Thanks for your time with us Rollie

I got a call today from Britt while she was feeding at the flight center. Rollie was breathing heavy and it was kind of raspie. My heart dropped and made plans to get him after work and take him to the clinic. Todd and Cindy are on vacation this week, but they were going to come in for him.

After work we drove out to the flight center not expecting the best. I walked up to Rollie in the cell and as he ran he would stop and try to catch his breath. We caught him and placed him in a kennel to transport to the clinic. He was breathing heavy even when he had rested in the kennel for a bit. Things were not looking good at all.

Rollie had come to Bird TLC on 6/22/2007 and was checked in by Mary Bethe, Ruth and myself. He had been hit by a car and had been scuffed up pretty good. There was some head trauma too. He spent some quality time at the clinic and was later transferred to the flight center.


At the flight center we noticed that he tried to fly and would trip and roll over. We couldn't figure what was going on. He also took high careful steps. Ruth nick named him Rollie and it stuck. Cindy came out to the flight center for a visit and to examine Rollie. She found his left wing would come out of joint sometimes. So sometimes he would trip on it and roll and other times he would fly. Nothing could be done so this made him a non-releasable bird.

He had that beautiful mature bald eagle head. This summer being as gorgeous as it was, the sun would shine on him and he looked picture perfect. He also stayed close to Captain Hook, another bird out at the flight center. They just seemed to be buds.

Birds that are non-releasable are placed on what I call Eagle Bay. It's a website that organizations with the right permits and willing to go through the proper procedures can acquire these birds for educational purposes. Even though they are non-releaseable, they are a valuable education tool. It's been hard to place birds this year, we think because of the economy. It's quite a commitment to caretake for one of these birds. He also had some issues that some might not want to deal with. So we took care of him and he shared his eagleness with us.

Dr. Palmatier wanted to find out what had caused her situation. It wasn't asper as we suspected. She was having heart failure. We found out she was female and not a he and she was a much older bird than what we had thought. She had lived a long life. The last of it she was caretaked by thosed who cared for her.

We'll miss you Rollie. Birds like you remind us of why we at TLC do what we do.

Photo Credit: Britt Coon / Bird TLC

Bye Bye to Bye Bye Birdie 2009

Bye Bye Birdie 2003 is for the history books now. We had awesome weather, a great turn out and 2 awesome releases. We had a lot of help from our partners, the Alaska Zoo and Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

We had some financial help from ConocoPhillips,
U.S. Fish & Wildlife and Fred Meyers. It's been a tough year and their support is definately appreciated.

The first release was a Great Horned Owl that my friend Britt and I rescued at Bird Creek last weekend. It was tangled up in fishing line. We recovered it and got it back to TLC where we got the rest of the fishing line off of it. Fortunately the damage was minimal and it was ready to go back to the wild in a short time. He didn't want to leave his kennel at first, but when he did he didn't look back.

The next release was a mature Bald Eagle that came to TLC last year unstable on its feet. It wasn't unstable yesterday. He was ready to go. He took off for Potter Marsh like there was no tomorrow.

Thanks to Britt for these photo's. I had to work most of the day and then presented Gus at the end of the event. Check out more at her website here and John Gomes website here.

Bye Bye Birdie

Bird TLC Presents: Bye Bye Birdie 2009
Who’s Overhead?

If you are dying to see all of Bird TLC’s live education birds in one place at one time, this is your chance.
If you have a really good bird call, come down and try your luck in the bird calling contest.
If you have been wondering when you will get to see Bird TLC release an eagle back into the wild, this is it.

The 5th annual Bye Bye Birdie event will be held at the Bird TLC property (15500 Old Seward Highway) on August 22nd, 2009 from 12-4pm. This event celebrates the end of migratory bird season, raises awareness about the wild birds in our community and the good work of Bird TLC. The afternoon will be filled with kid’s activities, live education birds on display, as well as multi bird formal education programs, a bird calling contest and will end with a rehabilitated eagle release. First place winner of the bird call contest receives the opportunity to release the eagle. This event is free and open to the public and will take place rain or shine. Come on out and learn about our local avian diversity, have a gourmet hotdog provided by Tia’s Gourmet Alaska Sausages and Hot Dogs, sip a free caffeinated beverage from Kaladi Bros., all while enjoying the view of Potter Marsh and Turnagain Arm.

Thank you to our generous event sponsors; US Fish and Wildlife Service, Fred Meyer, and Conoco Phillips. Partners that help to make this event possible are the AK Department of Fish and Game and The Alaska Zoo.

For more info, go to www.birdtlc.net or cal Bird TLC at 562-4852.

It's been a bizzy week

Our Rough-Legged Hawk got released in Girdwood. He took off like a bullet as expected. He was a joy to have visit, but he'll be more happy in the wild.



I checked off on Gus the Great Horned Owl on Wednesday. He been an education bird with Bird TLC since 1991. Our first outing is this weekend at Bye Bye Birdie on Saturday.

Todd Palmatier checked off on Maverick the Peregrine Falcon on Thursday. Todd is our lead DVM and Maverick just became an education bird this year.





We released BE 08-78 on Saturday. He put on a heck of a show for his release. He had been with us since November 2008. He's off to a good restart in the wild.

New resident at the flight center

Our junior sandhill crane moved to the flight center on Wednesday. Here he'll be able to get some flight time and there's less of a chance of him getting imprinted.

Photo credit: Britt Coon / Bird TLC

Common Loon release at Sand Lake

Thanks to Larry and Mary Marshburn for hosting our Common Loon release at their home on Sand Lake. We had a fantastic crowd and a very mellow release.

I'm use to raptor releases to where you let them go and they are gone like a bullet. This guy did a nice casual wade and paddle, look back, wade and paddle.

A good time was had by all.


Photo Credit: William Bloomhuff

Member of the 'Eagle nation' flies free after treatment

HIGHER CALLING: Ceremony honors bird's special lore.

By RENA DELBRIDGE
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner via The Associated Press

Published: August 2nd, 2009 08:44 PM
Last Modified: August 2nd, 2009 08:44 PM

FAIRBANKS -- Kim Green of Two Rivers stood beneath the hot Fairbanks sun in a full-length, fringed hide dress, her eyes drawn to the cloudless blue sky.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, tracking a young eagle to his perch in a tall spruce overlooking the Chena River.

"We can release all this wonderful energy, these prayers and hopes," she said. "An injured animal is going to carry our prayers, our spirituality."

An Abenaki by heritage, Green was among several hundred people captivated by the recent release of a rehabilitated eagle at the Midnight Sun Intertribal Powwow on the Carlson Center lawn.

Named Bolt, the 2- or 3-year-old eagle was found in February 2008 on the ground near Kodiak. Stunned by a power line, the eagle's chest and back bore open wounds, and parts of his spine were showing, said Lisa Pajot of the Bird Treatment and Learning Center in Anchorage.

Rescuers flew the bird to the center, where staff treated his wounds with antibiotic ointment for several months, fed him plenty and allowed time for healing. Bolt was moved to the center's flight training facility at Fort Richardson after several months of convalescence. There, he made short forays into the air, building wing strength for an eventual release back to the wild.

"An electrocution is usually really hard to recover from, but this particular bird, he's great," Pajot said. "He's definitely feisty; he's ready to go."

Upon release, some birds dart to a high point and pause, getting their bearings and a read on the lay of the land.

"Others keep flying, like they want to get as far away from humans as possible," she said.

Bolt did both.

The eagle darted to a higher perch, atop a spruce, spreading his broad, powerful wings to showcase a splash of color, and perhaps to test his flight muscles.

A frenzied flurry of gulls circled the treetop, squawking at the newcomer. In an elegant push, the eagle took off as the crowd let out a collective cheer, watching the bird bat his brown wings, glide, bat, and glide, dipping along the Chena with two gulls at his tail.

Powwow chairman Benno Cleveland, who is half Eskimo and half German, said eagles are a rich part of Alaska Native culture.

"We believe the eagle is a messenger from the Creator to the people, and from the people back to the Creator," Cleveland explained.

The eagle is not earth-bound, and soars higher than any other, high enough to spread those messages, according to Native lore. Eagle feathers often are used in prayer and healing, while wings may be used to smudge incense for cleansing and other ceremonies.

"In Fairbanks, we didn't have too many eagles flying around here for a long time," he said. "But lately, we're seeing a lot more, and young ones as well."

Four veterans carried the eagle's rectangular box to the release site, where four Athabascan elders opened the doors to freedom.

"Have good thoughts within your heart and in your mind," Cleveland urged spectators prior to the release. Give thanks to the Creator for allowing "one of our brothers of the Eagle Nation to be free."

Bolt shot straight from the box, starting into a long, graceful sweep up into the branches of spruce trees, flushing out smaller birds.

Four women in traditional regalia stepped out in a wide circle to a drum beat, bearing a ceremonial blanket for donations to the bird center. More than $300 was collected from onlookers torn between the dancing display and a search for the eagle in treetops across the river.

The center takes in about 50 eagles and 800 other birds per year, Pajot said. People are the largest threats to eagles.

"Eagles don't have natural predators," she explained.

The birds that find their way to the Anchorage center often have been hit by a vehicle, absorbed toxins at landfills, or ingested fishing line and lures.

Say adios to BE 08-76

Gary Bullock won the bid for this eagle release at our last auction. He gave it to a friends son, Brendan, for his birthday. He couldn't have asked for a more beautiful birthday or a neater birthday present. This present flew away, but that's OK. It was supposed to.

BE 08-76 came to us from the Kodiak NWR in October 2008 with a right eye injury. Unfortunately he lost the eye. He was still a strong bird, so after a few weeks he was sent to the flight center.

He flew beautifully, but he needed some work with his navigation and landings. Only having one eye made life as he was use to a little different now.

All that got better out at the flight center. He soon became one of the favorites of the volunteers. This late spring he was determined releasable and was waiting his turn to be set free.

Brandon's birthday was the day. He took out of the box without looking back. He's on his own now. He has to hunt and defend for himself. No fresh salmon will be brought to him, he has to get his own dinner now.

Thanks go out to Niki for helping me with getting Ol' One Eye from the flight center and getting set up.

Photo Credit: Britt Coon / Bird TLC

Minus the jewelry

Last month, BE 09-15 came to us wearing some fishing tackle in his tongue and wing from the Kenai NWR. He wasn't a happy fisherman and was also getting pretty skinny. He got lots of fresh salmon to get his weight back up along with some antibiotics.

Sunday I took him out to the flight center. Here he'll get his flight strength back. He'll get fed plenty of salmon, but he'll have to compete with 3 other eagles for it. He'll also get to socialize some too. Once he has proven himself, he'll be released. That will probably happen before this winter. Here's hoping he's learned his lesson.

He'll be stay with 3 other eagles that are waiting for release this summer / fall also. All are in the process of proving themselves, getting stronger and waiting for the right time.

While I was at the flight center, I also fed and watered the residents. The whole time I had the feeling I was being watched. We have a mature bald that comes to visit, generally around feeding time. He'll land on the metal roof with a bang and let out a call. We don't know if he's a previous resident or not, but he sure eyes the salmon set out for the resident eagles.

We had a Common Loon sent to us from the bush that was hit by a car. No breaks, but some good bruising. I think it won't be long before it's released.

The clinic has been busy this summer.

The price of mice and rats is the same

But the price of shipping has gone up and it has gone up a lot. Next year Northwest Air Cargo won't be servicing Anchorage, so our supplier will have to find another shipper from Minnesota to Anchorage. I'm sure that shipping will go up even more. So the cost of feeding raptors will go up to.

Electricity has gone up, gas has gone up and just about everything else has also. The amount of donations have gone down though and the amount being donated is less also. The economy effects us all, but there are some that can't help it.

One of out motto's is "Because wild birds don't have medical insurance". We take them all. We try until they are ready to leave or there's no chance, but we try. And it doesn't come cheep.

We're always trying to improve the quality of care they receive also. Repairing mews, buying medicine and supplies that we can't get donated. It goes on and on.

Want to help out? There are many ways. You can donate online or send a check. Click here for that.

A new program we have is "Sponsor a Bird". You can sponsor a bird in our rehabilitation clinic. From eagles to pine siskins, we have a program for them. Check out our sponsor page by clicking here. You have the option of donating once or monthly for as little as $25 to $1200 a year.

In return you get access to a subscription to our quarterly newsletter Flight Feather, access to a special species page telling you about the species your sponsoring, access to Rehab Round up ( a letter from Cindy talking about the birds in the clinic), access to a special kids page, a photo of a bird in rehab for the level you picked, and the undying gratitude from our feather friends who need a helping hand.

So if you can, check out the links and make a donation today. If you can't make a donation, please share this post with your friends, maybe they can. Every dollar makes a difference. Right now we have a full clinic and your donation can go right to work. We are a 501(c)3, so it can help on the taxes.

Here's those links again,

One time donation

Sponsor a Bird

Soggy Snowy

The temps have been in the low 80's for the past few days. That might not sound like hot to most of you, but to us it's down right hot. Ghost has been taking it easy (chillin') and staying mainly in the shade of his mew. Before I went into Bird TLC today, I put the nozzle on the hose to mist and gave him a mist down. I don't think he was too happy about it, but it had to feel good.

Lots of different birds lately

This plover is as small as a cotton ball. Since he likes insects we want to make sure he gets back where he belongs. This isn't a species that we get many of at TLC. No one could remember if and when we had last had one in the clinic. He's been a little bit of a challenge to keep eating, but so far is doing well.

This young sand hill crane came to us from the Alaska Sealife Center in Seward. It had been attacked by something and sewn back together by their DVM. Since it's a land bird, they sent it up to us. It's coming along fine so far. It's drawing a lot of attention from the volunteers.

Baby bird season has kept us busy for sure this year, but not just baby birds. Adult birds are effected by things this time of year also.

This tundra swan was sent to us by ConocoPhillips from Kuparuk oil field. It's nest was attacked by a fox and she got pretty beat up defending it. Unfortunately when help arrived, the nest was empty. She was sent to us with careful coordination between them and their contract flight from Prudhoe Bay and Anchorage. Also, thanks to Daryl Miller for helping to pick this one up.

We're up to #19 eagle of the year. Bird TLC has been a busy place so far this summer.

Out of town, moms and signs

Ghost and I went to the Kenai River Festival last week. Thanks to Ken and Judy Marlow for putting us up. Ghost got to spend his first night perched out at the foot of my bed. I didn't feel that he needed to stay in his kennel all night. He did pretty good for his first time. The festival was a blast.

This is baby bird time at TLC. We get loads of baby ducks, magpies, chickadee's, etc. This year we got a mom and its baby. Mom was hit by a car. Someone picked her up and what babies she could and brought them in. Mom has a wing injury. Only one of the babies survived. Tell me that picture doesn't make you say AAWWWW!!!!

We're getting improvements to our property all the time now. People who see it will be able to tell that it belongs to Bird TLC. We have our own sign.

Bad Fishing and other birds

Young guys seem to get in the most trouble, no matter what species they might be. Because of the population of eagles in Alaska, we get to see quite a few.

This guy was sent to us by Liz of U.S.F.& W. in the Kenai NWR. He some how got tangled in tossed fishing gear. What we figure is that he got this treble hook caught under his wing. He reached down with his beak to pull it off. In doing so he got the hook right through his tongue. He had to be down for a few days.

He's not feeling good now, but he has to be feeling a lot better than before. He gets to have Bird TLC hospitality until he gets back into shape.

The raven was sent to us from Nome. U.S.F. & W. shipped this raven down who wasn't flying on its own. He has some major leg and foot issues. Dr. Riddle has fixed him up with his version of Nike's for now. This is a young raven, probably this years bird. He's very talkative.

Meet Gus. He's an education bird that came to TLC in 1991 with a broken wing. They figure he was about 2 at the time. It was determined that he wasn't releasable. He has gone through 3 caretakers and several presenters during that time. Now it's my turn to try to present him. Gus and I are in training together with Lisa as my mentor. We'll keep you updated.

A normal day at the flight center

Britt and I went to the flight center on Friday to feed our feathered friends and to get Adolph, a bald eagle and bring him back to the clinic. He's being released on Saturday, yeah!

One of our electrocution birds that we call Gomes had a feather caught on his beak. In the photo at left he looks like he's balancing it on his beak. He can be a goof ball.

Enlarge the owl photo and look at its right eye. The spider isn't actually on his eye, but right in front of it.

The mature bald is Adolph. He has absolutely nothing wrong with him. He just likes to hold his right wing out when he's perched. He flies beautifully. We brought him back to the clinic a few months back and took x-rays, did a full exam to include blood and found no reason for him to be doing that. Since he flies well and is in good health, he gets released.

We had to do some repairs on the netting in one cell. We're taking a rough-legged hawk out next week to get some flight time and maybe start Mouse U in a couple weeks. In another cell a cable had got some slack in it and we needed to tighten that up. That place is getting old and needs some attention.

It was time to take out the trash and head out. As I got to the door I yelled for Britt to get her camera. Mom and young moose were moseying by. So the trash got to wait. One thing you don't do is get between mom and her baby.

Just another day.






Photo Credit: Britt Coon / Bird TLC

Bird TLC on KTVA 11 news

Anchorage Rehab Center Helps Injured Birds Return To The Wild
Lauren Maxwell CBS 11 News
Updated: 06/14/2009 12:31:44 PM AKDT

Did you know that Alaska is home to over half of the wild bird species that live in the entire U.S.? Or that wild birds from around the world migrate to our state every year? It's the reason that Anchorage has a premier treatment center that works to heal wild birds from all over the state.
Anchorage's Bird Treatment and Learning Center is that place. The center is known for working with raptors like eagles, hawks and owls. But it also takes in any bird that's injured, everything from exotic sea birds to tiny song birds.

Director Cindy Palmatier says bird injuries generally fall into three categories: toxins, trauma or starvation. Volunteers work to nurse all kinds of birds back to health at the clinic with the eventual goal of setting them free. But if their scars are more permanent they are trained to become education birds.

Bird T.L.C. presenters go to schools and public events across the state. They take the birds so that people can see them up close, learn about the species and the habitat it takes to support them.

"That they're beneficial and have a niche to fill and the more that we can expose people to that the better. If you can do that with live non-releasable

birds where people can make an emotional connection to a specific bird they may think twice before destroying habitat. People will respect what they understand." says Palmatier.
But while bird TLC would love to show more people the good work they do, they have a problem. The center has no place to bring the public. Bird TLC operates out of a donated warehouse in an industrial area of Anchorage. It's old and crowded and not at all the permanent home that Bird TLC is dreaming of.

That dream rests on a piece of property owned by Bird TLC over looking bird rich Potter's Marsh. It's where they are hoping to build a full fledged rehab and education center, open to the public in an area that is already a popular visitors site.

Palmatier says the eventual plan would be to link the boardwalk put up by Fish and Game at the marsh to the new Bird TLC building and have the two agencies work together on projects. Palmatier says the dream of a permanent facility is still millions of dollars away, money she knows will be tough to raise. But, she says, Bird TLC will keep working to make their vision come true.

If you'd like to learn more about Bird TLC and their programs we have posted a link to their website. You can find it under the links and information section on this page.

To contact the Newsroom, call 907-274-1111.

Click here for video.

Captain Hook is cool

Beauty is only skin deep. For some of us, Father Time hasn't been the kindest. Hook was found with a halibut hook in his mouth. Because of that he was left with a scar on the right side of his face that doesn't allow feathers to grow. His eye lid is a little out of shape and He had to have a wing tip removed due to an infection.

He's an older bird. Watching him you know he's been around. He knows how close to let you get or how close he can get to you. He's back at the flight center. One of 6 non-flighted birds awaiting placement at another facility somewhere. But he's the respected bird by the other birds. There are bigger, younger and more aggressive birds in his cell, but he's top bird.

As I've said before, he has birdality. He'll talk to you if you want to talk or not. He'll run up and get the first piece of fish during feeding time. He won't be aggressive towards other birds, but he will give them a piece of his mind.

Yesterday I went out to the flight center to feed and do some yard work. When I got there he was in the water dish taking a bath. I caught him off guard and he got out. I continued on cutting the grass, washing the eagle poo off the walls, raking and getting rid of all the stuff that winter hid from us.

My last chore was to scrub out the water dish, fill it back up and then feed them. I put the hose in the dish and went inside to get
food. I came out 5 minutes later and he was going to town taking another bath. Who could blame him, it was 79°. That's hot for us.

So today Britt and I went back out and put a wading pool in and filled it up. He didn't go near it. Probably because we were there, but we'll go back and check on him again real soon. While he was waiting for us top leave, he laid down and was using a perch to prop his head. His buddy Rollie had his back. He was watching over him.

I tell ya, this guy is cool!