Big Bird Discovery

Space Shuttle Discovery and a crew of seven astronauts lifted off from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39B at 8:47 p.m. EST, kicking off the most complicated and challenging mission to the International Space Station to date.

Anchorage hometown boy, Pilot William Oefelein (check out his blog) is the first Alaskan in space.

Best of luck on a safe and successful mission.

You have to enlarge this image. It's awesome!!!! Credit goes to NASA.

No Beauty at Bird TLC

BE 05-19 was was taken to the airport this morning and is being sent to Birds of Prey, Northwest in St Maries, Idaho. While there, they are going to try and fit her with a prosthetic device to use as a upper beak. Bird TLC had the pleasure of having Jane Fink Cantwell, Raptor Biologist, and Linda visiting for most of this week to get use to her and learning how we feed her, treat her, etc.

These ladies saw the love the volunteers at Bird TLC have for this bird and I believe they have that love also. We at Bird TLC went as far as we could with her rehabilitation. In Idaho they have more resources to pull from to do this kind of work. We wish them the best of luck that this great bird and these fine people deserve. I hope to see them at an education presentation sometime in the future.

There were a lot of wet eyes at Bird TLC when everyone said goodbye to "Beauty", but they were tears of joy.

Also, long time volunteer Char's (on right) last day at the clinic was today. She's moving to New Zealand in a few weeks. Her nice personality and sense of humor will be missed. Isn't she cute? Your welcome Char.

Memorial Service

There will be a memorial service for Leslie & Morgan Lancaster at Providence Hospital on Monday December 11 @ 4 PM. Check in at the information desk.

Obituary

Goodbye Leslie & Morgan

Sadness has hit Bird TLC. We lost our long time member, volunteer, Eagle presenter, Snowy Owl presenter, and friend Leslie Lancaster and her daughter Morgan in a car accident outside of Girdwood this past Saturday.

Leslie Lancaster was the 48-year-old single mom who met with families or prescribed interventions when a student needed behavioral help, clothing or a shower at school, friends and colleagues said. She also was a fixture at bird festivals and schools around the western Kenai Peninsula, where she gave frequent presentations about the live bald eagle and snowy owl she kept at home.

Morgan was the little girl in pink and purple who always had a spare pencil and some mathematical insights for her classmates. She was a day short of her seventh birthday when she died.

Lancaster had a lifelong love of animals. Three dogs perished with her and her daughter in the car, and she kept a bald eagle and snowy owl that had been rehabilitated through the Anchorage-based Bird Treatment and Learning Center.

Center executive director Rachel Morse said Lancaster previously served as board president, and was trained and licensed to keep the injured birds. As a bird education presenter, she was required to make 12 educational appearances with each bird annually, so school kids up and down the Peninsula knew her as the eagle lady or the owl lady.

"She was probably one of those tomboys running around and coming home with a fistful of frogs and baby birds," Morse said. "She was very kind."

Morse said she believed Lancaster moved to Anchor Point to raise Morgan in true Alaska style.

"She was extremely devoted to her daughter," she said. "She really got into the type of life that Alaska can let you have. You can be a free thinker and a single mom and have wild birds in your backyard and have that kind of quintessential Alaska life."

Leslie was a very friendly woman I always saw with a smile. Morgan was also a happy child. You can tell her and her mom got along well. They both will be missed for a long time.

Links to the different news stories.

http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/8465267p-8359206c.html

http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/kenai/story/8467075p-8361044c.html


http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.asp?S=5763274

Tickets are now available

On January 15th we'll start our online auction "FOR THE BIRDS". And then on Feb 3rd we are having our "FOR THE BIRDS" Silent & Live Auction at the ConocoPhillips Atrium here in Anchorage.

Entertainment will be by "Mr Whitekeys" of the "Fly by Night" fame. Dinner & non-alcoholic drinks are included and a no host bar provided. Lots of the Bird TLC Education Birds will be there from Bald Eagles to Crows.

Tickets ar $50 each

Contact the Bird TLC Office to purchase tickets at 907-561-4721

One Wing's Gift

One Wing's Gift
by Joan Harris

In the cleanup following the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, workers rescued hundreds of wild birds from the shores of Prince William Sound. One bald eagle, poisoned by oily prey, came to the rescue center with a wing so mangled it had to be amputated. No one expected the bird to survive. But even after vets repeatedly took the eagle's blood for transfusions to other eagles, "One Wing" clung to life, an unexpected survivor.

ONE WING'S GIFT tells the heartwarming stories of this special bird and a dozen others rescued by the Bird Treatment and Learning Center in Anchorage, Alaska. From the majestic bald eagle to the common raven, from the great horned owl to the tiny black-capped chickadee, Bird TLC has been rescuing and rehabilitating Alaska's diseased and injured wild birds since 1988.

Joan Harris's exquisitely detailed graphite portraits of each bird complement her touching tales. Harris spent more than four years working on the intricate illustrations, delicately hand-coloring these pencil drawings of some of the most inspiring birds from the rescue center. This uplifting book will appeal to bird lovers of all ages. Harris will donate a portion of her royalties to Bird TLC.

If you would like a copy, contact Dan @ 1-907-562-4852 or office@birdtlc.net . The price is $17.95 & $5.00 shipping & handling.

Or send a check to

Bird TLC
6132 Nielson Way

Anchorage, Alaska 99518

Eagle Updates

Both eagles are alive and making improvements. They are getting great care from our clinic volunteers. We are a little concerned about depression now.

Talk to the Eagle gods

BE 06-42 came to us from USF&W in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. He was caught in a snare trap that wrapped around his left wing and his body. There seems to be no broken bones but he's bruised up pretty good. Cindy had trouble trying to get it to take an iv, so we had to tube feed it to get some fluids in it.

This guy needs a little more help then what we can give him. Talk to whoever you talk to when the lights go out and have them send him a little extra help.

Anything for a good friend

A good friend of mine, Britt Coon is studying to be a photographer. So I had asked her to take some pictures of me and Ghost whenever she had some free time. I didn't expect it anytime soon because she's as busy as I am if not busier. To my surprise she called me around lunch time and asked if today was a good day for her to come over.

I had to weigh my options. Clean house, repair stuff, etc. or play with ghost and have our picture taken. So as a favor to Britt, I said yes. Does it look like +1° to you in these pictures? She does an awesome job, doesn't she.

So your welcome Britt. I gave up cleaning house and fixing stuff so you could take pictures. But then, anything for a friend.

Good Bird

A Thanksgiving meal made for a Snowy Owl. "Ghost" had a lot to be thankful for, 6 large mice and a chick. I got his attention when I went into his mew. I don't think he went to bed hungry.



Today it's back to training.






There was one bird that didn't make it though.

Happy Thankgiving

I hope everyone has a Safe & Happy Thanksgiving Day. I know I have a lot to be thankful for. Healthy family, good friends and healthy birds at the house and hopefully healthy ones at the clinic.

I have a lot more to be thankful for, and I am, but it's too much to list here. I'll be going over them in my mind later after dinner when I'm on the couch watching the games through the cracks of my eyes.

BE 06-41 doing OK

We're a little sore and a little bored, but so far we're doing OK.

BE 06-41 Surgery

Dr Todd Palmatier spent about 1.5 hours in surgery with BE 06-41 inserting internal and external pins for the two broken bones. Well know in about 2-3 weeks if it's going to heal well. It looks good now and we have our feathers crossed. There's more photo's here.

Update on GE 06-40

I recieved a call from the clinic this morning that the Golden Eagle BE 06-40 that tangled with the porcipine passed away during the night last night.

BE 06-41 arrived yesterday by plane

This imature Bald Eagle lost a battle with a small plane in Homer, Alaska. His left wing is broke at the radius and ulna, both. He was sent to us by USF&W via a pet clinic. I picked him up at the air freight terminal.

Dr Todd Palmatier examined him at Bird TLC and wrapped his wing up for now. He needs to stabilize, eat a little and get some fluids. Maybe on Saturday we'll have a pin placed.

#40 is Golden

#40 was brought to us by Elmendorf AFB Wildlife Management at about 4PM. He was found on the ground and not really caring about much of anything. Dan our office manager gave me a heads up call that he would be coming in. I told him I was just a few minutes away from the clinic.

When I arrived, Dan and the Wildlife Officer were putting him into a kennel. I told Dan I would take him straight to Pet Stop. Cindy, our Rehab Director is at a conference in Florida right now and the Bird TLC clinic crew had left for the day. Dr Todd Palmatier volunteers his time with us but was at work. I was bringing him a patient.

When we got there we took him out of the kennel and layed him down on the exam table. I restrained him while Dr Todd examined him. He hadn't eaten in a while and was very dehydrated. The last thing he had eaten though was a porcupine. He had quills in his mouth and tongue and all over his feet. It was obvious that it would hurt to eat.

He was very cooperative on having the quills removed. There were so many I lost count. When we were done we gave him 100CC's of LRS and tube feed him. From there I took him back to Bird TLC and bedded him down for the night.

I checked in on him today (see pic above) and he looked a lot better. He had eaten a quail and is drinking on his own. We'll get him fatten up real soon.

Too late to migrate?

The black-and-white Common Goldeneye is one of the last ducks to migrate south in fall. It often will winter as far north as open water permits. The waters around Anchorage have been frozen for over a week now. Most lakes and ponds are safe to walk on but not safe to drive on yet.

We're getting birds in the clinic now that waited too long to migrate and now they have problems. This guy should have taken the trip south at least 2 weeks ago. Now, if he wasn't brought into Bird TLC, he would have had a real hard time finding food and his web feet freeze easily on the ice.

There are many reasons why he waited too long. He's sick or injured and isn't strong enough to make the trip. Another is that he got use to being feed by humans and was waiting for one more hand out.

I also made this mistake in the past. Like many others, I didn't know any better. In Anchorage, there is a municipal code against the feeding of ducks and geese. There is no shortage of their natural food source, so they really don't need the help from us.

Another reason to refrain from feeding geese is that the foods commonly used, such as bread and french fries, are nutritionally inadequate and cause serious, potentially deadly impactions of the crop. Geese don't know when to stop eating, and the large quantity and the low quality of food combines to create disastrous results. Young birds often develop nutrition deficiencies resulting in crippling deformities. Most of the time they die or have to be euthanized because by the time we receive them the damage is irreversible.

The number of eggs laid by a pair of ducks or geese is in direct proportion to the amount of food available. When food is artificially added to an area by people feeding wildlife, the birds will over-populate an area very quickly. They also will remain in the area longer, contaminating the environment, making it unhealthy for people as well as wildlife.

Another good reason to avoid feeding geese is for their own protection - to ensure they retain their fear of humans. You may not pose a threat to their survival, but if they do not fear ALL humans, they are bound to run into an unfriendly one sooner or later.

Thanks to our Veterans

As the nation observes Veterans Day, Alaska is taking particular pride. The U.S. Census Bureau says Alaska has more veterans per capita of it's civilian adult population than any other state. Veterans make up 17% of Alaska's population over 18 compared to 11% of the nation as a whole

I chose this state after I was stationed on Elmendorf AFB almost 11 years. I retired to stay here and not be reassigned to Washington DC. I also wanted my kids to be raised here. A state that I found with less crime and racism than any state I had ever visited. It's not a perfect state and we don't always agree how the other states do. My favorite bumper sticker is "I don't give a damn how they do it outside".

Politics is never boring, and either is the fishing, hunting or birding. I have made the best friends I ever had the past 22 years I've lived here. What's funny is, most aren't veterans. But the veterans are the ones that provide for what we cherish the most, freedom. Freedom to live, work, worship, disagree and so many others. They protect us when we're awake and asleep. In my career I worked many holidays, birthdays, days and nights. I've been to places that were awesome and places I don't want to even think about. My own safety was in the hands of others, white, black or yellow. Didn't matter. You watched out for them and they did for you, not thinking of your own safety over theirs.

Now the younger ones do their duty. I see them everyday on the news and around town. They are the best of the best. They aren't perfect, but who among us are. I sleep well at night because of our veterans. Veterans of all ages, colors, politics, nationality, etc. But I do wish for a day when we don't need them.

Get your tickets NOW

Tickets are now available for "For The Birds". The 2007 Bird TLC Online, Silent & Live Auction is to be held February 3rd at the ConocoPhillips Atrium In Anchorage. The auctioneer and entertainment is Mr. Whitekeys of the "Fly By Night" fame. Dinner and non-alcoholic drinks will be servered. A no host bar will also be available.

Tickets are $50 each. There are special themed tables going $500 - $800 each. Contact any member of the Auction Committee or the Bird TLC office for more information or to purchase a ticket.

Bird TLC
907-562-4852
Visa, Mastercard, Check or Cash

Auction items are still being accepted.

Bandage & Wrap Class

Bird TLC had a bandage and wrap class taught by Cindy Palmatier yesterday. It was a full house of both new and old volunteers. A lot of fun was had along with a lot of learning. In the picture at left, a pheasant was used as our live patient. It was extremely tolerant of our practicing on it.

Thanks go out to Chris Maack for the picture.