Every Day Tips | Community Education
Every Day Tips
• Fill your bird feeder all year round. Birds and other animals
learn to depend on it for feeding their young. If you want to stop feeding
wait until fall.
• Hummingbird feeders should be left out until the end of October.
• Bread is NOT healthy food for any animals. It fills them with empty calories that have no nutritional value, and leaves them vulnerable to disease and starvation. Use bird seed or dry cat or dog food.
• Many birds are injured or killed flying into windows, because they see the reflection. Use “Clings” on the OUTSIDE of the window to break up the reflection, or turn a light on in front of your window, so they can see through it.
• All animals need fresh water all year round. In winter, use a garbage can lid and fill with hot water daily.
• SANDPAPER on perches of your pet birds can seriously harm their feet and even cause infections that can kill them.
• Double Shepherd hooks are trapping bird’s legs in the V where the hooks separate. Use electrical tape on the narrow part of the V to prevent this deadly injury.
• Trash can be a hazardous for wildlife. Dispose of it properly and pick it up when you see it.
ALWAYS REMEMBER: Put wild animals in a WARM, DARK, QUIET PLACE, and leave them alone until you get help. Use paper towels for bedding, grass will chill them. Call a Rehabilitator as soon as possible.
Do not leave animals at a rehabbers house. Some of us work, or may be out for long periods of time.
• Hummingbird feeders should be left out until the end of October.
• Bread is NOT healthy food for any animals. It fills them with empty calories that have no nutritional value, and leaves them vulnerable to disease and starvation. Use bird seed or dry cat or dog food.
• Many birds are injured or killed flying into windows, because they see the reflection. Use “Clings” on the OUTSIDE of the window to break up the reflection, or turn a light on in front of your window, so they can see through it.
• All animals need fresh water all year round. In winter, use a garbage can lid and fill with hot water daily.
• SANDPAPER on perches of your pet birds can seriously harm their feet and even cause infections that can kill them.
• Double Shepherd hooks are trapping bird’s legs in the V where the hooks separate. Use electrical tape on the narrow part of the V to prevent this deadly injury.
(Please click the image below to enlarge it.)
• Trash can be a hazardous for wildlife. Dispose of it properly and pick it up when you see it.
ALWAYS REMEMBER: Put wild animals in a WARM, DARK, QUIET PLACE, and leave them alone until you get help. Use paper towels for bedding, grass will chill them. Call a Rehabilitator as soon as possible.
Do not leave animals at a rehabbers house. Some of us work, or may be out for long periods of time.
Show you care,
be AWARE.
Every Day Tips | Community Education
Community Education
"Dangers to Widlife"
We are educating the public in a variety of ways using non-releasable birds, who would not survive in the wild due to their disability. Federal and State laws prohibit keeping wildlife as pets, however they can be used to help educate the public. We have a special license from theNYS DEC, and a permit from the US Fish and Wildlife Service that allows us to use disabled birds for education or for fostering young.Please remember: WILD ANIMALS DO NOT MAKE GOOD PETS!
COMMUNITY EVENT EXHIBITS:
This program consists of a display that we set up at local events. These events include; craft shows, wildlife festivals, town field days, childrens festivals, town sidewalk sales, and other events. We offer informational handouts, and we are there to answer questions about wildlife, the environment, and our responsibility to care about the effect that we have on their world. There are photographs and exhibits of the dangers that wildlife encounter. We also do demonstrations at some of these events.GROUP PRESENTATIONS:
A program we designed, involves volunteers going to a group and discussing what rehabilitation is all about and how we can help. These groups include, but are not limited to: scouts, clubs, schools, senior citizen clubs, nursing homes, and other interested organizations. Live birds are brought out and a description of their disabilities as well as information about their species is explained. A component of the presentation includes what to do with distressed wildlife, and how people can help prevent injuries to wild animals.Our educational programs are one way that we support the cost of caring for the animals.
Some of our program animals are shown below.
Our Red-tailed hawk, "Chetambe" was hit by a car and crippled by a broken wing.
Our male American Kestrel, "RC" was hit by a car and has a crippled wing.
"Sky" (left) is a blue jay, and "Toby" (right) is a purple grackle. Both of them were found with deformed feet.
Our great horned owl "Storm" was found starving and was unable to hunt due to cataracts in his eyes.
Our Eastern Screech Owl "Wink" (left) was hit by a car. His eye had to be removed. Our Eastern Screech Owl "Pink" (far right) was attacked by a dog. The muscle was damaged in her leg. The bird in the center was an orphaned screech owl that has been released.
The non-releasable birds of prey are the main attraction. These are all trained, handled, and cared for year round by the volunteers at our current facility.
Every Day Tips | Community Education
Baby cottontail rabbit hand raised and ready for release.
Painted turtle shell repair.
Hand feeding a baby gray squirrel
Sparrow with foot deformity that needed splinting
Baby wood ducks with a baby mallard (larger duck) as a foster friend
