All things golden

U.S.F.&W. in King Salmon sent us via Penn Air a golden eagle on Monday. I picked him up late and bedded him down at TLC for the evening. He didn't look the best, but had no obvious injuries and it didn't seem immediate life threatening. I called Dr. Palmatier, told him what I had found and told him what I was doing. He agreed and said Cindy would examine him first thing in the morning.

Nothing was found to be physically wrong with him. Dr. Riddle drew blood and the test showed a very low white cell count. They did a transfusion from "Hook" the bald eagle. Cindy took him to Pet Stop and took an x-ray. Nothing was found broken and no foreign objects. That tells us it had ingested something it shouldn't have.

In his condition he doesn't want to eat. So we have to help him out so he can get his strength back. Today Cindy and Erika tube fed him. None of this is a guarantee that he'll pull out of this and survive. But we'll leave no stone unturned trying to make sure he does.

Spring at the flight center

The temperatures are staying above freezing at night and the high 40's during the day. That means the snow and ice is melting off and creating a nice sloppy mess that we can't do much about for the next few weeks. Next month we will have a massive clean up to include pressure washing the walls, repairs, yard care, etc., but for now it's grin and bare.

Britt is the Friday volunteer. She feeds waters and exercises the birds during her extended lunch hour. Right now there's 5 of us who volunteer there. 4 who go out regularly and me, a floater.

Oops

A slight mishap at the Palmer Airport brings this Rough-Legged Hawk to visit us for a little while. I won't get into the embarrassing situation, but in the long run all will turn out well in the end.

This RLH might not think so right now. It has its right wing in a wing wrap until it heals. It also has a tail guard on to protect its tail from damage while in rehab. Its tail is very important for its maneuvering during hunting. Think of it like a rudder on a plane. Any how all this stuff makes for a clumsy RLH. Patience is a virtue.

Just visiting

With the possible irruption of Mount Redoubt we have taken in a few visitors. Jack and Notch are both part of Elmendorf AFB memorials. They are non-releasable birds due to different injuries. They normally can be viewed everyday where they have a nice large mew, but it has large open walls on 2 sides not allowing protection from ash. Also, Jack stays mostly on the ground and they don't want him stirring up the ash and inhaling it.

They've been at the Bird TLC flight center on Camp Carroll. At first they were kept inside, but with their stay being longer than expected they were moved outside. Here they have a cell to themselves that's 25' wide by 20' tall by 75' long. They have protection from the weather to include ash if we get any. The caretakers from Elmendorf have access whenever they want, but to give them a break the TLC crew at the flight center are feeding them when they take care of the other eagles that are there.

We hope they are enjoying their stay!

Photo's by Britt Coon / Bird TLC

The Great Alaskan Sportman Show

This weekend is the longest weekend of the year for Bird TLC. We get to show our birds on Friday, Saturday and Sunday during the Great Alaskan Sportsman Show We are seen by hundreds of people of all sizes. For a lot of them it's the first time seeing some of the species of birds we have in our education program. It's also a perfect opertunity for us to spread the word about what we do.

A new Eagle Scout

Lisa and Petra surprised Devin Johnson (center) at his Eagle Scout induction ceremony yesterday. Then Mt. Redoubt surprised them by spreading a little ash. It's my understanding that Devin is a third generation Eagle Scout.

Eagle Scouts do a lot for Bird TLC. They have built 75% of our outdoor mews. They help with clean ups and all types of projects around TLC.

Congratulations Devin!

If you missed "For the Birds"

A heck of a time was had by all and a lot of money was raised "For the Birds". There were a heck of a lot of good deals made also. There were over 125 silent and live auction items ranging from auto repair to trips to art and jewelry. There were fishing trips and train trips or you could fly any where's that ERA Aviation flies. There was something for everyone.

We also had our education birds doing presentations before the show started. Cindy brought Phoenix the osprey out for his first presentation and he looked like a pro. We had raptors and songbirds showing off who they were and what the auction was about.

Thank you to all of the donors, supporters and thank you to all of the generous people who took something special home. We know times are tough now and every penny has to count.

Also, thanks to all of the volunteers who put the event together and helped during the auction. As always, it can't be done without you!

Get ready, here it comes

The annual "For the Birds" live and silent auction to help raise funds for Bird TLC will be held at the Captain Cook Hotel in the Discovery Ball Room this Saturday. The entertainment will be provided by Mr. Whitekeys of the "Fly by Night" fame. He'll also be the auctioneer.

There are over 100 live and silent items available to bid on. A buffet dinner will be provided by the Captain Cook Hotel. There will be a no host bar.

Tickets are available at http://www.birdtlc.net/ or at the Bird TLC office. I hope to see you there.

Another new presenter

Erin Turner signed off on Gandolph the Great Gray Owl on Saturday. Both of them seemed like the perfect fit for one another. Erin was very knowledgeable about GGO's and Gandolph was comfortable on her fist.

Erin is a Bird TLC clinic volunteer for a few years now. Gandolph has been in the education program for about 5 years now. You might have noticed her in the post on 3/7 being presented by Kristen at Terra Bella's.

Bird TLC prefers that every education bird have two presenters. We get a large amount of presentation request and the more people trained to do them, the easier it is on everyone. It also helps in the training of the bird. If a bird is use to a couple different handlers, it will easily adapt if one handler is no longer available for whatever reason.

Welcome aboard Erin and best of luck with Gandolph.

BE 09-05, a Dutch boy

BE 09-05 came in from Dutch Harbor a week ago. We have been getting so many toxin eagles in the last year, we kind of guessed that he was one. He had the symptoms, stinky green mewts, no energy, won't eat and very easy to handle. If we get them in time, they start feeling better after about 3 days at TLC. This guy wasn't getting any better.

Cindy decided to do a full work up this weekend. Test results, avian trichomonas. Trichomonas gallinae, the parasite causes avian trichomoniasis. When present, it is usually found in the upper digestive tract of many species of doves and gallinaceous birds. Some strains may also produce liver and lung lesions. The parasite is transferred to young from the mother during feeding. Transmission between birds may also occur from contaminated feed and water. Infection by this trichomonad can be fatal. The presence of this organism in doves is a common source of infection of falcons and hawks feeding on them. We don't know how this guy got this.


Treatment has started and until he decides to eat on his own, he gets a little help. DeAnn's been a volunteer a long time and was there to buy food for Bird TLC's Education Raven she caretakes. She got drafted to help out and that's not unusual. As you can see, it takes three people to tube feed an eagle safely.

We'll keep you updated on how he's doing.

Hoo are you looking at?

Wild Moments: Adventures with Animals

Terra Bella Bakery - Cafe

&

Bird TLC

present

Michael Engelhard

Wild Moments: Adventures with Animals

Saturday, March 7, 2009 4 - 6pm

Terra Bella Bakery Cafe will be hosting Bird TLC and Mchael Engelhard as they promote the anthology Wild Moments: Adventures with Animals from the North. The book features a story by JoAnn Mapson about Bird TLC's own Gandalf, the Great Gray Owl

GHO Update

The great horned owl I picked up at Pet ER went under the knife last Thursday to have an external fixitor attached to it's wing to help it heal properly. Dr. Palmatier had plenty of spectators as he performed the operation that he now has performed many times. He makes it look so easy, I almost feel I could do them myself. For the birds, I do think I'll let Dr. Todd do them.

I checked in on him yesterday and he was back to being the big bad GHO. He hissed and clacked and puffed his feathers out. I think he's feeling better.

We find out next week if it healed liked we wanted it to. I'll keep you updated.

A trip to PET ER

Bird TLC interacts with lots of veterinarians and clinics. One that I get to visit often is Pet Emergency Treatment. Pet ER is one of the few 24 hour, 365 days a year facilities that's there for your pet when you need them the most. It's their intention to specialize predominantly in the emergency treatment of sick and injured animals.

Pet ER also has a migratory bird permit which allows them to temporarily treat migratory birds; which includes eagles, owls, and other wild birds. Pet ER takes the birds in and stabilizes them. Then they call Bird TLC to take over. If it's at night or on a weekend or holiday, that call usually comes to me.

This past Saturday they did call. They had a Great Horned Owl (GHO) that was found not flying. I grabbed a large kennel and headed over, but this time I was going there alone. When I got there they were busy, as you would expect an emergency clinic to be. I headed to the back like I owned the place, because I've been there many times before. I went in the room where they keep the birds and opened the door to the GHO's kennel. It looked at me but made no defensive sounds. Dr. Doty was there and I told her. She said if I could wait a few minutes we could examine it there. I welcomed the offer.

During the exam Dr. Doty noticed that the right wing had a compound fracture near the wrist (see x-ray). The best we could do that night was to immobilize the wing. With the help of her staff we placed a wing wrap on and got it kenneled up for a trip to TLC.

Today he got an xray and will probably go into surgery on Thursday. He'll get a pin placed in his wing that will be removed after the wing heals.

Pet ER is an important partner of Bird TLC. We don't have the staff or volunteers to be open like them. They are more convienantly located for people to go to and they have at least one doctor on staff all the time. They are very professional to deal with and very friendly too! They even accept donations for Bird TLC. I appreciate what they do and I bet the birds do also.

If you would like to see Pet ER in action, watch Clinically Wild: Alaska on the Animal Planet.

New presenters

Bird TLC has a couple new presenters in it's education program. Patrica checked off on the rough-legged hawk and Beki checked off on the snowy owl. Both gals will make awesome representatives of Bird TLC

One of many things that TLC never has enough of is presenters. You just don't become one. There's a process that sometimes can be a little demanding, but it's necessary for the bird to be presented properly, handled properly and the presenter must know what to do if something goes wrong.

Beki has now been out on her 2 presentations that she must be observed by a veteran presenter. She's now good to go out on presentations on her own. I was fortunate to be her mentor with "Ghost" the snowy owl. She's excited about being a presenter with him ans she was a easily trained student.

Patrica still needs to do her 2 observed presentations but I'm sure she'll do fine on them. Ellen was her mentor with "Jasper" the rough-legged hawk.

I'm excited to see these ladies on board and look forward to seeing their presentations out in the field.

Some do like to visit

  we aren't set up to do tours at our clinic. The USF&W regulations says we must seperate the birds under rehab and the education birds from viewing if we give tours. Our layout just doesn't make it that easy.
 However, there are a few that are exempt. They don't even check in, they just go visit. we're not sure if they are visiting a particular bird or looking for the left over meal. We won't give them anything because we don't want them to become dependent on us feeding them, but we can't do anything if a patient shares like the Ravens do.
 About 9 years ago I spent some time in a hospital and sure liked it when I got visitors. I wonder if it's the same if you wear feathers.
 

Please bear with my post. Blogger is acting up again. No spell check, no viewing the post before posting it live, etc.

Cindy & electrocution eagle on Channel 2 News

Cindy went to the flight center last week with the crew from KTUU Channel 2 News to visit with the Bald Eagle from Kodiak that was electrocuted on a telephone pole. Check out the story here at http://www.ktuu.com/global/story.asp?s=9764827

Mt. Redoubt adviseory

Good Morning,

Just a quick update for everyone, Mt. Redoubt is rumbling again, as I’m sure you have heard. So now seemed like a good time to go over the best way to deal with volcanic ash & birds.

Clinic:

If we have the space, we will bring the outdoor birds inside until the ashfall has subsided. This is especially true of flighted or semi-flighted birds that might suck the ash farther into their airways.

Flight pens:

Stop exercising the birds immediately, just feed & water, causing as little reason for the birds to move/fly as possible.

Caretakers:

If you caretake a smaller BTLC bird it would be ideal to move them to an indoor location if possible. If this isn’t possible, or if you caretake a larger bird, assure the top of your mew is covered and let the bird sit quietly as much as possible.

The goal for all of our birds is to have them breathe as little of the ash into their systems as possible. Wild birds usually hunker down when adverse conditions occur, and we want to allow our rehab & education birds the best option to do the same.

If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know and we will try and get them answered.

Thanks!

Cindy

Cindy Palmatier
Director of Avian Care

Owl Native To Arctic Spotted In Tennesse

Snowy Owl Seen Around Spring Hill In December

By Reported by Alan Frio
WSMV-TV
updated 10:17 a.m. HT, Wed., Jan. 21, 2009


SPRING HILL, Tenn. - The thousands of acres that surround the General Motors plant in Spring Hill have become home to a bird not native to Tennessee.

A snowy owl, which is more commonly found in Canada and polar regions, was first spotted in the area in December.

Bird lovers from other states have flocked to the area with their telephoto lenses in hopes of capturing a peek at the rare site.

Local wildlife experts said the last citing of a snowy owl in Tennessee was about 22 years ago.

"The last one that I know about was seen in Dover, Tenn., (around) 1987, so its super rare," said Shari Meghreblian, the on-site environmentalist for the 2,400 acres surrounding the GM plant.

"These are arctic birds, and they do fly south to find food, and, you know, we're not really sure why he came this far south," said Meghreblian. "It's quite a lifetime find really, so we've had folks from the middle Tennessee area, and even so far away as Georgia and Alabama."

As word spreads of the bird's presence in middle Tennesee, people are scrambling for one fleeting look at something they may never see again in their lifetime.

"Probably when it starts to turn warm, he'll fly north again. So we don't know that we'll see him again," said Meghreblian.

GM officials said the owl's prescence has spread fast, causing a back-up Tuesday on Highway 31.

Bird TLC looses a good friend in Homer

Jean Keene aka The Eagle Lady has passed away due to complications from cancer. She was a friend to most people who meet her. I was one of the fortunate who did. Todd and Linda Boren and myself had coffee with her when we went to Homer to release an eagle back in November 2007. We joined her at her booth at the Lands End and we talked eagles. She was one of a kind.

Here's the story in the Homer News.

Goodbye Jean. Many eagles and many of your friends will miss you.

Flight Center cont....

It's been cold. Last Wednesday it was -32f at the Flight Center. Doesn't matter, the birds still need to be feed. When it's cold like that, they have to be ready to eat. The salmon freezes up fast.

The best time is when all is said and done and they quiet down to eat. All you hear is the tearing of salmon. That makes it all worth while!

Welcome to the Flight Center cont.......

We have a pretty steady crew out at the Flight Center. Seldom are there openings, but every once in a while we need a back up or fill in here and there. So is the case for the Wednesday slot right now. Long time TLC volunteer Britt is going to fill that slot for a while.

We went out this past Wednesday for feeding and training. It was -12°f. If you're going to get a taste of working at the Flight Center, that's the kind of day that will tell you if you want to work there or not. She's a trooper and she wants to stick with us, so next Wednesday she does it on her own.

Britt's also a pretty good photographer. You've seen her pictures posted her before. Well, this last picture she took of me having a disagreement with an immature bald eagle that came to us after being electrocuted on a telephone pole. Neither one of us won the argument but I walked away.

EOY

If no other calls come from U.S.F.&W. or ERA Aviation today, BE 08-82 will be the last eagle we'll take in for 2008. He came from Cordova with a fracture at his left wrist that had already healed, but improperly. It's non-repairable, so he's a non-releasable bird. We'll find a home for him in 2009. He's already at the Flight Center getting plenty of exercise.

He'll make the 82nd eagle that Bird TLC has taken into its care in 2008. We have also taken in over 450 other types of wildbirds. I'll get you an exact count after the 1st.

As you can imagine this doesn't come by inexpensively. Today's economy has started to take it's effect on all non-profits, not just us. No matter what the economy does, we'll still be here doing what we do with what we have to do it with.

Those of you that read this blog know that I don't hound you for donations but just a couple times a year. Well, this is one of them. For those of you that need a tax break, we are a 501(c)3. For those of you from outside the US, sorry. But we still need your help.

500 plus birds takes its toll on the facility, equipment and supplies. Everything we have is well taken care of, but it still wears out. Updated equipment to us is the hand me down equipment that someone replaced to update theirs. We are grateful for it, but it still has high mileage by the time we get it.

So, if you have it in your heart to donate to a non-profit, I hope you pick TLC. There are thousands that need your help. If you don't pick TLC, please pick one. Being a salesman in my real life I have to add a perk for you. If you donate over $100 on PayPal by January 5, 2009 I will personally send a thank you letter. In that letter will include 2 Bird TLC items that aren't readily available to everyone. You have to donate to get them and you won't know what they are until you do.

Here's hoping everyone has a safe and Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas

Here's wishing all of our friends out there a very safe and Merry Christmas!

Goodbye Barbara Doak

I received sad news this morning. Barbara passed away last night. We will all miss this wonderful lady who did so much for Bird TLC and each of us individually. I know she was a very special part of my life.

The family has not made any plans for a memorial at this time, but I will keep you posted as I learn more.

Thanks to everyone for the support and kindness we have seen as we’ve all worked through this difficult time.

Cindy

Cindy Palmatier
Director
Bird Treatment & Learning Center
(907) 562-4852

That was the official notice. Below is mine.

Barbara (in blue vest) with long time friend Glenda at this past years Bye-Bye Birdie. She was a great volunteer with Bird TLC, a great friend and a heck of a gal! She'll be dearly missed by all who had the privilege to meet her.

Dave