29th

Baby California brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis californicus), have recently turned up starving and in weak condition along the California coast. Distinguished from adults and older juveniles by their white bellies, yellowish beaks, and creamy yellow color on their legs, these "hatch year" youngsters hail from nesting colonies offshore. Since their population dropped in the mid-twentieth century from the effects of DDT, California's brown pelican nesting colonies are only found in the Channel Islands off of Los Angeles. As a result, these babies have traveled a long way by the time we see them.

Note the pale yellow color of this young pelican's legs and feet.
Keep an eye out for weak baby pelicans and call our hotline for the nearest rescue center: 1-866-WILD-911

Yesterday, WildRescue responded to a call by a fisherman about one of these "hatch years". When we arrived at the scene, this baby pelican was being harassed by a group of picture-taking beach-goers who had no idea there was anything wrong with the animal. As empathetic animals, our instinct is usually to help when we encounter other beings in trouble, yet only the fisherman was able to "hear" that help was what the baby needed. Was he more familiar with the beach, the birds and their normal behavior, or was it that he was the only one listening?

Contributing writer, Max Salamander

This newly fledged pelican is headed to International Bird Rescue in Fairfield for care. Nearly a 300 mile roundtrip from the Monterey Bay area. Volunteer transporters are always needed to do all or part of these frequent hauls.

UPDATE:

The  pelican rescued off of Santa Cruz on May 9th is still receiving rehabilitative care at International Bird Rescue in Fairfield. We will keep you posted on her progress.

22nd

Just a quick recap of the week in rescues:

Rescue 90210: A mother duck and ducklings were successfully relocated from an enclosed yard to the wilds of the Los Angeles river. Read the story and see our LA Team in action, HERE.

Successful WILD-FOSTERING of an owlet: One week after falling from an unsuitable 'owl box' in Half Moon Bay, a nestling barn owl was paired with another, slightly younger owlet that had escaped the clutches of a raven. Read the incredible story, HERE.

Stinky Business: One of our newest rescue volunteers, Diane, was introduced to the sometime-stinky business of wildlife rescue when she freed a poor skunk that had been trapped inadvertently. Great pictures. Read the short piece on our blog, HERE.

Super Heroic Deed: Patrick - wildlife rehabber at Peninsula Humane Society by day - super-human WildRescue volunteer on his off-hours, went to great lengths (and height) to re-nest a pair of barn owls. Read the full story, HERE.
Hope you enjoy these stories. Thanks again for supporting WildRescue!

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15th

Some good news - the pelican that was rescued from the waters off Santa Cruz is doing really well, especially considering she could not even hold her head up when she was brought to shore. This is an example of a bird that would have probably been euthanized at a shelter due to its unresponsiveness. Read the full story and see video of the heroic rescue by clicking HERE.

Also, the story of the little girl who saved the finch finally made the papers - the Daily News. Read all about it HERE. We will be honoring Jessica with a very special award at our annual event - The Year In Rescues (November/December).

The many calls we received this week once again highlighted the dire need for community transport teams - transporters who can help get injured wild animals to various care facilities throughout Los Angeles and the Bay Area... It's a really serious problem, one that costs animals their lives. If you're not already signed up to be on-call to help transport, and you'd like to be, please email us.

8th

On this Mother's Day we'd like to remind everyone about babies - wild babies and their moms, and their struggle to survive in 'our' world.

It's nearing the peak of 'baby season'. This is a treacherous time for wild animals raising young in close proximity to humans for this is also the time of year when people choose to trim trees and shrubs, plow fields, and mow tall grasses - destroying nests and hiding places.

Spring and summer is also the time for increased complaints about wildlife - a mother raccoon, skunk, or fox, denning under a home; a female opossum caught crossing a lawn at daybreak - her marsupial pocket stretched to its extreme; a mallard hen with her thirteen fuzzy ducklings enjoying a private swimming pool; a red-shouldered hawk protecting her downy chicks, dive-bombing at passersby. We receive hundreds of calls from people seeking relief from these wild mothers - from what is perceived as either a tremendous threat or a great annoyance. We do our best to resolve a person's immediate concerns, but what is most needed, especially this time of year, is greater tolerance and understanding for mothers or all species.

Not all calls are from people complaining about wildlife (thankfully) - we receive numerous requests for help, from people who have found a baby wild animal.

This time of year, wildlife hospitals are inundated with baby animals - many that are perfectly healthy, inadvertently orphaned by those thinking they are doing the right thing by picking them up. It's certainly right to pick up a helpless baby that's in a precarious situation - on a sidewalk or alongside a busy roadway. Often, though, all they need is to be re-situated a few yards away, under bush or on a low branch. Mom is probably close by.

When finders deliver healthy babies to shelters or rehabilitation facilities, the chance to reunite them with their parents may be lost. Too often, the finder's contact information goes undocumented or is lost during transfer, and unless a rehabilitation program has the resources to send out a team to attempt a reunion, they may be left to raise them in a captive setting, without wild parents to teach them necessary skills.

Wild animals stand the greatest chance of surviving as adults if they are raised by wild parents. From wild parents they learn where to forage, how to hunt, what to eat, birds learn their song, they learn social etiquette, they are shown what to fear, where to hide and seek shelter. These are all things essential to their survival. Things that even the greatest rehabilitator in the world cannot teach them.

To do right by wild babies, every effort must be made to keep them in the wild. Thankfully, there is a growing trend to reunite, re-nest, and wild-foster whenever possible.

Please see our latest blog entry for a recent story about re-nesting a clutch of robins - a collaborative effort between two wildlife rescue programs.

If you happen across a wild baby that you think might be orphaned - please give us a call and we will help you in determining what to do for it.

1st

The past week was filled with the same mix of calls regarding wildlife - calls from people who wanted to help the animal they'd encountered, and calls from people who could not have cared less if the animal in their yard was killed... they just wanted it gone, out of their life, as if it were rubbish. This next story, though, was the clincher.

As it goes, it was Wednesday morning at Patrick Henry Middle School in Granada Hills, CA. A little girl, maybe 11 years old, watched as a gang of boys, a couple years older than she, pulled down a nest of house finches and began stomping on them, crushing and killing them, swatting at the parents who were desperately trying to save their babies. One of the nestlings managed to hop to the side where this brave little girl was able to race in and rescue it. She ran to the school's office for help. The baby bird was transferred to one of our colleagues, Valley Wildlife Care (an exceptional rehabilitation program in the West Valley). The nestling finch is in stable condition though it suffered substantial injuries in the attack.

Reading about this on their Facebook page, I contacted Brenda, Founder and Executive Director of VWC to see what, if anything, could be done about this latest incident of animal cruelty by minors. With her blessing, WildRescue issued a press release and contacted authorities.

It turns out that the Federal agency, US Fish & Wildlife Service, that normally investigates crimes involving native wild bird is unable to do so because minors are involved (Who knew?). That's okay - because apparently animal cruelty penalties are much more severe.

At this point in time, the Los Angeles Animal Services Animal Cruelty Task Force is taking the lead on investigating the heinous crime. We are supporting ACTF in any way we can, hoping the boys are swiftly and severely punished and that their parents are, too, held accountable.

We are also planning to honor the little girl for her valiant efforts and to counter the inhumanity she experienced. She witnessed murder - and, she took action. She put herself on the line to save a tiny life - something few adults would do. This must but embraced. We, along with Valley Wildlife Care, will be presenting her with an award in recognition of her compassion and bravery. If you have any thoughts, ideas, or want to be involved, let me know.

So, all of this has lead me to, once again, question, why. Why are we seeing an increase in the frequency and intensity of acts of animal cruelty by minors? Why does it seem like more and more people view wildlife and nature as something of an annoyance that should simply be disposed of? Perhaps it is something called Nature Deficit. I'll end this solemn and sobering Wild Byte with a recommendation for a book, Last Child in the Woods, which explores the phenomenon. I just ordered myself a copy.

Thank you, once again, for supporting WildRescue!