2 Great horned owls released

The host with the mostest, Gus a great horned owl who is caretaked by Bird TLC volunteer Gina, hosted 2 great horned owl releases at their home yesterday. The weather cooperated some, the temperature was around 15°.

Both owls were a little hesitant to leave at first, but once they got the idea, they were gone.

It's estimated that it cost around $1000 in food and medical supplies alone to rehabilitate these two owls. Thanks to the generous donors yesterday who helped cover those expenses.

The first photo is courtesy of Britt Coon / Bird TLC

The second photo is courtesy of Eberhard Brunner

Susitna Elementary

Gina with Arc the great horned owl and myself with Ghost the snowy owl had an awesome presentation at Susitna Elementary. The students were very interested in owls and we were flooded with comments and questions.

We were asked how many bones do owls have and we were stumped. So I gave out my email address challenging the students to email me the right answer. I received 2 correct answers before I was able to drive home. I'll going back on Monday to drop off some Bird TLC goodies for the students who emailed me the right answer.

BTW, it's 65.

This photo was taken by one of the parents and posted on her blog chachAlaska. I hope she doesn't mind me borrowing it.

More bad and good.

I guess the best thing about volunteering at a wildbird rehabilitation center, is its success stories. It's awesome when you have a bird that overcomes all obstacles. The one you wonder how it survived. Hopefully you get to see it released or placed as an education bird somewheres where people will also appreciate them.

The down side is when you loose one that you don't expect to. Captain Hook came to Bird TLC from Homer where he was found with a halibut hook caught under its tongue. He had over come that but had the scars to show his battle. Unfortunately he also got an infection in one of his wrist. He had to have a partial amputation, so he obviously wasn't releasable. After he recovered he was transferred to the flight center and the search began for a permeate home.

Unfortunately Hook wasn't the most attractive of eagles. His interaction with the halibut hook left him with few feathers around his right eye and even after moulting, they never grew back. What he lacked in good looks he made up with birdality (personality). He also stole the hearts of those who took care of him. He was a proud bird and we were proud of him.

I received a call from Gary while I was in a presentation. I called him back and he told me the sad news. He found Hook had passed away when he went out for his scheduled feeding. Later that night at the clinic we examined him and found not a thing wrong. We only guess it was his age that took him. I know of several sets of eyes that weren't dry for a few days. I hope he's with his friend Rollie.

Check out these other post about Catain Hook. Another fighter, Captain Hook, Captain Hook is Cool and Low Inventory at the Flight Center.

Later that night I took Gomes to the airport. He found a home at the Detroit Zoo. He came to us earlier this year after being electrocuted on a power line. He's probably in his third year and has a long life to look forward to.

Our flight center now has no eagles in it. That's the first I can recall in a long time. It does have two great horned owls that will be released in the next few weeks. After that we will shut the flight center down for the winter.

More Owl-O-Ween

A Fundraiser for Bird TLC was held at Midnight Sun Brewery last night. Beer, birds and ... well anyways. Costume contest were held and winners won MSB gift certificates. No, the birds couldn't enter. There were rock stars, cave girls and a news crew along with many more that attended.

A good time was had by all and some much needed cash was raised. Thanks Midnight Sun!

More photo's @
http://birdtlc.smugmug.com/Events/MSB-Owl-O-Ween/IMG0632/699423963_s2PSP-Th.jpg

Boo! It's Owl-O-Ween

ConocoPhillips is a good supporter of Bird TLC and the Anchorage community. A lot of our owls and corvids went to Owl-O-Ween at the CP building on Thursday. There were many witches, super heroes, princesses, and so many caracters, it's hard to list them all.

Have a safe and Happy Halloween! Oops, Owl-O-Ween!

Low inventory at the Flight Center

We're down to one bald eagle at the flight center. Captain Hook is waiting for placement. Cindy says it's tough with him. He has a partial wing amputation and the feathers don't grow well on the right side of his face. He's not pretty. Hook has seen eagles come and go. Some were released, some were placed at other organizations, and he lost his friend Rollie.

Britt and I disagree. He has birdality and an interesting history. He's also a survivor. Any organization that accepts this bird will be getting an awesome representative of bald eagles. I wish he cold stay with Bird TLC, but our permits only allow 4 bald eagles and our Education Program is full. He's Hook!

We have 2 great horned owls that will be releasable. They're gaining their flight strength back and getting plenty of flight time. One came to Bird TLC with a broken wing and the other was pretty bruised up from being tangled in fishing line. Both are coming along well and we'll keep you updated

Kingfishers

The November issue of National Geographic Magazine highlights the beauty and awe of kingfishers. The story features photos taken by Charlie Hamilton James, who has been photographing kingfishers for over 20 years. You can read the story and see a gallery of kingfisher photographs at http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/11/kingfishers/holmes-text.

Gina checks off on Gus

Long time volunteer Gina, checked off on Gus the great Horned Owl last Wednesday. They're now a complete team now that Gus has moved to her home and she has checked off. Now she can do education programs with Gus.

Gina has a great sense of humor and ands a little different twist to a program. She likes dealing with kids. I look forward to seeing both Gina and Gus doing more programs.

A beak and pedi

The talons and beak of wild birds in captivity grow and they aren't naturally trimmed as well as in the wild. In the wild they would chew more on bones and such things more than they have the opportunity to do in captivity. Ghost the Snowy Owl's diet is mainly mice and he eats them whole. I vary his diet from time to time with rabbit, chicks, rats and pheasant. He also chews on the astro turf that I have on his perches. But his beak still grows and needs a little help being trimmed or coped.

Ghost has never needed his beak coped before. His talons get trimmed several times a year though. He maintains his beak pretty good. A few weeks ago, I asked Cindy to check out his beak while we were at a presentation. She said he was borderline needing it coped. So I made an appointment for it to be done today. It's not something you can do by yourself and I know of no one in Bird TLC who has more experience performing them or is there anyone I trust more with Ghost than Cindy.

For something that's not natural to him, having a Dremmel run around his beak, he handled himself well. The whole procedure with talon trimming and all took less than five minutes. Ghost is still molting even though it's getting below freezing at night. When he was let up and got back on fist, feathers went everywhere.

So now he has a healthy shaped beak and trimmed talons. I gave him a frozen mouse as a treat. Maybe I should have offered one to Cindy since she did all the work. Well, thanks anyway Cindy!

We released 2 today

Robin Smith & Eric McCallum opened their home and held a release party helping to raise some much needed funds for Bird TLC today. Some of those who attended were able to release two birds back to the wild.

The first release was the Great Gray Owl from Glennallen. It came out of the box and headed for the woods. Tonight she's spending the night overlooking Cook Inlet.

Bird #2 was the Northern Goshawk from Kenai. She took off like a bullet and glided over the trees for a few before finding a place to perch to check things out.

Thanks to our host and hostess for a great event. Also thanks to the attendees who are great supporters of Bird TLC. Without this kind of support, rehabilitation for raptors like these wouldn't be available in the Anchorage area.

For more pictures, click here.

Photo Credit: Britt Coon / Bird TLC

Out at the Bird TLC Flight Center video

If you haven't noticed, I post a lot about the flight center now. That's probably because I've been volunteering out there regularly now for over a year. I enjoy it out there and I love the job our volunteers do. Some of the birds process through there quickly and some take a while.

Every now and again we got some special visitors. Right now we have a Great Gray Owl and an immature Northern Goshawk. Britt asked if she could take John Gomes out to do some video this past Friday. I said, well he is a volunteer photographer for TLC. John has been getting into doing video and has posted several on You Tube for the Alaska Zoo. Well, he did a fine job on this one and here it is.



Thanks to John Gomes for taking and sharing this.

Swan from Deadhorse

Cindy and I picked up a Tundra Swan yesterday at the airport. It was sent to Bird TLC on the BP/ConocoPhillps co-op charter flight from the North Slope. It was 1 of 3 that was hit by a car. The other 2 kept on their travels, but this guy couldn't. X-rays revealed that it had a broken left wrist.

Dr. Palmatier reviewed the x-rays and today performed surgury to basicly wire the wrist together. This is its best shot. They aren't designed to be out of water and in captivity for long periods of time. All repairs are inclosed inside the skin. A few days of healing and it will start enjoying a water tank.

You can tell by its colorization that it's this years bird. If the repairs are successful, it'll be sent down to Cordova where they are known to stay out the winter.

Keep your feathers crossed!

Bizy, Bizy, Bizy

I'll bring you up to date on some things. Our Great Gray Owl out at the flight center is doing a lot better. Its flight is longer and stronger and she's eating well. I bet she'll be gone before too long.

After last weekends eagle release in Girdwood, we don't have any flighted eagles at the flight center. Cell A was empty so it got a few repairs. When that was done, a Northern Goshawk was added. It came to us from Liz in the Kenai Wildlife Refuge for failure to thrive. It's doing awesome now.

Don't be alarmed at its tail. We have a tail guard on it while in captivity. If it does any damage to those tail feathers while it's with us, chances are it would have to stay until the next molt. So tail guard it is.

Britt, Gus and I did a presentation at the Anchorage Museum of History and Art for the Anchorage Convention and Visitors Bureau. We got to meet a lot of folks from all over. We had a fun time!

I got a lot more. Will post when I can

Photo Credit: Britt Coon / Bird TLC

Another eagle release

This past Saturday was our annual volunteer appreciation. Our volunteers do so much we could never really sow how much they are appreciated. We had drawings where everyone walked away with something. The potluck was awesome. I had to work until 2 that day, so I was a smooch and didn't bring anything.

The highlight is always the eagle release. A drawing was held and 3 volunteers and a future volunteer won and got to do the release.

BE 09-15 came to us in late July wearing fishing tackle. He wasn't happy at all, but he was Saturday. He was out of the box and gone. The weather held off and we all had a great time.

Check out Britt's website for more photos.

Photo Credit: Britt Coon / Bird TLC

Raptor Walk

Click to enlarge

Return of the Great Gray Owl

On Friday, Britt returned the Great Gray Owl back to the flight center for some more flight time and evaluation. This time she did much better. She was able to fly from end to end, but was having trouble gaining altitude. We'll give her more time to get her strength back and see what happens from there.

To refresh your memory, she was brought to us from Tok after being hit by a car. She was taken out to the flight center, but wouldn't fly. We figured she was still sore and bruised and we couldn't tell.

This gal has become a favorite at the clinic. She hoots back at you. We'll keep you updated.

Photo Credit: Britt Coon / Bird TLC

Daryl & Phoenix the Osprey

Yesterday, Daryl checked off on Phoenix the osprey. Phoenix came to Bird TLC last summer after its nest was caught in a fire. His other sibling in the nest survived without injury. Unfortunately Phoenix had bad burns to his legs and a broken wing. The other was placed in a foster nest. Phoenix was never able to recover enough to be released, so he became part of Bird TLC's Education Program.

Daryl came to Bird TLC after retiring from the National Park Service. He has been a welcomed asset to TLC with volunteering several days a week in the clinic, out at the flight center, picking up birds at the airport and helping with maintenance wherever needed.

Watch for Daryl and Phoenix doing education presentations soon. These guys make a great pair.

Bye Bye Bob

I guess it felt like the first day of school. You take your kid there and just wish for the best. Bob had come to us from the Alaska Sealife Center back in July as a real young guy. He had been attacked by something, patched back together by ASLC and sent to Bird TLC.

Bob grew and grew and was sent out to the flight center on August 14 to get ready for his life after TLC. Our biggest concern about Bob was all he really knew was people. The hardest thing for the volunteers at the flight center to do was not be friendly to Bob. We weren't mean or anything like that, just not friendly. Bob likes super worms and mice. When a volunteer would go to the flight center to feed, Bob would greet them at the door.

The weather has been great, but fall is fast on its way. The leaves are changing, it's cooler at night and birds are starting to head south. It was now or never for Bob. To ship him outside would cost a small fortune, he wouldn't make an easy education bird to deal with and he deserves another chance at life in the wild where he belongs.

For the last couple of days, Britt and I have been working a project put at the flight center. Bob got some extra servings for dinner to help him prepare for his journey. Today we finished the project and it was time for Bob to leave.

With suggestions of where to go from friends of Bob, we headed to Wasilla where UAF has some experimental farms where sand hill cranes are known to visit. Sure enough there were plenty there. With a lot of coaxing, Bob took to flight. He flew better than we had expected and probably surprised himself as well.

We did have to recover him a couple times to get him headed in the right direction. The last we saw of him he was in a field with about 20 other sand hill cranes. He hadn't mingled in with them yet. SHC's were coming and going while we were there, so we figured he will figure things out before long.

Bob, we wish you the best. You have to get your own super worms and mice now.

Photo Credit: Britt Coon / Bird TLC

Volunteer Appreciation Picnic

Dear Volunteers,

It’s that time of the season where we get together to honor all the hard work that our volunteers do 365 days a year.

What: Volunteer Appreciation Picnic
Who: Volunteers and their Families
When: Saturday, September 12th @ 1:00
Where: The Bird TLC Property, 15500 Old Seward Highway
Why: Because we appreciate all that you do!!!

What to Bring: A “lunch-time” dish to share (salads, casseroles, dips, desserts, etc). RSVP to me and let me know what type of dish you plan to bring. We do need someone to bring drinks too.

What we will do: Eat, raffle prizes and the opportunity to release the last bald eagle of the season. There is a possibility that we will have other birds to release that day as well.

We hope to see everyone out at the property Saturday, September 12th!!!

Thank you for all that you do for the birds!!!

Megan
Bird TLC

Busy Wednesday

For starters, we have a Great Gray Owl that came to us from Tok. It was hit by a car and brought in by a good citizen. We were determining if it was flighted or still needed some more r&r. The flight test didn't work out at TLC, so later on, Britt and I took the GGO out to the flight center. We brought her back. She needs some more r&r.

I couldn't go to the Alaska State Fair today. My real job was getting in the way. Cindy is checked off on Ghost (she was my mentor). So they got to go to the fair. In this picture they are getting familiarized with one another again. She does his exams and beak trimming, but doesn't get to work with him much. She reported back that things went real well.

We also got a immature bald in almost a month ago. He had some super lice. They had him so down that he wasn't expected to live. His name is Easy Rider, because a guy wrapped him up in his coat and brought him to TLC on his motorcycle. The lice lost! We took him to the flight center also. He flew right to perch and then chowed down on some salmon we had put out for him.

Last thing tonight, Britt exercised the sand hill crane or was that the other way around? It's getting big. We're discussing it's release options now.