Saving the Birds

Felicia Dechter's Skyline News column this week featured a great article on Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation's rescue and recovery efforts. "Saving the birds" also talks about migration, reducing window collisions, how to volunteer for Flint Creek Wildlife and how to help if you find an injured bird.

Speaking of Felicia, her mom was just moved into hospice. Please keep them in your thoughts.

Dawn

Bye Bye Birdie - Flying South for the Winter

Well, migration is coming to an end for the fall. Birds of prey, which migrate during the day, are still coming through...so are Sandhill Cranes. For the most part, however, the small migratory birds have already passed through our area.

Some birds migrated to southern Illinois while others went to places like the southern United States, West Indies or Central America. Migration is a very dangerous time for these birds. Not only does migration require significant stores of energy, but birds sometimes get caught in storms, get pushed out over vast bodies of water or cannot find food because of frozen ground and snow cover. They also face dangers such as window collisions, errant hunters, oil spills, and lead contamination over feeding grounds.

Birds will be resuming migration in the spring. Generally, the latest small migrants to come through Chicago in the fall are the earliest migrants to pass through in the spring. We basically see the species arrive in the reverse order that they left in the fall. Look for American Woodcocks in the spring as they will signal the beginning of migration.

We'll still see birds during the winter. Some of these have migrated from north of here and Chicago is part of their winter grounds. Others are year-round residents.

Bye bye birdies and safe travels.

Bird Walk and Migration Program at Northerly Island Saturday, October 11, 2008

Come join us this coming Saturday, October 11, 2008 at Northerly Island. We'll be presenting one of our educational programs on the dynamics of bird migration, followed by a bird walk on Northerly Island. The bird walk will be led by the experienced birder Dave Johnson (Wild Bird Center, Fox River Grove). We've scheduled this program for later in the day as we're hoping that a sunset bird walk will reveal the elusive Short-eared Owls, an endangered species in Illinois. Short-eared Owls have been spotted on Northerly Island during the last few migratory seasons (and despite trying and trying and trying, I've NEVER seen one in the wild!)....Saturday's schedule follows:

4:30 - approximately 5:15 - "The Perils of Migration"
approximately 5:15 - 6:30 - bird walk
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm - Twilight Night (stargaze with the Planetarium and learn about nocturnal animals)

Bring your binoculars and bird guide. Some binoculars are available at Northerly Island for anyone who doesn't own their own pair.

Even if we don't see the Short-eared Owls, Northerly Island has many beautiful avian species - you'll surely see something!

Hope to see you,

Dawn

Avian Wing Injuries

Today we released an Ovenbird that arrived at our facility on one of the first days of fall migration. She had suffered from a broken bone (ulna) in her right wing. She flew perfectly as she left my hand - no sign at all of the prior break.

It is with joy that we watch these releases. In wildlife, the will to live is almost unparalleled.

Although we successfully treat birds with breaks much worse than hers, her release still reminds me of why we aren't quick to euthanize animals unless we're absolutely sure that an animal cannot survive and be releasable. Over the years, we've learned that many injuries that were historically considered to be non-releasable are actually ones from which an animal can recover completely. If we are in doubt, we give an animal a chance. That's just one of our basic tenets.

We also don't decide whether an animal deserves treatment simply because the injury may take a longer period to heal - again, provided that we believe the animal can recover fully and have a normal life.

We understand and respect every rehab center's right to set their own policies relative to treatment protocols and euthanasia. These are simply ours and they are fundamental to Flint Creek Wildlife. And many birds and mammals that have passed through our doors approve.

Dawn