Tag: #wildlife
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…
Four sounds from early May
May 8, 2014By Anna Lehr Mueser, Public Relations Manager
This week the forests and fields are alive with sounds, all manner of animals calling out and leafy trees rustling in the breeze. This is also the time of year when our Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic is brimming with baby animals of all sorts. So, here are four samples of what May sounds like at the Schuylkill Center.
Toads, singing in afternoon sunlight. A basin in this field fills with water most of the year, creating a nice habitat for toads and other amphibians. Around the field and basin are vines, grasses, and flowering trees.
[audio m4a="http://www.schuylkillcenter.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Toads-and-birds-singing-May-1.m4a" preload="auto"][/audio]
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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…
From tailess to tail in a matter of hours…
March 27, 2012[caption id="attachment_187" align="alignleft" width="200"] "Imping" a Cooper's hawk's damaged tail[/caption]
Last week the staff of the wildlife clinic did something remarkable, especially for those of us who make our living working at a desk. They rebuilt a bird's tail.
The bird in question, a Cooper’s hawk, was brought into the clinic in February with multiple injuries, including head trauma and a severely damaged tail. The clinic nursed the bird for several weeks as it recovered from a concussion and regained its strength. The bird’s tail feathers, however, were still in tatters, preventing proper flight. As I learned from our clinic director,…
