Do you know what day it is?

How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

A woodchuck would chuck all the wood a woodchuck could chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood.

Thanks to Rebecca Seymour for the photo of Waldo during his 2010 prognostication

But Waldo the Woodchuck would rather have a dried banana or a nut in the shell. And that sort of treat will be his reward for his official prognostication on Thurs, February 2^nd - Groundhog Day. The story goes that if Groundhog Day is sunny and bright, woodchuck sees his shadow and it will scare him. He will run into his burrow and sleep 6 more weeks. That means we will have 6 more weeks of winter. Why would a woodchuck be scared of his own shadow? Well, you probably aren’t your sharpest when you first wake up in the morning – poor Groundhog has been hibernating since October, no wonder he is a little confused.

The origins of Groundhog Day probably go back to the European Christian holiday of Candlemas “For as the sun shines on Candlemas day, so far will the snow swirl in May”. German immigrants brought the idea to the Pennsylvania area. The local abundance of groundhogs that would begin rousing from hibernation in spring somehow got mixed into the tradition and Groundhog Day was born.

You may have heard of a chuck called Phil that tells the weather out east in Pennsylvania. But weather is a regional effect. When I lived in Georgia, General Lee foretold Atlanta’s weather. Here at WINC, we count on Waldo the Woodchuck and his backup Gregory the Groundhog to let us know if we will have an early spring. So here’s hoping for a cloudy February 2^nd so Waldo will forecast an early spring. The earlier the spring the sooner Waldo will get the first spring dandelion leaves handpicked by his friends here at WINC so he has a little added incentive.

Guest Blogger L.R.

There may have been frost, and in some cases snow, on the ground this morning in southeastern Wisconsin, but spring is chugging along its way! Today we admitted our first American Robin of 2011! And now that the sun has shone on the lawn all day, the snow has already gone away...

While some amount of the Robin population stays in southern Wisconsin all year, the American Robin, official State Bird of Wisconsin, is a most common sight here throughout the summer months. They're often seen digging up earthworms, but they also eat a lot of fruit too! At WINC we feed the orphans a special protien mixture when they are young and transition them to solid foods including protiens fruits and berries.

Robins are often one of our most commonly admitted patient in the bird category. In 2010 we admitted 142, in 2009 141, and 118 in 2008. A large number of these are orphaned (or kidnapped), or injured, but we get many adults as well who get hit by vehicles, fly into windows, or get tangled up in strings and nets. In 2008 we got the most unsual one ever - it was an albino fledgling!

I hope you're keeping a journal of your spring animals as they return just like we are! Feel free to share them with us too!

Oh, opossum, oh, opossums

With the weather warming up here and there as winter continues to crawl by animals are on the move, looking for one more meal to get through until tomorrow. In particular we can’t believe the number of calls regarding Virginia Opossums that we have received in the past several weeks.

Opossum's, our only North American Marsupial, are nomadic by nature and do not nest, even in the summer when they have young. They do however, take advantage of opportunities like open garage doors, open decking or even unused dog kennels, when morning comes and they need someplace safe to spend the day. This of course doesn’t take into account that in the winter, opossums which are scavengers, are not nearly as adept at finding food as the raccoons, skunks and feral cats that they are competing with. This means that it is very common to see these creatures out during the day, especially in the winter months when they simply can't find enough food during the nighttime hours alone.

An opossum who shows up in your yard will likely move on once he senses the danger (you, your children and your dog or cat who probably startled him to begin with) is gone. He or she is only there because there is a food source nearby. If the opossum’s presence is unwelcome and continues take the following steps.

• Take up any and all food sources - opossums are scavengers and they actually provide a valuable (if grotesque) service. Any bird feeders, fruit trees, garbage, un-cleaned grills, outdoor pet food or pretty much anything else that is edible should be cleaned up, brought inside or placed into an airtight container to prevent from attracting them.
• Try putting a radio near the area/s you are seeing him or her most often. It needn’t be loud and it should be on a talk radio station to ensure that they are tricked into thinking people are nearby.
• Be sure to take note of any areas of damage that may be allowing him to get under your deck or shed, into your garage or other hiding areas. If these locations can be sealed off or repaired before baby season starts in the spring you will prevent a lot of headaches for yourself.

Notice: Today’s Groundhog Day event has been cancelled

Groundhog Day is today and everyone is wondering, where’s Waldo?

He’ll be snoozing in his favorite log; he’s heard about the blizzard outside and has chosen to sleep in today. I think it’s safe to say that he will not see his shadow even if he does emerge for breakfast; or lunch. No shadow means an early spring!

We have regrettably cancelled the planned education programming and celebrations at the Elks Lodge due to today's winter storm.

The celebration of Groundhog Day arose from a variety of traditions, including some religious, some seasonal and most importantly, observational. It gradually became a time when both people as well as animals emerged from their winter slumber to welcome the strengthening sunshine, only to return in wait for the actual coming of spring. Groundhog Day is now held annually on February 2nd which also happens to be the midpoint between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. The most important thing is that the observance of this day gives those of us in colder climates an excuse to celebrate, breaking up the monotony that leads to spring fever.

We Wisconsinites will have to settle for the next Packers match-up to lift our spirits instead. Waldo and his fellow animal ambassadors have been hosting pep-rallies for our selfless volunteers who come in on game days. In addition to predicting an early spring Waldo also predicts that his favorite team, the Packers, will win Sunday’s game 35-21. He’ll be sound asleep in his favorite log for most of it, but we’ll tell him who won when he wakes up.

Daphne, as quarterback, is a force to be reckoned with



Slither is all over the ball!



Jewel always picks the role of half-back



Waldo waits for the hike...



and tackles the ball to the ground!



While Pecan is busy preparing for the celebration party!

What Woodchucks do on Wednesday

 

What to do on a Wednesday...Wednesday, February 2nd...well go see Waldo come out of his burrow of course. Waldo, Wildlife In Need's famous woodchuck who predicts the weather, will be coming out of his burrow at 11:00am on February 2nd at the Elk's Lodge. WINC has teamed up with the Ground Hog Club to celebrate this whimsical holiday by having Waldo pop out of his burrow in front of school children, the Ground Hog Club and anyone else who would like to attend to see Waldo tell us whether we will have six more weeks of Winter or an early Spring.

Waldo is a three year old woodchuck who came to the Center as an imprint. He was found in a campground and taken in by some RV campers for the summer. When they learned they could not keep Waldo, he was brought to the Center so that we could "wild him up" but our efforts were unsuccessful. Waldo then joined the educational staff and ventures out to many venues to teach the importance of leaving the wildlife in the wild.

Preceding Waldo's prediction will be an educational program featuring all the other educational animal ambassadors from the Center at 10:00am. Come and join all of Waldo's friends as we all try to awaken from our winter burrows and celebrate Ground Hog's Day at the Elk's Lodge on Spring Dale Road in Waukesha.

Guest Blogger L.K.

Waldo predicting the weather, Groundhog Day 2010



Well, it’s winter again in Wisconsin. And for most of us, frozen ponds and lakes means ice skating and fishing. But for our feathered friends who brave the Wisconsin winter alongside of us, it means there is no water available for bathing and drinking. That is where we, as friends of wildlife, come in. During the winter months it is imperative that we keep clean, heated birdbaths in our yards so our feathered friends have access to fresh water. Our avian neighbors would greatly appreciate it if the bath was rinsed and refilled with fresh water daily. Also, by cleaning it with a mixture of bleach and water once a week, it will keep harmful bacteria from accumulating.

Of course the birds also need a reliable supply of fresh food throughout the winter months too. Not only is food more scarce during this time, a layer of snow or ice makes finding that meal even more difficult. As with birdbaths, keeping feeders clean and free of bacteria is necessary to prevent the spread of disease. Generally, soaking your feeders in a bleach solution and then rinsing them off every 3 months or so will do the trick.

As you know, every living thing needs 3 things to survive; water, food, and shelter. We’ve got the first 2 covered, so what about the 3rd? Well, both natural shelters like tree cavities, as well as man-made ones like vacant bird houses work well for many species. Some of us however, who choose to have real Christmas trees in our homes for the holidays, have another great option. Placing these trees in your yard can provide excellent shelter and warmth for birds and other small animals. Just be sure to remove all decorations first, especially those shimmery “icicles” and as much tinsel as possible.

At the Wildlife In Need Center, our native resident animals are an important part of our operations as well. One of the most visited feeders we have sits in front of our office window. Below is a list of just a few of the amazing winter-surviving bird species that have graced us with their presence this winter. Have you seen all of these birds or more?

Northern Cardinal
Dark-eyed Juncos
Mourning Dove
American Goldfinch
House Finch
Blue Jay
House Sparrows
Red-bellied Woodpeckers
Tufted Titmouse
Black-capped Chickadees
Downy Woodpeckers
Hairy Woodpeckers
and more!

A Black-capped Chickadee sits in a hor-frost covered tree outside WINC's office to have his picture taken (or maybe he was just waiting to get back to the feeder...)

Got a great shot of your favorite backyard neighbors? If you send them to us to use in some of our new promotional materials and we end up using it, we send you a gift and our gratitude too!

Holiday Mail

It's the end of the year and the support of our current former and future volunteers and members means even more this time of year. Things are always busy even though far fewer patients are coming in each day as we have reports, tax forms and myriad other office duties to finalize. Not to mention all the planning for the next season! I know that everyone of our readers was here yesterday looking for our most recent post and didn't find it. Lisa wrote a wonderful post to share with you all though and I know once you read it you'll realize it was worth the wait. 

Mail at the Center around the holidays is fun. We get more mail than usual, especially this year because in addition to our annual year-end appeal we have launched our capital campaign as well. But it’s the holiday mail that is so exciting to open. Beautiful Christmas cards with wildlife pictures spill from envelopes. Former and current volunteers send letters updating us on their families’ activities in the past year. Many of our former volunteers have retired to warmer climates (if only I could follow!) and volunteer with other wildlife rehabilitation facilities so it’s interesting to hear their stories. We even get picture cards of families - and their pets! I’ve been here awhile so I remember many of these people and it’s always great to find out what they are up to now. It brings back memories from the past – remember that rescue when…, that bird that got loose on you in the clinic and then…, the phone call when the people said they had a kangaroo in the yard (it wasn’t a kangaroo, it was a wallaby). The stories when you mix people and animals are always interesting and often take some odd turns. The memories are wonderful to recall.

Some cards come with donations that are holiday gifts to family and friends. Some are memorials. Since 2003 we have gotten a memorial in December for Courtney, daughter and sister. I don’t know Courtney’s story, but each year I think of her and her family. One of our volunteers started her volunteer work here as a memorial to her daughter who had been an intern with WINC and passed away around the holidays several years ago. She says volunteering here makes her feel closer to her daughter. For several years in December we’ve received a donation from a kind woman who asks that we send our newsletter to her nephew who is incarcerated. I remember her initial letter. She didn’t make excuses for him but lamented his poor choices that led to his situation. She said he was someone who always has loved animals and now he can’t be around them and so she thought our newsletter would be of interest to him. As someone who has always had pets and works with wild animals to help them be free and wild again, I can’t imagine not being around animals and not being free myself. I wish her nephew rehabilitation and freedom in the future. These sad notes make me grateful for my life and the people in it. This is a good time of year to contemplate the many gifts we all have in our lives.

We get Christmas cards and notes from our members and from people who have brought us wildlife thanking us for caring for the animals. It’s what we do every day and so most of the time I don’t think of wildlife rehabilitation as something out of the ordinary. Doesn’t everyone drop bill paying to go rescue a Great Horned owl lying in the road? Don’t all of you discuss juvenile raccoon fecal results while eating lunch? Answering phones while wearing Slither the Educational Fox Snake isn’t out of the ordinary to me. Driving to the vet’s office with a screech owl, a painted turtle, a mallard and a red-tailed hawk isn’t the beginning of a joke but just ordinary car-pooling, isn’t it? Listening to the rustle within boxes as our UPS guy brings this weeks delivery of 80,000 live mini mealworms, 40,000 live medium mealworms and 2,000 live wax worms just reminds me that I need to order more frozen mice and chicks too. Visiting the restroom and sharing space with the Canada goose in the tub happens at your house too, right? But I really appreciate the kind words and thanks of people for the work we do. Staff and volunteers make a difference to animals every day here and it is a special privilege to do so. Sometimes I just have to stop and enjoy the sight of our wild patients or Dakota the educational great horn owl hooting hello as I go from the office to the clinic and be thankful. WINC is a special place filled with wonderful caring people and amazing animals. It is a gift to be here every day of the year.

Guest Blogger L.R.

P.S. We still have fabulous 2011 WINC Calendars featuring our educational animal ambassador team! They are only $15 and all the funds raised go towards our care for wild neighbors.

For more information on how to get one visit or contact our office

The Answer is Blowing in the Wind

Whether March arrives like a lion or a lamb, it’s the month for baby owls. It’s the blowing of the spring winds, which tests the durability of any Great Horned owl nest. You see, Great Horned owls don’t construct their own nests, they move into nests that are already made; built by other raptors, squirrels and crows. Add a full grown parent and two or three owlets and a nest that is old and already weak is bound to give way eventually.

This is where the Center comes to into the picture. First a baby owl will be found on the ground and brought into the Center. Animal Care staff will do a physical exam on the owl to ensure that it is in good condition. In the meantime, another staff member will visit the rescue site on a “reconnaissance” mission, looking for signs of the old nest, any other members of the family, food remnants, pellets or whitewash. And if they’re lucky, they will see one or both parents in the immediate area.

Once the old nest is located a new site nearby is chosen. The new nest will be constructed of a wicker laundry basket, lined with boughs and secured to the tree with bungee cords. A new nest can last in a tree, three to four years before having to be replaced. Next, the Center will contact one of our tree-climbing volunteers. The tree climbing volunteers are equipped with ropes, harnesses and spikes, exactly like the equipment used by tree trimmers and utility repairmen.

Arrangements will be made with the homeowner to return to their property with the owlet and to place the new nest in the tree. Once there, the owlets are placed inside a container that the tree climber will carry or pull up through the tree until it reaches the new nest. The tree climber will carefully remove the baby owlet(s) from the carrier and place them gently into the nest. All the while, the spotter below will be assisting the climber and searching the nearby trees for the parents.

It’s important that at least one of the parents returns to the nest site within 24 hours of the re-nest, as the owlets need to be fed regularly when they are young. Property owners are asked to watch for parents visiting the nest in the early dawn and late afternoon to evening and report back to the Center their observations. It’s from their information that we know a successful reunion has been made. To date, WINC has received six owlets, five owls in one day alone!

-Guest Blogger KF

Eaves and Leaves

I was walking my dog the other day and noticed a squirrel scamper into the eave of a home along the sidewalk. We get calls all year and nearly every day from people in our area who have questions or concerns regarding their wild neighbors and their ability to become uninvited guests. I wondered whether or not the person living in this house would be calling me the following day at the Center regarding this little fellow or if they knew all about him and out of the goodness of their hearts had decided to share, and so I decided to come up with the best answer to their likely questions.

Because is it the middle of February, believe it or not we are into the final countdown for baby season to begin. This means that now might be a good time for certain wild neighbors to suggest they look for other accommodations. If you were to find yourself in a situation such as this these are the steps I would recommend:

1. First identify if possible any and all entry and exit points. If there are more than one, try to repair the others, even if it’s only a temporary fix. To test your theory, wad up a piece of newspaper and place it in the entry space. Mr. (or Ms.) squirrel will have to remove it in order to get in and out like they have gotten used to. You can also try flouring the surface outside the opening or any other techniques that will allow you to monitor movement in that area without having to keep a vigil for 12 hours at a time.
2. Scout your property and your nearby neighbors. If there are any food sources, especially bird feeders, that can be cleaned-up, moved, or removed even if it’s only temporary, your efforts will be much more successful.
3. Purchase some ordinary household ammonia and for small openings soak a small bit of rag in it and place the rag into the opening being sure to keep it to one side so as not to block anyone in. For larger openings place a larger rag soaked in ammonia into an empty yogurt cup or tin can and place it just inside the area. For a squirrel you could do this during the day or night, even if they are awake your presence will further send the message that they should start packing. Continue to replace the newspaper into the hole each day that it gets removed so you can monitor your progress.
4. If more convincing is needed try finding a portable radio. See if you can get it near to that area, or if that’s not possible leave it on in the house in a window or directly below that area. For a squirrel you will want it on during the daytime anyhow as that is when they would be awake. Turn it to a talk radio station to give them the idea that there are people around even when you aren’t.
5. After a short time you should be able to ascertain that your uninvited guest has decreased or ceased their visits altogether to this area. Your next step is to repair that and all other areas where they previously had access. I recommend installing a 1-way door just to be sure that no-one gets trapped inside. Trapping an animal is not only in-humane, but almost certainly means more destruction, death by starvation and potentially more to repairs to deal with once the body decomposes.
   
   To install a 1-way door:
   
   a. Cut a piece of hardware mesh large enough to cover the opening.
   b. Cut a hole in the mesh large enough for our friend to get out.
   c. Cut out another piece of mesh slightly larger than the hole and attach it to the larger piece along the top half.
   d. The goal is to re-create a 1-way doggy-door style door out of inexpensive materials.
   
   Once your little friend has moved out and no longer has access to the area, permanent repairs can be implemented. These techniques should be used in many cases involving uninvited mammals however, if you are dealing with a wild neighbor during the spring and summer months, be sure to give them enough time during the ammonia and noise phase to relocate any offspring they may have nested in the area. If you have questions always check our website or contact a rehabilitator before taking any actions you may regret.

Where's Waldo?

He’s celebrating his favorite holiday with folks from the Wildlife In Need Center and the Milwaukee Groundhog Club!

You too, can join us for a Groundhog Day Celebration and prognostication of spring’s arrival
On Tuesday, February 2nd 10AM
In the Upper Ballroom of the Elks Lodge at 2301 Springdale Road in Waukesha

Several area school groups and lovers of this most whimsical day of prognostication will join the Wildlife In Need Center (WINC) and the Milwaukee Groundhog Club as we celebrate Groundhog Day and we hope you will too.

10AM: Education Coordinator Leslie Kiehl will perform an educational program about the Center including the entire line up of educational animal ambassadors.
11AM: The moment we’ve been waiting for all winter will come as handlers and Groundhog Club President Richard Perschon, present Waldo the woodchuck to make his prediction
11:30AM: Stick around to meet-and-greet our educational animal ambassadors up close

Waldo was brought to WINC during the summer of 2008 after being rescued by a couple spending their vacation in an RV. The couple had tried to keep him as a pet and although our staff tried diligently throughout the remainder of the summer and fall to “wild” him up they were unsuccessful. The goal for each animal admitted to WINC is to rehabilitate it so that it can be released back to the wild, but if Waldo couldn’t protect himself from predators he couldn’t be released. When it isn’t possible to release an animal we evaluate their circumstances, injuries and temperament and if they meet certain requirements we look for opportunities for permanent housing. Oftentimes that is with a nature center or other educational facility, but if we have the space and staff time we will occasionally add an animal to our own educational team. In Waldo’s case, not only was he young and healthy with an agreeable personality, we had recently lost our first educational woodchuck to cancer so he couldn’t have come at a better time.

The celebration of Groundhog Day arose from a variety of traditions, including some religious, some seasonal and most importantly, some observational. It gradually became a time when both people as well as animals emerged from their winter slumber to welcome the strengthening sunshine, only to return in wait for the actual coming of spring. Groundhog Day is now held annually on February 2nd which also happens to be the midpoint between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. The most important thing is that the observance of this day gives those of us in cooler climates an excuse to celebrate, breaking up the monotony that leads to spring fever.

The Milwaukee Groundhog Club began in 1908 with a chance meeting of two men whose birthdays both happened to be February 2nd. They met at the Blatz Hotel along with several others who were discovered to be “groundhogs.” This year will mark their 102nd birthday as a group and they are proud to say that every shape, size and color of person (or groundhog) is invited to become a member, as long as their birthday is February 2nd!

Great Amorous Owls

http://www.jsonline.com/multimedia/photos/62680607.html?index=7

The image from the Journal Sentinel link above is Dakota, the Great Horned Owl ambassador on our education team. He wasn’t too happy about this photo session, but for the most part he’s been pretty agreeable to things lately. It’s mating season for his kind right now and because he seeks the companionship of humans rather than other owls, he does a lot of showing off this time of year, especially around females.

From as early as December and as late as March you will likely hear far more “hooting” than at other times of the year as current and potential mates call to one another. The reason they begin so early is smart as it means that their young will be old enough to begin hunting on their own during the prime summer season when prey is much easier to obtain.

This unfortunately also means surviving potentially harsh conditions during a very sensitive time in the lives of their young chicks. These youngsters face a lot of challenges in their first few weeks, not only are potentially dangerous winds waiting to blow the downy creatures to the ground, the nests they are raised in are almost always built by someone other than their parents and are often in poor shape as well.

Great Horned owls are definitely one of, if not the earliest wild neighbor in our neck of the woods to begin their “baby” season however, unlike this blog post, there has been rumors of it being an even earlier than usual season for them as well as several other species (rather than late that is; sorry for the delay). Reports abound regarding unbridled squirrel behavior (gray squirrels also breed very early as most will raise two litters each summer season) and some say that there may be Great Horned owls already sitting on eggs!

Check out the We-Energies Peregrine watch cam and you can see one mother whose behavior seems to suggest that she’s been sitting on an egg for some time.

www.we-energies.com/environmental/protect_wildlife.htm

For now we’ll keep our fingers crossed that this isn’t the case because these youngsters already face many challenges being born as early as they are. Most years the center will begin seeing owlets (baby owls), as early as the first or second week of March.

Check back here in a couple of weeks as I plan to try to give you a glimpse of what baby owl season is all about here at the Wildlife In Need Center.

Fowl me once…

This specific story was actually from a year or two ago, but we inevitably get calls like this several times each winter. The caller was sure he had been watching a duck that was frozen in the ice near some reeds on the lake abutting his property. The Wildlife In Need Center does not have drivers on staff to rescue animals, we rely on the public and volunteers to bring animals to our center to provide care for them. We do our best to get volunteers when there is an animal in need, but sending a volunteer into water, even if it is frozen, is something we will not do for everyone's safety.

Several calls came into the office with no update on the duck and it was clear that there would be no convincing the gentleman that this was anything but an animal emergency. Eventually the individual ventured out onto the frozen water himself (which we absolutely never recommend). After a short trip, this gentleman called back, admittedly sheepish, and confirmed that indeed the “duck” had been an expensive decoy that must have gotten blown into the reeds or unearthed from the snow due to recent winds that week.

We absolutely want to help each and every animal, and ducks and geese could conceivably get frozen in the ice, but it almost never happens. They may choose to go to the middle of a frozen lake because they know they are safe from a number of predators out there and those that may still pose a threat can be seen from a distance. They often pull their feet up underneath themselves to keep warm when they are on the ice. We recommend if you see a bird on the frozen water that you suspect is hurt or stuck to first try these steps:

• Try to get a closer look. If it is safe, walk to the water’s edge, or if that’s not close enough, track down a pair of binoculars or telescope to obtain a better picture of what you are looking at.


• If you are unable to get a closer look, or if you do and are certain it is still potentially an animal in need, find some small stones or preferably a tennis ball or other softer item. Stand close to the shoreline and gently toss/roll/skip the item/s towards the animal. Aim to the side so that you don’t accidentally hit them though! This usually gets them to move so you can see they are free.
  
  If these techniques lead you to believe that this is an animal in need and that there is something wrong, contact your local rehabilitation center or humane society to alert them to the situation and discuss what options and next steps are available.
  
  We were very appreciative of this gentleman’s concern as well as his efforts to rescue this defenseless animal, but most of all we are happy to know that this story turned out to have a happy ending - because it was not a duck in need of our assistance.