“Gannets, Masters of the Sky!”

We don’t see them often, but when we do, they’re in big trouble.  The only reasons a Northern Gannet comes ashore will be injury, illness, starvation or blown off course during a storm.  When one becomes too weak or unable to fly, it will float on the ocean until the tide carries it to shore.  Northern Gannets are the largest indigenous seabird in the North Atlantic with wingspans of 68 – 70 inches and weighing 6 to 8 pounds.  They spend most of their lives at sea. This magnificent pelagic seabird, that reaches adult maturity in five years, is known for its gorgeous pale blue eyes accentuated by a ring of bare, bluish-black skin and contrasting snow white body with black wing tips. It is strikingly beautiful! One might think that the Gannet is closely related to a Gull, but they are seabirds comprising the genus Morus in the family Sulidae which is closely related to Boobies. Gannets are among the world’s most renowned divers, truly “Masters of the Sky,” who descend from heights up to 130 feet as they plunge into the ocean like an arrow at 60 plus miles per hour. Most of the world’s population of Northern Gannets breeds off the coasts of Great Britain and Scotland, but there will be random groups of Gannets wintering off North Carolina’s coast.

Occasionally, a Gannet will be admitted to the Outer Banks Wildlife Shelter (OWLS) in Newport and upon receipt of the bird, we know it will be a touch and go situation.  Recently, that was the case when a Good Samaritan rescued a beached adult Gannet that had discarded fishing line wrapped around its beak. During the examination, we were thankful there was no line going into his gullet. The staff at OWLS removed the offending trash and commenced emaciation protocol.  That poor seabird was 600 grams below normal weight for an adult.  Gannets are known for a voracious appetite.  They have the capability of eating very large quantities of fish during a feeding, so it was obvious this Gannet was starving to death due to his beak being literally tied shut. Gannets eat sardines, anchovies, haddock, smelt, Atlantic Cod and the young of larger fish species.  Squid is also a menu choice for these vertical divers.  They dive into the sea with their wings and feet retracted and tucked tightly against their body. The Gannet has highly developed lungs, secondary nostrils inside their mouths that close rather than external nostrils and a long, strong sternum protecting their internal organs when impacting with the water.  These features are perfect for the high speed and deep diving they are capable of. They also have a subcutaneous fat layer, dense down and tightly overlapping feathers that help them withstand low temperatures.  Reduced blood flow in the webbing on their feet also helps maintain their body temperature when they swim. A Gannet’s feathers enjoy a higher level of waterproofing than other seabirds that need to dry out between foraging sessions.  Northern Gannets produce an impermeable secretion in their sebaceous glands which they spread across their body using their beak or their head. 

Gannets breed in large colonies along the Atlantic, and boaters have witnessed spectacular displays of plunge-diving for fish by them in the hundreds.  Once beneath the water, it uses its wings and feet to swim in pursuit of a meal. They grab food with their long, strong, conical bill and always eat it under water.  They never fly with a fish in their bill. Northern Gannets nest offshore, and most often, nests are found tucked into inaccessible cliffs.  Some breeding colonies are recorded as being located in the same place for hundreds of years. A Gannet’s nest is definitely a testament to the value of recycling as it is constructed of compacted mud, seaweed, grasses, feathers and their own waste!  The males usually collect the materials necessary for nest building.  Off the coast of North Carolina, because cliffs are not available, Northern Gannets will nest on islands or flat surfaces, however, they find it more difficult to take off from these locations which requires them to often cross an area occupied by an adjacent nesting area and that can cause stress and aggression from the pair occupying a trespassed nest.  Despite being a little nasty toward one another, Gannets always nest close together.  There are no loners during breeding season.  Northern Gannets will lay only one egg rather than 2 or 3 like most seabirds. If two eggs are found in a Gannet’s nest, it’s the result of two females laying an egg in the same nest or an egg was stolen from another nest. Incubation takes 42 to 46 days and occurs under the webbing of their feet, flooded with warming blood.  An infant can take up to 36 hours to break through the thick eggshell. At this time, the adult will release the egg from its feet to prevent the egg from breaking under the adult’s massive weight. Northern Gannets learn the hard way in their first breeding year that if they aren’t cautious about that, the chick may die.  The warm webbed feet are also used to cover the newborn, which is rarely left alone by the parents.

A hatchling will spend about 13 weeks in the nest with the parents where it is fed regurgitated fish and is fiercely monitored to prevent attack or death by Black-Backed Gulls, Herring Gulls, Ravens, Ermine, Red Fox or other Northern Gannets.  Nature is harsh! Fledglings are brown with white wing tips, and they have white spots on their heads and backs.  Once a Northern Gannet fledges from its nesting colony and is on the water, it will remain there for as long as two weeks because it has not learned how to take off from a water runway yet. While flying muscles comprise 20% total weight for most seabirds, Northern Gannets’ flying muscles are less than 13% which demands they warm up before flying and that they calculate and rely on the wind, especially wind produced by the front of a wave.  Bobbing in the water is also a safer place for a youngster to be than risk accidently tripping into Gannet breeding ground. They are not sturdy on their feet as land walkers due to the location of their legs so far back on the body. 

Gannets are swimmers and flyers, not walkers!  The young have a fat reserve, allowing them to go without eating for up to 2 weeks, but don’t worry; the parents are still close by for further fishing and flying training.  The maximum lifespan known for a Northern Gannet is 35 years.  Adult Gannets are not heavily preyed upon, but when it happens at sea, an eagle, shark or seal is usually the culprit.  If you ever get the rare opportunity to see Northern Gannets, savor that momentary visual gift of these “Masters of the Sky,” because it may never happen again!!

Happy Spring!

Best Always,

Linda Bergman-Althouse

author of “Save Them All“

“Who’s Your Daddy, Cowbird?”

Surprise!  Cowbirds don’t build their own nests. Instead, they generally remove an egg from another species’ nest, replace it with one of their own, and then rely on the surrogate parent to incubate the egg and rear the nestling.  Wow, how lazy can one bird be?  Or is that smart? Naturalists speculate that because of the Cowbird’s nomadic lifestyle (accompanying grazing herds of bison or cattle), they stray too far from home to reach a nest in time to deposit an egg, so they evolved to rely on another bird’s nest. They aren’t very particular when scouting for a nest to deposit an egg either, although they are said to prefer ‘cup-shaped’ regardless of species. Cowbirds are known to be the most common brood parasite of more than 140 species of birds according to Cornell Ornithology reports. So, when a nest has fallen from a tree in eastern North Carolina and a rescuer brings the babies to the Outer Banks Wildlife Shelter in Newport, the staff has been known to raise an eyebrow or two when they see three tiny Carolina Wrens and a big ‘ole baby that simply doesn’t seem to belong in that group. Very quickly we realize a Cowbird, probably a Brown-Headed Cowbird rather than a Bronzed Cowbird for this area, has dropped by a wren’s nest to lay an egg.  Common targets are the nests of chipping sparrows, cardinals, bluebirds, eastern towhees, finches, chickadees, nuthatches, red-eyed vireos, red-winged blackbirds, song sparrows, spotted towhees, titmice, yellow warblers and robins. Sounds like just about any nest will do!  Robins have been known to recognize the different egg, which is smaller in size for them, and we’re not sure if they notice that their own eggs are an opaque blue while the Cowbird egg is spotted and off-white, but they eye it, peck a hole in it and remove it from their nest. The Cowbird’s egg is similar in color and shape to a House Sparrows egg but larger. There are reports of other birds who perceive the cowbird egg as a parasite as well and either ignore it or also remove it from the nest. Most of the time any other surrogate momma bird will not notice the imposter egg and continue to tend to the eggs in her nest, eventually hatching them all. Cowbirds generally hatch first and are larger, more aggressive and get more than their fair share of food (nearly 50% of all the food offered is snatched by the cowbird) rather than the other nestlings that are supposed to be there. Therefore, that baby cowbird will grow more quickly than its nestmates, crowding them out of the nest (possibly to their death) and quite often end up dwarfing its smaller, adoptive parent.  Heavy parasitism by cowbirds has pushed some species to the status of “endangered” and has probably hurt populations of some others.  If you think about it, this is a good strategy for the cowbird, because instead of putting energy into raising young, the female cowbird puts her energy into laying eggs — sometimes more than three dozen eggs per season. It is on record that one exceptional cowbird layer deposited 70 eggs in one season! Cowbirds belong to genus Molothrus in the family Icteridae, which is the same as blackbirds, and if you don’t know, Molothus is Greek for vagabond, tramp or parasite. Wow, that sounds harsh, but pretty much sums up their odd breeding behaviors! They are of New World origin. The genus was introduced by the English naturalist William John Swainson in 1832 with the brown-headed cowbird as the type species.  They are very scruffy and gray and not too much to look at as newborns and fledglings, but as adults, males are extremely handsome birds with satin sheen, black bodies and chocolate brown heads.  The pretty and more subtle female is gray-brown all over with very faint streaking coloration found in her feathering.  They both have stout builds, strong wedge-like beaks and a slightly notched tail.  A group of cowbirds is called a corral or herd.  Cowbirds may feed and roost in large to enormous flocks from 50 to 10,000 birds, especially in winter months and usually forage on the ground for seeds and insects in a mixed flock of blackbirds, grackles and starlings. They get their name from their close association with livestock such as bison, buffalo, cattle and horses as they search for insect prey which includes beetles and grasshoppers stirred up by the movement of large herds of grazing animals.  When they aren’t munching on insects, Cowbirds eat seeds from grasses, weeds and crop grain. Cowbirds have other names too, that you might find interesting or perhaps, sound more familiar to you.  Some folks refer to them as “Cow-Pen Bird, Cow Bunting or Buffalo Bird.”  You might wonder, since they are raised by the behaviors of another species, how do they learn to be a Cowbird.  Studies tell us that “how to be a cowbird” is mostly genetically encoded. Therefore, a Cowbird innately knows its own song and calls, its own displays, and recognizes and mates with its own species, despite never encountering another of its own kind before courtship takes place. If you see a small songbird feeding a much larger fledgling, that Momma or Daddy is a host, or let’s say stepparents, to a cowbird.  I guess the more modern phrase by today’s vernacular is “bonus parent!”  Despite the species’ offensive habits, especially putting other little songbird’s lives in jeopardy due to egg trading, the bubbly song of a male brown-headed cowbird in the springtime can be a pleasant addition to your backyard community.  Like it or not, Cowbirds are native, so they are protected under The Migratory Bird Treaty Act. This means that in most cases, eggs cannot be removed from nests without a permit. The name of the game, after all, is survival of the fittest, and that odd behavior of delivering eggs to surrogate bird Moms to raise has ensured their survival and increased their abundance, making them more widespread than their original introduction with no indication of decline. This author noticed the arrival of a young Cowbird to her backyard feeding station this year for the first time ever, accompanied by a number of Carolina Wrens and Cardinals.  Since both sets of parents were feeding him, it’s not absolutely apparent who his true foster Momma and Daddy are!  So, even though Cowbirds are a bit or a whole lot bullyish, when you can’t beat’em, join and enjoy them!

2020 was quite a year, and it seems we are all still clawing our way back from the brink!  Thanks for your patience and hope you are all SAFE & WELL!

best always,

Linda Bergman-Althouse

author of “Save Them All“

 

“Raccoons, Bats, Fox and Bobcats, Oh My!”

      It has been a very long time coming for North Carolina, but the Wildlife Resources Commission in Raleigh recently authorized our state’s wildlife rehabilitators to medically treat and rehabilitate raccoons, bats, fox and bobcats (and oh yes, skunks – but we just don’t have skunks on the coast). This is very big news and in turn, calls for some big changes for individual wildlife rehabilitators and all wildlife shelters across the state. North Carolina Wildlife Rehabilitators have been scrambling since last fall to meet the eligibility criteria set forth by the commission to achieve this special permit from the state by attending training classes anywhere and everywhere to gain the knowledge and meet the requirements to provide care for a number of new and challenging species that will be added to the line-up of routine admits throughout the year. Not all rehabilitators will choose to take this path, but it’s so good to know that some will, and we won’t have to turn these animals away when they are injured or orphaned as we were required to do in the past. There is a risk associated with working with these species because within this group a slight possibility to carry the rabies virus exists. Most of these animals DO NOT harbor the disease, but we must err on the side of caution and be very, very careful. Wildlife Rehabilitators working with these animals are required to take the rabies vaccine series and routinely have their blood checked for rabies antibodies to combat any contact with the virus. The public must be very, very careful, too, when coming across an orphaned, sick or injured raccoon, bat, fox or bobcat. DO NOT touch any of these animals with your bare hands. Besides bare hands, other circumstances that are NOT SAFE for you would be if the sick or injured animal is still alert in your presence, can still move around or is located in an area unsafe for rescue such as in the middle of the road. Please call your local animal control officer or a wildlife rehabilitator in your area for assistance. Also, if a wildlife rehabilitator or someone from animal control is not on site, DO NOT ATTEMPT RESCUE if any raccoon, bat, fox or bobcat is displaying abnormal behavior. Keep children and pets away from the animal and alert animal control. If any of those animals are roughly two-thirds the size of an adult, and subsequently weaned from their mother, they are considered adult by law. So, you are not rescuing an orphan. If you find young raccoons are nesting in your attic, locate the nest site and place a small radio nearby and leave it on around the clock. The constant noise bothers the animals when they want to sleep, causing the mother to move her young to another, quieter location, which will hopefully be out of your house. When you are sure all the babies are gone, find the entry location and patch it to prevent them from coming back or another creature from moving in. If a professional resource is not available and the animal needs immediate assistance, you may rescue ONLY if it is safe to do so. Please follow these safety precautions. First, have a sturdy box or animal carrier ready to contain the animal. Garbage cans, recycling bins and plastic containers will work in a pinch, depending on the size of the animal. Make sure you have a lid that will fit securely on the box or container. Secondly, protect yourself by wearing thick leather gloves and have a heavy towel in hand to prevent getting bitten, licked or scratched. Avoiding direct contact with the animal is essential during rescue because most wildlife have sharp teeth and claws and will muster whatever strength they have left to try to protect themselves from you, even though you are trying to help them – they DON’T KNOW THAT. A thick pair of work gloves, a thick jacket and other personal protection can prevent injury. Do not EVER use bare hands when helping these specific mammals. Approach the animal from behind, drop the towel over the animal, including the head, quickly gather the animal in the towel, then immediately place into the container. Cover and seal the box to ensure the animal cannot escape. Lastly, transport the animal to a wildlife rehabilitator without looking or even peeking at the animal again or removing the animal from its enclosure during transport. DO NOT allow someone to hold the animal during transport, even wrapped in a towel, and keep the car quiet, which means no loud talking and turn your radio off. DO NOT WORRY about feeding them. The concerns for animals at the time of rescue are focused on injury or sickness. Please allow the wildlife rehabilitator to stabilize the animal, and food will come later. The rehabber will know how to feed them based on their condition and what to feed them based on the dietary requirements for their species. This includes infants, DO NOT feed them. If you don’t have the skills needed to appropriately feed a wild baby, you may unknowingly force food or water into their lungs which will cause pneumonia, or you might provide an improper diet that can kill the baby. Tell the wildlife rehabilitator the location where the animal(s) were found, including street address or nearest crossroads with a description of the area. We try to release most animals close to their site of origin. Yes, there are a lot of DON’TS when trying to help Raccoons, Bats, Fox and Bobcats, so we ALL, especially the public, who are usually not protected medically when handling these animals, must take extreme precaution. However, here are a few DO’s when it comes to rescuing this category of wildlife. Do rescue any bat found on the ground by placing it with your gloved hand in a secure box and transport to a wildlife rehabilitator. Rescue any fox baby, called a kit or cub, found abandoned and cold, but take note, foxes have multiple dens and may be in the process of moving their litter. A lone kit that appears abandoned may be the last to be moved. Give the parents time to retrieve the kit before intervening. Rescue any kit with visible injuries. Do rescue baby raccoons, also called kits or cubs, that were attacked by another animal, especially a cat, hit by a car or moving equipment and any kits that are pestered by flies and/or ants. If a young raccoon appears distressed, check for injuries and from a safe distance, watch to see if the mother retrieves the young before intervening. Always keep your rescue animal warm and quiet and remember the bottom and most crucial line is, get the animal to a permitted wildlife rehabilitator immediately. Although tempting, because wildlife babies are so cute, raising a wild animal in captivity is illegal unless you have the proper state or federal permit. Authorization to finally treat these animals has been a very long time coming but OH MY! We CAN DO this thing, and we must ALL do it in a fully knowledgeable, conscientious and safe manner. Please call the Outer Banks Wildlife Shelter in Newport at 252-240-1200 if you have concerns or questions regarding raccoons, bats, fox or bobcats and find out how this new authorization to rehabilitate these specific species will apply to their rescue.

best always,

Linda Bergman-Althouse

author of “SAVE THEM ALL” (blog)

“The Great Northern Diver!”

It’s this chilly time of year when the Outer Banks Wildlife Shelter admits more Loons than any other time during the year. On their migratory journey south during late fall and winter, beautiful Common Loons, also called “Great Northern Divers,” one of the oldest and most primitive of birds known, fly singly or in groups that have been clocked at more than 70 miles per hour, from Canada and the Northeastern United States in search of warmer waters along the Atlantic or the Gulf Coast. When one is transported to our shelter at 100 Wildlife Way in Newport, it’s usually because someone found it beached or on the ground. The staff and volunteers at the shelter know when a Loon comes in, that it’s likely a very bad and possibly lethal situation. We pray for a fishing gear injury, because we consider that a blessing in a Loon’s case. Untangling line, removing hooks and treating wounds, we can definitely do something about. It’s also not too bad if a migrating Common Loon accidentally lands, softly – very softly, on a wet highway or parking lot, mistaking it for a river or lake. A loon may also get stranded on a small pond. In either of those situations, the Loon doesn’t have enough open water for the long take-off they need. A running start over as much as 400 yards and paddling furiously through the water is what they require to take flight. Their legs are placed far back on their bodies which are very good for swimming but does not enable them to walk on land, only awkward scooting by thrusting its chest forward a few inches and dragging both legs underneath their body. So, most people think they’ve come upon an injured bird when they see the Loon can’t stand or move about on land. The worst diagnosis, and unfortunately the most common with Loon admits, is mercury or lead poisoning. Loons born in the Northeast are exposed to large quantities of methylmercury, the form of mercury toxic to living things. These birds are particularly vulnerable to environmental poisoning for many reasons. They are long-lived, up to 30 years, and spend their lives in the water, and because they are carnivores will feed mostly on fish, crustaceans, frogs and aquatic insects. Loons are divers that dive up to 250 feet. A typical foraging dive lasts about 40 seconds. They are large, aquatic birds, with wing spans approaching four feet, which are relatively small in comparison to their thick bodies. A Loon is heavy and dense because their bones are not hollow like most other birds. The portly waterfowl’s white belly stays submerged when swimming and then propels itself with its feet underwater to spot and catch fish. It swallows most of its prey before surfacing. The loon has sharp, rearward-pointing projections on the roof of its mouth and tongue that keep a firm hold on slippery fish. Loons spend most of their life on and in the water, only wiggling ashore to mate, incubate eggs, potty and to occasionally escape a storm. As with most birds, the males are more colorful with a dark head and red eyes, a greenish-black throat band and distinctive white spots on their back and sides. The females are more muted gray with pale mottling but share the white belly. Loons mate for life. When common loons get to their breeding area and mate, the females lay their eggs beside bodies of water or in shallow water. The nest is usually built by both parents on the ground and the female typically lays two eggs each year. The female will then sit on the eggs for 27 to 30 days before they hatch, and the parents share hatchling duties. During the first week, chicks may crawl onto the back of a parent paddling along on the water’s surface. Chicks stay very close to their parents for the first three weeks and will respond immediately to calls warning of raptorial birds (or airplanes) flying overhead by scrambling under an adult’s wing. The chicks grow very rapidly and are nearly the size of the adults within 4 to 6 weeks. They also begin to demonstrate their independence by seeking their own food, diving and exercising their wing muscles. The youngsters retain their dull grey back plumage during that time, although the belly turns white. At 2 to 3 years of age the young adults will be mature enough to mate.  Loons have a very distinct call and some people describe it as eerie or an unearthly tremolo cry, but for wildlife rehabilitators, we hear a beautiful song that awakens a sense of wilderness. Rather than a cry or wail, it’s more like a melancholy yodel. You always know when a loon is present at our shelter, they sing even in captivity, unlike other animals that tend to go silent in the unnatural environment of close human presence and in a building or kennel cab. Although difficult to describe, it’s impossible to forget their sound. Depending upon the reason they are being treated, their song can sound happy or sad, but that’s a subjective human assessment based on knowing their odds medically, otherwise, most people would consider a Loon’s song a soothing melody. In cases of toxic poisoning, the best we can do is make them comfortable with frequent tub baths and extra padding to lessen chest compression when kenneled, give the Loons time to build up their strength with healthy fish feedings and monitor their weight. We also flush them with fluids to try to rid the gut of mercury buildup, which may not help much if the mercury has already metastasized to organs and body tissues. If they manage to maintain weight or even better, put on weight, we will joyfully and eagerly release them to continue their journey. If, despite ravenously feeding on their own, they rapidly lose weight, it is apparent they are starving from malabsorption caused by chemical poisoning and sadly, they will not make it. It’s a tough reality faced by all who work at the shelter, but we manage to approach each treatment plan in an optimistic and positive manner. By providing the best care we can, crossing our fingers and prayers up, we are always hopeful that this one will make it, and when that one pulls through, it’s cause for celebration! That’s when the hugging and jumping up and down of humans commence!!

Best Always,

Linda Bergman-Althouse

author of “Save Them All“

“Birds Love Messy Winter Yards!”

Most people don’t like to entertain the word “Messy” or even be associated with “Messy,” but if we are wildlife activists and dedicated conservationists, we might need to rethink that term. It turns out that the survival and reproductive success in the spring for birds and mammals that we enjoy and love, are largely dependent upon the conditions of their winter habitat. It is crucial that all wildlife be able to forage during the winter on seed-heads, shriveled fruits, dried plants, insects (that feed on dead and decaying plant life), fungi and bacteria, and what better place to do that than in a messy, unkept yard! Maybe it’s time to put down the garden tools and go easy on yard work this winter. If you’ve had a garden in your yard, that is a bonus to wildlife. Gardens are alive, no matter what time of year. Whether resident or migrating, finches, sparrows, chickadees, buntings, blue-jays, nuthatches, blackbirds and grosbeaks will be stopping by an unkept garden, and the messier the better. Bird feeders that are kept full and clean are nice and a little extra, but a messy yard or garden provides the opportunity for more natural foraging. Insect eating birds or mammals will discover a smorgasbord in the “galls” of plants, which are bulbous swellings created by insects, such as beetles, flies or wasps, who move in to lay eggs and allow the eggs to incubate until spring. That is unless a hungry woodpecker or mammal finds the plump larvae first and makes a hearty meal out of them! This is a glorious and nutritious find during a bleak winter, which is a great reason to leave our yards messy. Bees also use messy yards to provide habitat and protection during the winter. Piles of dried leaves, decomposing logs or cavities in hollowed out sticks or fallen limbs attract a variety of bees for overwintering. Bees might be accompanied by butterflies who will be encouraged to overwinter as well, if they are offered thick mounds of leaf litter or other cavities to crawl in to weather the cold and harsh elements presented during winter. If butterfly presence is not convincing enough, hundreds of other critters can overwinter in gardens; assassin bugs, praying mantises, lace wings, wolf spiders, minute pirate bugs, damsel bugs, ground beetles and ladybugs. All these insects and arachnids are beneficial to birds as a food source which means that, as a gardener, you benefit from having them around. Most birds are predators because many eat insects, as well as, seeds. American Robins, Brown Thrashers, Eastern Towhees, Crows and White-throated Sparrows routinely flip leaves over in search of food. Leaf cover improves their odds of finding protein-rich invertebrates such as beetles, earthworms and millipedes, which seek shelter under the security of leaves. So, birds are taking out insect pests that, if left unchecked, could become problematic in flower and vegetable gardens in the spring. Also, leaving layers of leaf litter for animals, such as opossums to burrow under in the winter, allows them to get a jump-start on minimizing pesky insect infestations in the spring and summer. Let’s see, how do we encourage messiness in our yards? Here are a few tips; put down the rake and leave your leaves in your yard (in mounds or as a blanket because leaves will rot, enrich the soil and provide places for bugs and birds to forage), create patches of habitat for critters such as salamanders, snails, worms and toads with leaf litter, allow dried flower heads to remain standing (save the seeds and refrain from snipping the stems of perennial flowers. Coneflowers , Black-Eyed Susans , and other native wildflowers provide an excellent source of winter calories for birds), don’t mow your grass as often (allow it to be a little taller), build brush piles with fallen branches rather than remove them which will serve to shelter birds, as well as other beneficial wildlife, from bad weather and predators, do not use chemicals in your yard for they will render the space uninhabitable for birds and other critters (besides, native grasses, shrubs, trees and flowering plants don’t need chemical fertilizers. Grass clippings and mulched leaf litter provide plenty of plant nutrition), leave snags on your property and just delay the whole garden clean-up until spring. Now, if mammals are more your focus, be assured that squirrels, rabbits, raccoons, opossums, deer and others will also enjoy the end of season bounty in the form of dried seeds, unharvested vegetables, or the hardy leaves left widespread for them. So, a messy yard can be a very good thing when you consider the food and shelter it offers birds and other visiting critters during cold winter months. Don’t forget the bonus of a spent garden that will provide nourishment at all levels of the food chain. Besides helping our wildlife survive in our messy yards, we need to focus on continuing the growing awareness of the value of supporting native biodiversity. What is truly beautiful? You decide; is it a clean, tidy yard or the amazing birds and other wildlife that pass through your property or take up residency within your view? That’s what I thought, too! Let’s be okay with feeling a little lazy and celebrate the abundance of activity and beauty that can emerge from a messy yard!

 

best always,

Linda Bergman-Althouse

author of “SAVE THEM ALL“

Pumpkins for Wildlife!

Who doesn’t love pumpkins, especially this time of year? Humans hunt for their favorite ‘size and shape’ pumpkins to decorate or display for the holidays, carve into master pieces for Halloween and cook into scrumptious donuts, pies, muffins, sweetbreads, pancakes, and you name it. It’s pumpkin everything! Most people don’t think about wildlife loving this fruit or is it a vegetable (the debate rages on) as much as humans do, but it’s true! From bats and birds to bears, if a pumpkin is nearby, they are going to eat it. Pumpkins are tempting treats most wildlife can’t and won’t resist. Pumpkin flesh is full of water, so it’s as refreshing as it is tasty. Our wild animal patients and residents at the Outer Banks Wildlife Shelter in Newport will soon be munching pumpkin because some pumpkin loving people ‘over-pumpkin’ and need some place to take all those perishable, post-holiday pumpkins. After Halloween or Thanksgiving is officially over, many wildlife enthusiasts will dismantle their Jack-O-Lanterns or whole pumpkins by breaking them into pieces to put in their woods or yards for their own wildlife visitors and bring the rest to us! They know the wildlife in our care will benefit from the addition of this nutritious food source to their diets and through the enrichment of exploration. At the shelter, we’re known to hollow out pumpkins, save the seeds for the birds and squirrels, and fill them with foods for our vultures, opossums and fox. All the animals seem to enjoy maneuvering the big orange ball and taking it apart to get to the hearty and scrumptious morsels inside. They also do not pass up munching the tasty pumpkin! If you decide to put pumpkins out for wildlife, it’s best to cut them in half or better yet, break them into pieces to ensure squirrels or smaller animals won’t get stuck inside, especially if temperatures drop to freezing. That doesn’t happen often in eastern North Carolina, but it has, and pumpkin flesh freezes to fur! We also don’t want a deer’s head stuck in a pumpkin. That has happened, too. Please don’t feel too badly if critters start munching on your holiday decorations earlier than you’d like them to. They, especially squirrels, are known to do that, even if the pumpkins aren’t carved yet. These gnawing experts will start the carving process themselves! If you have squirrels in your area that get into the Halloween Spirit early and are notorious for carving their own pumpkins, just don’t put them out to early, and that will remedy that. Keep in mind that they don’t know that’s your pumpkin and that you’re trying to make a seasonal statement. You’re basically putting out food for wild animals. So let’s see, who is going to visit you if you put your pumpkins out; deer, rabbits, squirrels, bats, groundhogs, seed eating birds, opossums, raccoons, fox, snakes, porcupine, skunks, if you’re creek or river side or close to marsh lands – otters or beavers, and if you are in bear territory, BEARS (so, if that’s the case, best not put the pumpkins out or at least wait until brown and black bears are entering their winter dormancy, which is usually just after Halloween passes). Okay, let’s take bears out of the equation. If you don’t have bears and your pumpkins are still fresh and not moldy, recycle your pumpkins by making a ‘Snack-O-Lantern’ for your wildlife, because they will love all that pumpkinliciousness! When in season, Zoos around the world provide their resident animals pumpkins for enrichment and special treats, too. From tiny fish and weasels, large Chimpanzees and Red Pandas to huge Hippos and Rhinos, pumpkins provide great excitement for zoo and sanctuary residents. Research states that a whopping 39 million pounds of pumpkins are thrown away after Halloween! That’s about the weight of 1,500 double decker buses! So, instead of trashing your pumpkins, please use them to help wildlife. Humans, who anticipate the set up of seas of orange splendor, go crazy at pumpkin-patch time, but remember animals like them, too! So, what you can’t use at your house or in your neighborhood after the holiday, take them to a wildlife shelter near you, and the staff will present them to some adorable wild ones who will make good use of them. If a pumpkin unfortunately succumbs to mold before you can use it as food for wildlife, bury that one in your garden or yard or add to a compost pile. Pumpkins quickly break down in the soil and worms and insects will be all over the pumpkin yumminess. Then, all the birds and animals that eat worms and insects will be all over them. It’s the whole “Circle of Life” thing. Pumpkins are extremely popular with such a wide range of animals and insects that it would be a shame to let them go to waste. Enjoy the happy, orange season and hope to see you at the wildlife shelter soon, with pumpkins!

best always & Happy Halloween,

Linda Bergman-Althouse

author of “SAVE THEM ALL”

 

Whistling Ducks!

   “What have we here?” That was the first question asked by our intake personnel when the most unfamiliar ducklings were admitted to the Outer Banks Wildlife Shelter in Newport recently. We’re knowledgeable of all the colorations and patterns for ducklings known to “these parts” of coastal Carolina, but these little quackers presented an identity crisis. The tiny orphaned ducks of splotchy yellow and black with short black bills were a mystery and didn’t seem to be from around here. It took a while to research the ID book, but we found them! Black-Bellied Whistling Ducks are “normally” found in the southernmost United States, such as Florida, Texas and Louisiana, as well as, on the continent of South America. We know that animals are on the move, but this is a first for us with Black Bellied Whistlers. The gentleman who brought them in initially thought they were Wood Ducks and said he found them while walking his tobacco field in Beaufort before harvest. A large colorful duck flew up from the ground as he passed the nesting area and noticed the little fluff balls under the leaves. He decided to wait and check later to see if their Mom would return, but after a few hours and no sight of Momma Duck, he changed course and figured the best thing to do was transport them to the wildlife shelter, especially since they would be in extreme danger when harvesting commenced. Nesting in a field is unusual for Black-Bellied Whistling Ducks, who are also called Black-Bellied Tree Ducks, because they like to perch or rest on low limbs above water. They may also perch high in dead trees if they are nesting in tree cavities or hollows. So, this nesting in a tobacco field is quite rare. The Black-Bellied Whistler babies look totally different than the adult plumage of their parents. With one look at Whistling Duck parents and their brood, you see a totally mix and match family where you’d swear adoption took place, but that’s not the case. The adult black-bellied whistling duck is a colorful mid-sized waterfowl species. It ranges in length from 19 to 22 inches with a brown wingspan of 30 to 37 inches and weighs 1.5 to 2.2 pounds. It is adorned with a brilliant pink-orange bill, long pale gray neck and legs and accented with a solid black belly and tail. The extensive white under their wings is exposed in flight and matches its distinct eye-ring. Adult male and female BB Whistlers, who remain monogamous like the behavior of geese and swans rather than ducks, look similar, but the hatchlings look nothing like Mom and Dad, at least for quite a while! They are called “whistlers” because these social ducks are boisterous and noisy waterfowl with a very clear whistling waa-chooo call. They have also been referred to as “Squealers” due to their high-pitched vocalizations. The Black Bellied Whistling Duck eats mainly during the night and enjoys huge amounts of plant material and seeds, which sheds some light on the decision of our BB ducklings’ parents to nest in the tobacco field. And because they are seed eaters, noisy flocks of these gaudy ducks are known to drop into fields to forage on seeds and waste grain left behind after harvest. They will also consume arthropods and invertebrates such as insects and snails when available, but those choices only make up 10% of their diet. During breeding season, the bonded parents search for tree cavities or the confines of a hollow tree, but as a last resort will nest on the ground. They occasionally find chimneys, abandoned buildings or nest boxes appealing as nest sites too, but always choose a site close to a water source. Cavity nests usually remain bare, but ground nests are woven of grasses and weeds. Females may lay 12 to 16 whitish eggs in their nest or lay their eggs in a large community nest with eggs from other females. The community nests are called “dump nests” and may contain 50 to 60 eggs. Incubation is provided by both sexes in a single nest for 25-30 days, but numerous contributions for incubation by the flock occurs in a “dump nest.” The young are tended to by both parents or all the parents. The splotchy, black and yellow ducklings in cavity nests can climb the walls of a hollow and leap from those high nest cavities to the ground within two days after hatching, be able to feed themselves immediately and will stay with the parents for up to eight weeks until they fledge. The longevity of a BB Whistling Duck is around eight years, but the oldest on record is a male, Louisiana BB Whistler who clocked out at 10 years and 7 months. The word is that these ducks are expanding northward, and we have first-hand evidence of that! So, if you live in a wetlands area and want to welcome their arrival, and since Black-Bellied Whistling-Ducks take readily to nest boxes, you might want to construct a nest box out of half-inch marine plywood. It should be about 24 inches high at the front and 20 inches at the back, with a hole about 5 to 6 inches in diameter. Situate the nest box on a pole or in the trees adjacent to marshlands, and they will feel right at home. Also, when you’re out for a walk on trails in Coastal Carolina’s marsh or wetlands in a month or two and you hear someone whistling at you, please don’t get offended. It may very well be one of our recently released Black Bellied Whistling Ducks just making their presence known or communicating with BB Whistler friends and family. No offense . . . really!

best always,

Linda Bergman-Althouse

Author of “Save Them All“

“Heat Waves Affect Wildlife”

  With the onset of scorching heat waves, summertime can become a deadly season for all living things. We are very aware of the negative impact extreme heat has on vulnerable human beings in our communities, but we might be in the dark when it comes to knowing what harm may be going on with wildlife that is experiencing near-lethal temperatures that lead to drought and loss of food. June and July topped out with record high temperatures, and we never know when they will hit again! The Outer Banks Wildlife Shelter in Newport has admitted a few distressed wildlife due to dehydration which symptomized with staggering, loss of balance and confusion. Good Samaritans were able to recognize that something was wrong and that those cottontails, squirrels and birds needed help. Heat Waves have become the new normal and will impact not only our human communities, but all animals and our entire ecosystem. The same things that can happen to humans in sweltering heat happens to wildlife as well; dehydration, heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Hot weather may cause natural water sources to dry up, meaning birds and other wildlife will be left without anything to drink, but we can help them by providing safe, alternative water sources. Turning your outside spaces into temporary homes for nature is doable with actions like freshening and topping off your birdbath daily or creating a make-shift pond from a washtub or putting down a saucer filled with water. These three simple acts could offer a vital lifeline to some of our favorite backyard critters that will be fighting against decline. Some people hang a “drip jug” over their bird bath, which is a basic plastic milk jug filled with water with a tiny hole in the bottom. The birds hear the dripping, and the sound attracts them for a cool bath and a drink. Leave shallow dishes, which are safer for smaller animals who could drown in deeper containers, in areas where animals are protected from predators. That means keeping your pets away from this area so the animals can drink undisturbed. A few more tips on providing life-saving water are: always clean the receptacles daily to prevent the spread of disease, don’t place the water to close to bushes or trees to minimize predation but do utilize a shaded area to keep the temperature of the water down and keep the water source away from any feeding areas to prevent the water from getting mucky. Along with the clean drinking water you are providing, birds will also be able to bathe which is vital to keeping their feathers in good condition for flight. Regularly watering your plants and gardens will be a lifeline for butterflies and bees. If your plants die, so will the butterflies and their buzzin’ buddies. If your ground area is drying and rules in your community limit grass watering, birds like Robins, Blackbirds and your turtles and frogs will not be able to access earthworms that will tunnel deeper into the ground for safety. A great substitute for earthworms is canned dog or cat food provided on a flat plate in your yard. Or if you agree with the birds that worms are best, meal worms from the pet store or bait shop can carry them through the hot times. We usually see birds and squirrels coming to our feeders and water sources during the day, but in the evening and during the night other wildlife such as opossums, raccoons or fox will visit our makeshift habitat for water and whatever they can find to stay alive during a searing heat wave. Keep in mind that summer is Baby Season, so wildlife Moms and Dads will be doing what they need to do and wherever they need to do it to stay alive so they can continue to care for their offspring. They might even bring their youngsters into your safe haven for food and drink. For those of you with pools in your backyard, you might consider covering the pool or providing an island or incline for animals to crawl out if need be. Hot animals trying to beat the heat or quench their thirst can drown in pools so taking away that access or providing an exit can save lives. Please keep an eye out for heat stressed wildlife. If you spot any critters who look like they’re struggling, call the Outer Banks Wildlife Shelter in Newport or your own local wildlife organization for help. Be particularly mindful at dusk and at night as many nocturnal animals will be more active during this time. Prepare an emergency kit to keep in your car including water, a blanket/towel and a box. Put a few local wildlife rescue contacts in your phone so you can call for advice if you need it. If you do come across a wild animal who is visibly distressed, wrap them loosely and place them in a cardboard box and place the box in a dark, quiet and cool place. If your distressed wildlife is categorized as a rabies vector species (raccoon, fox or bat), do not touch or pick it up and call a wildlife rehabilitation shelter immediately. This is for the animal’s safety, as well as your own. Also, DO NOT wrap heat stressed animals in wet towels or submerge in water — this can kill them. Just like us, many wild creatures can live for extended periods of time without food but… just like us, they need water. Remember, when you sit back and relax with a tall, ice-cold drink, often to enjoy the sunny weather, our backyard birds and other wildlife might not be having such a good time. Heat waves produce a very negative impact on animals, even mortality. Most humans have a variety of ways to cope with a heat wave, but animals don’t have those luxuries of running water, air-conditioning or places to escape the sweltering environment. So, let’s help our feathered, furred, scaled or shelled friends in any way we can, including offering them a cold one! Water, of course! Cheers!

best always,

Linda Bergman-Althouse

author of “Save Them All“

Birds Go Buggy!

WE are in the middle of Summer on the coast which means it’s time to go to the beach, have cookouts in the backyard, enjoy outdoor festivals, dabble in gardening and make all kinds of outside fun we’ve been chomping at the bit to do, but it also means dealing with lots of pesky bugs! Summer becomes very buggy for most of us, so we need all the help we can get to stave off menacing insects that annoy, frustrate or bite us! The nursery volunteers at the Outer Banks Wildlife Shelter in Newport are currently helping raise and staff the Army of birds we call insectivores who will eagerly and proactively keep those nasty bugs away from us! A great many birds eat a great many bugs; bugs that do harm to our plant life, as well as, annoy the crap out of us, but we should consider ourselves lucky that numerous birds come to our rescue as they feast on the great flood of insects and other cold-blooded vertebrates that become active during the summer months. Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Scarlet Tanagers, Warblers, and other “canopy” birds feed on caterpillars that eat the leaves of trees. As soon as tiny insects hatch, the bugs begin feeding on the tiny soft leaves as they begin opening, and migrating birds and eventually, our annual hatchlings that fledge or songbird “raise & releases” from the shelter, will arrive just in time to recognize those bugs as dinner! Birds feed on big caterpillars, beetles, grubs, and other medium and large insects and spiders they find near the ground. Blackbirds, bluebirds, sparrows, crows, wrens, and other birds get a lot of protein by hunting and catching these same bugs. Red-winged Blackbirds eat both seeds and insects. Some birds, such as swallows, swifts, nighthawks, flycatchers, some warblers, and Cedar Waxwings scoop up insects flying in the air. Swallows, swifts and nighthawks will fly for hours at a time to catch insects on the wing. Flycatchers, warblers, and waxwings flutter out from branches when they spot a succulent insect and gobble it up! (There, that’s a few mosquitoes or flies that will not be landing on you!) Chickadees, nuthatches, creepers, woodpeckers and the Black-and-white Warbler find insect eggs, larvae or pupae in the crevices of tree bark. Woodpeckers can hear bugs chewing within the wood and dig them out! Those insects can do major damage to our trees. We usually think of hummingbirds as miniature, buzzing birds we provide sugar water or nectar for in our window feeder, but the truth is Hummingbirds get most of their nutrition and proteins by picking tiny aphids and other chewing insects from the surfaces of flowers and leaves and by snatching very tiny flying insects such as gnats in midair. Some people feed hummingbirds and small fly-catching birds by setting out chunks of banana and melon in a small mesh bag because they notice the immediate interest hummingbirds show, but it’s really the tiny fruit flies that swarm the fruit that they really want. Some birds, called generalists, eat a wider variety of insects than others. The Yellow-Rumped Warbler is an example of a generalist. Watch out bug, whatever you are, YRWs will not discriminate, and they will eat you! The top songbird insectivores in our coastal North Carolina airspace who help humans de-bug immensely are the petite Chickadees and Carolina Wrens and medium-size birds; American Robins, Northern Mockingbirds, Purple Martins, Chimney Swifts and Flycatchers. The Chickadee’s favorite snacks are beetles and caterpillars, flies and wasps. Wrens prey on ants, millipedes, beetles and grasshoppers. Our American Robins eat a wide variety of insects but are usually noticed most when tugging earthworms out of the ground. Mockingbirds are quite territorial and aggressive when it comes to hunting and prey mostly on grasshoppers, beetles and tree ants. You may see Purple Martins zooming through the sky during early morning or at dusk. They feed mainly on flying insects and occasionally, fire ants. Also, high in the sky, you may hear the chattering of Chimney Swifts who are putting a huge dent in your mosquito population. A group of Swifts in your area will eat up to 12,000 mosquitoes, termites, flies and other insects every day. Although omnivores, Flycatchers and Brown Thrashers add a huge portion of flies, spiders, moths, beetles, caterpillars, grasshoppers, crickets, cicadas, sow bugs, bees and wasps to their diet that includes fruits, nuts and berries. If you have any of these birds nearby, you can be sure they are helping lessen the pest populations near you and your home. If you are a gardener, maintaining your garden won’t be as great a chore due to the natural and most perfect pest control you can ever have, insect-eating birds. These birds are of vital importance to our ecosystem and must be protected. Scientific research and resulting data show that the total biomass of wild bird-consumed insects amounts to between 400 and 500 million tons. Wow! On the average, individual birds consume more than 100 times their own body weight in bugs. That figure is amazing because it’s roughly equivalent to the weight of meat and fish consumed each year by humans. Many of our insect-eating bird species are declining or endangered due to habitat loss, widespread pesticide use, hunting, infrastructure mortality and predation by free-roaming cats. If we can not arrest the threats to these birds, the invaluable ecosystem services they provide will be lost forever. We need more near-natural forested areas for many songbird species, rather than tree plantations that only support a few species. It can be overwhelming to look at the global picture of this dilemma, but we each can do something where we are with what we have. Protect and value your backyard birds. The young songbird insectivores being raised at the Outer Banks Wildlife Shelter now, will be coming to help you soon and rid your yard of damaging and pesky bugs. Please, welcome and cheer on these little bug zappers!

best always,

Linda Bergman-Althouse

author of “Save Them All“

“Goslings In The Road!”

Wildlife babies are everywhere! Some are where they should be, in the wild, some are being raised by wildlife rehabilitators until their release into the wild, such is the case at the Outer Banks Wildlife Shelter in Newport right now because it is infamous “Baby Season” and some, unfortunately, are in the most dangerous, precarious and inappropriate places they can be, such as ‘IN THE ROAD,’ especially Canada Geese! Yes, Canada Geese are here and very familiar to us because they are the most widely distributed geese in North America. They are easy to spot by their size and their grayish-brown plumage except for their stately black head, long black neck and whitish chest which extends to their underbelly. They sport characteristic white patches on the cheeks that run under its chin like a strap, which is commonly referred to in fact as a “chin strap.” Their large webbed feet and wide, flat bill are also, black. The bill has lamellae which are miniature ridges inside the bills of water-feeding birds or “teeth” around the outside edges of the bill that are used as a cutting tool. These big boys and girls have a wingspan up to 70 inches and weigh between 7 to 14 pounds with the female being about 10% lighter. Geese are grazers, and they walk as they graze. Of course, they are capable of flight, but walking uses far less energy and conserving energy is what wild animals do whenever possible. When geese fly short distances, it’s like a human sprinting. Yes, they can move fast but tire quickly. Saving flight for longer distances is more energy efficient. Also consider that geese practically need a runway to take off. If they have recently given birth to a clutch of goslings, flying is out of the question. Goslings can’t fly yet and their parents, who are extremely protective, would never leave them behind. Hatchlings are covered with yellowish down, their eyes are open, and they will be walking and swimming within 2 days of birth. They will follow their parents, usually in a straight line, wherever they go. Canada Geese, our goose friends from the north, come to North Carolina to have their babies and have become accustomed to road traffic. They are intelligent, although we question that when we see them in the road, but they know it’s just silly to go further away from the road to get a running start to fly over a road. The length of their run for take-off is longer than the width of a road. Geese have keen hearing and acute vision. They are big, strong, can be aggressive and are less susceptible to predation than most other waterfowl. Hawks and Owls are airborne dangers for goslings, but you won’t see those predators coming down into traffic. Juveniles are also at great risk of predation by other birds such as crows and gulls, fox, raccoons, coyotes, minks, bears, dogs and snapping turtles, but we don’t usually see them in traffic either. Geese have come to know that, and geese can easily avoid traffic, if the traffic is accommodating. However, it’s the drivers on the road who become a problem for the geese when they don’t stop or make way for them, as well as creating a major problem for every compassionate human who cares about the safety and security of the parents and their brood. Spring has sprung when we see so many geese and goslings along our roadways, in the medians and crossing the road. It’s freaky to be sure to see them there, close to or in the road, but let’s be real; there are some good grasses and insects off the shoulders of roads, near retention ponds and in the very grassy and food-plenty medians the cities maintain. Although many animals can’t digest grass, a goose’s digestive system is made for exactly that food item! Canada Geese are highly social creatures and outside the breeding season are usually seen in groups, and because they are flocking animals, they demonstrate their strong compulsion to remain bunched together as a defensive strategy. During breeding season, it’s usually Mom and Dad with their gaggle of young ones, but there might be quite a few parent couples with their children in one area. That’s what we see along the roadways on the coast of North Carolina. While grazing, goose parents take on a lookout’s role to scout for predators and keep danger at bay, but they can’t stop a moving car. So, we the drivers, must be careful, considerate and diligent enough to drive slowly in their presence just in case we need to come to a complete stop if the family decides the grass is greener on the other side of the road. There are, of course, stories of uncaring and reckless drivers plowing through an entire geese family and wiping them out. No one wants to hear that. No one wants to see that, and no compassionate human being and especially a wildlife rehabilitator wants those incidents to happen. Sad to say, but we have orphan goslings at the shelter now who have traumatically experienced such horror. Please watch out for them and allow them to be. Once the goslings become flighted, the whole family will graze elsewhere. The young will stay with their parents, who mate for life, for at least a year and although they reach reproductive maturity around age two, most will not breed until they are four years old. Since geese have become so accustomed to cars and traffic, we humans who drive, should also become accustomed to the presence of geese families, especially during this time of year. Let’s all, including our geese, have a great Coastal Summer!

best always,

Linda Bergman-Althouse

author of “Save Them All“