Here at the Chintimini Wildlife Center, our staff and volunteers both look forward to and brace for BABY SEASON! Of course nursing orphaned animals and reuniting them with their parents has its rewards, not to mention the cuteness factor, but the sheer volume of animals can be very time consuming and is sometimes overwhelming. For example, some newborn songbirds need to be fed every 15 minutes from sun up to sun down! All in all though, it simply is the best and most interesting time of year at the clinic.
This March we have already gotten a taste of many of the tiny patients to come. Let’s take the time, while we have it, to introduce the first of the little ones.
The very first baby birds of the season are not so little. This past week we received a call about a Great Horned Owl nestling that was on the ground under a tree. Apparently a recent rain and wind storm had caused it to fall out of its nest. The caring property owners who had called had noticed the parents feeding him on the ground and heard their calls.
Animal Care Director Kelsey Lance went to rescue the nestling and found it was too young to be out of the nest. He was brought back to the clinic, where staff warmed it up, gave him an exam and found that there were no injuries. He was deemed healthy with a full belly of food, which indicated that his parents had fed him recently.
Chintimini Wildlife Center Blog 