 12 months a year, our business spikes in the spring, summer, and fall with the addition of orphaned and displaced neonates. Usually, winter is a slower time for wildlife patient intakes, but it’s a critical period to spend getting…
Those cute little baby bunnies and birds are tougher than you think…
February 16, 2012
“Baby animals fall out of trees all the time. But that doesn’t necessarily mean they need rescuing." -- Wildlife rehabber and clinic director, Rick Schubert
Spring is our wildlife clinic’s busy season, as the wildlife baby boom hits, and people bring in baby birds that have fallen from nests or bunnies seemingly abandoned in their backyard. Out of the over 12,000 phone calls the clinic handles in a year, hundreds involve questions or concerns about baby animals being orphaned. That's more spring babies than our clinic-- or most similar clinics, I'd imagine-- can treat onsite. The good news is, many of these "orphans" really don't…
