A Tale Of Two Opossums

 
Being a licensed wildlife rehabilitator makes you look at your surroundings in a different way than most people. When my husband and I drive anywhere, one of the things we are always looking for is good patches of dandelion greens to pick for the many cottontails we rehabilitate each year and the other being any injured animals that may need our help. One animal specifically we notice are any dead opossums because anyone of them could be a mom with babies still alive in her pouch. As the only marsupial in North America, mom opossums carry their young with them in their pouch for a number of weeks. They can have two sets of babies each season, one in spring and one in fall. That is why between April and October it is so important to check any dead opossums you see on the road (where it is safe to stop and check).

So the story goes that we are always on the lookout. On September 11th we found a great patch of dandelion greens in Ottawa. The following Tuesday morning my husband went back there for more greens and saw a squashed mamma opossum (he could tell because there were scattered dead little ones on the road). To keep anyone who would be grateful for the free meal from being in the way of traffic, he dragged her way off the road and started picking greens. After just a little while he started thinking; he’d seen her dead and all the little ones but didn't actually check her pouch. So, back he went to where he had dragged her and sure enough - one little guy was still hanging on - ice cold but alive. He brought him home, weighed him and tucked him into a box on heat to warm up.

That night, I had promised to release some orphaned cottontails in a friend’s yard in the town of Waukesha, so after work we packed them up and hurried over there. All went well with the release, but now it was almost 7pm, getting dark, and we need greens again for overnight and morning for the bunnies that were still at home. We wondered where to go - look around and waste time, or go back to Ottawa, which takes time to drive to, but where we’d be assured of abundant greens. We decided Ottawa was the best choice, so off we went. I started picking down the road one way and him the other. A little later he came over and said he thought he heard something but wasn't sure. I came over by where he was picking and listened but heard nothing. Then, a little sound, and nothing again. We didn't want to walk around for fear of stepping on any little ones, and needless to say, by now it was getting dark and we really had to keep picking greens. So I got down to ground level and started making mamma opossum sounds and my husband got down and began to make baby opossum sounds. Sure enough, in just two seconds we hear another little baby. He'd been out there all that time and was cold as ice, but we found him and as of this writing, he and his brother are doing really well.

So, it just goes to show you, if take the extra time you may be able to help save a life.

Guest Blogger N.M.

Notice!

The Wildlife In Need Center is moving to its new home!

After several years of searching, rasing funds and support, and negotiating leases, our more efficient, more green, more public-friendly facility will be opening on Monday, June 27th.

To accomodate for the moving process, the Center will not be accepting calls for phone counseling, nor will we be accepting patients to our clinic on:

Thursday, June 23rd

Friday, June 24th

Saturday, June 25th 

Sunday, June 26th

Click here for links to other area resources that can be of assistance if you've found an animal that you think needs help.

We will open the doors at our new facility at W349 S1480 S. Waterville Road Suite B on
Monday, June 27th.
Please note that our new phone number will be (262) 965-3090

A Real-Life Version of "It's a Wonderful Life"

On November 20th, WINC received an injured Peregrine Falcon that was found on the ground in Watertown. The bird had injuries caused by a probable gunshot wound. We had the bird x-rayed to check for fractured bones and gunshot pellets. Luckily, the gunshot did not break any bones, and there were no bullets or shotgun pellets remaining in her body. However, it did go completely through the wing and broke several critically-important primary flight feathers.

Peregrine Falcons are endangered in Wisconsin. Researchers band nearly all urban-nesting Peregrine Falcons. Since this bird was aleady banded, we were able to determine her identity. "Jesse," was hatched in 2008 in a nest box in Genoa, Wisconsin, near the Mississippi River. In 2010 she nested on the North Tower of Mayfair Mall and produced four chicks. The nest box is still on the roof top in hopes that the peregrines will return there to nest year after year.

We sutured Jesse's puncture and treated her with antibiotics and pain releivers. After the wounds healed, she needed one more procedure: she needed her broken feathers "imped." Imping is a falconry term that means splicing replacement feathers from a "donor" bird of the same species, into the broken feather shafts of the recipient. Without this procedure it would take Jesse an entire year to molt in replacements for her broken primary feathers, and without these feathers, she could barely fly and thus could not be released. Since we did not have any Peregrine Falcon feathers to use, we sent the bird to The Raptor Center in Minneapolis for the feather imping procedure. They implanted new feathers and returned the bird to us in a week.

On Thursday morning, December 22nd, I met WINC Wildlife Rehbilitator Chelsea Matson with "Jesse," Greg Septon, the Director of the Wisconsin Peregrine Falcon Recovery Project, and videographers from TV channels 6 and 12 at the North Tower of Mayfair Mall in Wauwatosa.

When we arrived, we noticed Jesse's mate, "Polyo," on a ledge near the top of the building! Greg told us that Polyo continues to roost on the building and hunt nearby. When not nesting, female Peregrine Falcons tend to wander more than the males. With the assistance of Greg Septon, and permission from Mayfair Mall, we were able to take Jesse to the roof nest box for the release.

She flew beautifully and much to our delight, Polyo vocalized and joined Jesse in circling the building. They both landed on a ledge just below the roof. We'll keep our fingers crossed, and hope Jesse and Polyo return to nest on the roof of Mayfair's North Tower in the summer of 2011.

Guest Blogger C.D.

An Update on Jesse and her Detour to Freedom

Today I found a post on a list called Falcon Cam mentioning "Jesse" the Peregrine Falcon and her progress since being rescued (from a probable gunshot wound) from a roadside in Watertown, Wisconsin. She has since, as they noted, and as you read in my previous post, been transferred to the Raptor Center of Minnesota. We recieved news this week that the imping was successful and that Jesse is again fully flighted! She will remain in the care of the Raptor Center for a few more days until they are certain the procedure is successful and could be coming home to be released very soon.

After her release we will definitely share news of the wonderful event -and hopefully we'll be watching Jesse for many years to come!

Another leg has been added to the journey home for “Jesse” the Peregrine Falcon

The Wildlife In Need Center will transfer the Falcon to world-renowned Raptor Center of Minnesota for further expert care

Oconomowoc, Wisconsin - December 15, 2010 - On Saturday the 20th of November a large trash receptacle arrived at the Wildlife In Need Center from Watertown, Wisconsin. Inside the receptacle was a Peregrine Falcon that had been rescued from the side of the road. The injury is suspected to have been a result of a gunshot but has healed well through supportive care. Her initial release had to be postponed due to some damaged feathers and she is now on her way to the Raptor Center of Minnesota, a world-renowned care facility specializing in birds of prey, for follow-up care.

Peregrine populations plummeted in the mid-20th century especially from the East Coast into the Midwest. Although their numbers have risen in recent years, so much so that they were recently removed from the Federal Endangered Species List, they are still considered Endangered and of Critical Concern in the state of Wisconsin. Although reports come in annually, Peregrines are still not a common sight in most counties across the state.

This particular bird was also banded giving us a unique look into where she’d come from before needing the Wildlife In Need Center. According to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service this bird was hatched in Genoa, Wisconsin in 2008. There, she was banded and nicknamed “Jesse.” This year she hatched and raised 4 young birds in the WE energies nest box at the Mayfair Mall site in Milwaukee.

Although she’s already traveled some great distances in her life, the rehabilitation process will be her most triumphant. The very first leg of her journey to recovery was an X-ray followed by two weeks of supportive care. Due to the injury, some of Jesse’s feathers were broken and during her stay several more were damaged making her immediate release no longer possible. The Raptor Center has not only agreed to take Jesse into their care to perform a procedure called “imping” which will replace the missing feathers, but they have also offered to pay the costs involved with the transfer of the bird. If the surgery goes well we will work with the Raptor Center to determine the best timeline for transferring Jesse back to Wisconsin and ultimately her release back to the wild.

Fun Facts:

An adult Peregrine can travel at speeds exceeding 25mph and over 300mph when dropping out of the sky after its prey.

This hunting tactic is why they prefer to nest on rocky ledges of steep bluffs or especially in urban areas, ledges on high-rise buildings.

Peregrine means “wanderer” and certain birds that nest in parts of Canada have the longest migration routes of any other bird in North America.

For more information you can also visit the following resources:

Cornell Lab of Ornithology at: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Peregrine_Falcon/id

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources at: http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/er/biodiversity/index.asp?mode=info&Grp=7&SpecCode=ABNKD06070