Snowy Owl

We received a call from Katie in Cotton, MN, about a snowy owl that she found on the ground. She saw it in a tree the day before, but it was now unable to fly more than a few feet. One of our amazing volunteers was able to pick it up and bring it to Wildwoods. During the exam, we did not find any injuries. It was, however, emaciated – a common issue for young snowy owls like this one. Staff administered fluids and the owl was then transferred to The Raptor Center for further treatment the next day.

These arctic visitors spend the winter in Southern Canada and the Northern part of the U.S. The younger snowy owls sometimes have difficulties finding food in these new areas, resulting in their emaciation.

Unlike many owls, snowy owls are diurnal, meaning they are active during the day. In their Arctic breeding grounds, they have longer periods with sunlight, and will hunt throughout that time. They feed mostly on lemmings and one owl can eat over 1,600 lemmings per year.  They will also supplement their diet with fish, rabbits, rodents, and birds.

Dark Morph Rough-legged Hawk

In early November, we received a call from Roger in Duluth about a bird that looked like a small eagle sitting at the end of his driveway. It wasn’t flying and he was concerned for its safety. One of our dedicated volunteers was able to pick it up from the site and bring it to Wildwoods. We identified the bird as a rough-legged hawk, but it didn’t look like the other rough-legged hawks that we have seen before. It turns out, this was a dark morph rough-legged hawk! It is the same species, just a different coloration. Dark morphs aren’t as common as light morph rough-legged hawks, and it is easy to understand why they might be mistaken for a small eagle. Its yellow eyes told us that this hawk was born just this year – as adults, their eyes are dark brown.

During the exam, we found that both the radius and ulna in the right wing were fractured. There was also a wound on the backside of the wing that may have been caused by one of the fractured bones. Staff flushed the wound and bandaged it, making sure the open wound was covered, then applied a body wrap to help keep the fractured bones in place and prevent further damage to the wing. The rough-legged hawk was transferred the next day to The Raptor Center in St. Paul, MN, where they were able to take radiographs and plan the next steps in its treatment. They determined that the fracture was approximately 10 days old. They performed surgery on the wing, inserting pins to help the radius and ulna heal correctly. The hawk was also anemic due to blood loss, and it was able to get a blood transfusion from a red-tailed hawk during surgery (!!).

So far, this dark morph rough-legged hawk is doing well. We hope that its recovery continues, and that it will be able be released back into the wild.

Great Horned Owl

Our volunteers are so important to our organization! Long-time volunteer Elda holds a great horned owl that she retrieved at UMD. The owl was found by a maintenance worker, huddled in a doorway. Unsure of what the problem was, they called us.

Elda brought the owl to Wildwoods where we completed an exam under the direction of The Raptor Center, and arranged for transport the very next day. Raptor Center veterinarians confirmed a diagnosis of lead poisoning, and kept it for several weeks for treatment.  Once it was good to go, we brought it back to Duluth and released it in its old hunting grounds.

We have incredible support from some amazing people and organizations. A huge thank you to our volunteers, to WRC, Wild and Free, and The Raptor Center. We could not do this without you!

Keeping Wildlife Wild

Did you know that we don’t just help orphaned and injured wildlife? We also do all that we can to keep wildlife wild. We do this through our education programs and by responding to community inquiries on a daily basis. We do everything that we can to help an animal stay in the wild if it is at all possible.

The photo shows bunnies that we helped a household to renest after the nest was disturbed by a pet. After they put the bunnies back in, they covered the nest, and then they put a tomato cage over it, allowing for the mother to enter and feed them, while keeping pets out! They then put string in a tic-tac toe pattern on top of the nest and checked it the next day. If the string was disturbed, that meant the mother likely came back and fed the bunnies. If not, then we could assume the mother had abandoned the nest, and the bunnies would come to Wildwoods.

If you are interested in a customized training for your group, please e-mail us at valerie@wildwoodsrehab.org!

Cedar Waxwings

It takes a lot of work to raise orphaned animals, and that is something we are very good at! The Cedar Waxwings below came in separate batches, but quickly became friends when they joined forces in our incubator. They were inseparable for their entire time at Wildwoods, and were released together. When the waxwing on the right first came in, we had no idea it would survive. It was the smallest nestling we’ve had, but our staff made a determined effort to keep this little guy going, and they did it!

Rehabilitating animals takes dedicated staff (after all, these nestlings need to be fed every 15 minutes!), volunteers, a LOT of food, equipment, continuing education, and a facility that can accommodate all of the varying species and their needs. We truly cannot do this work without the support of the public. We do not receive state or federal funds, but rely on the goodwill of our neighbors who believe that we have an obligation to support our wildlife – especially those that have been injured or orphaned due to a harmful interaction with humans.

Please to what you can to ensure that we can continue our work in 2021 and donate here