From the Project Wildlife archives.

The Sky is Falling
Meryl Faulkner

Sometimes it's wonder that the little creatures brought to us survive at all.  Birds are run over by lawn mowers, fall into swimming pools, fall from palm trees and buildings, often with no lasting injuries. 

The fortunate part seems to be having someone walk by or be there at just the right time in the right place.

One of the tallest falls this year occurred in Coronado. A home owner with a tall Torrey Pine happened to be doing some pruning in his yard.

The home owner heard a "plop". He looked around and at first saw nothing. Then he noticed a small (large pigeon sized) Great Blue Heron chick staring at him from the ground under the tree. Amazed it was alive since they knew the nests were at the top of the tree, he placed it in his trash can and called Project Wildlife.

Later when it arrived at my door having been warmed up and transported to me by Marie Molloy of Wildlife Assist, she and I marvelled that the little guy was uninjured (as far as his wings and legs were concerned).

Marie had noticed to her distress that he had a twig lacerating his back, although our rather non-technical discussion referred to the stick up his butt! Fortunately the twig, probably broken off as he crashed through the branches, only impaled him superficially. It pulled out easily and the wound cleaned up with an antiseptic solution.

The heron in question is now almost full size and somewhat aggressive. Probably with good reason! The rather humorous side to the end of the story,   was that the homeowners at first had been thrilled and excited at having such large beautiful and noble-appearing birds in their trees.

Unfortunately as the remaining chicks grew, the industrious parents brought larger and larger numbers of delicacies to the nests for them. "We have rat pieces, rotting fish and bits of other things raining down on us around this tree", complained a very irate lady. "We'd like to persuade these birds to move on. I think it's a health hazard".

When I suggested she prevent her children from picking up and ingesting the food items, she remarked they were old enough to know not to do that. "We would just like to get rid of them", she finally said. I signed inwardly. "Well, you could cut the tree down", I suggested. It would cost thousands, she responded. "Can't someone come and take them away? I've called everyone and no one can help." I pointed out that the options were limited since even if birds could be trapped and relocated, they would fly right back.

The lady was not very happy, but hearing that the breeding season was near its end mollified her somewhat. The herons above, I'm sure, were pleased with their penthouse nest overlooking the ocean close to fish in the bay and rodents and gophers near the house. Unfortunately, like many species, they are being forced into closer and closer proximity to us humans, sharing our planet and sometimes our backyard with unfortunate results for us all.

Phone Fun
by Lori Bertolucci

Answering phones can be very interesting at times. I received a call from a man who sounded relieved to have gotten through to someone, yet a little hesitant in telling why.

It seems he was out in his yard throwing a ball back and forth with his son. Out of nowhere comes this "Big Black Crow" with a Band-Aid around its leg. The crow wanted in on the game they were playing. Bill Huegel of Poway said, "It's kind of eerie".

So instead of throwing the ball to Billy his son, he stuffed the ball in his shirt hoping the bird would become discouraged and fly away. Well, that just added to the fun as far as the "crow" was concerned. It flew behind him and started sneaking up, Bill said. "I was watching him out of the corner of my eye and could see him."

After the call I asked my mom what she made of it, "...a friendly crow, is it possible?" She said, "Oh yes, and ravens are much more playful". Later that morning when I found Marge of the raptor team she said she'd look into it and that it sounded more like a raven that someone had been taking care of.

Bill agreed it was probably a raven because it almost stood as high as his two year old son and weighed a good twenty pounds. Since then he has been seen twice. Once by Bill himself, and once by a girl playing at the school with a ball. The raven dive-bombed her and pecked her on the head!

Here Kitty, Kitty
by Jackie Flesch

I like cats. I don't love them, but I like them. Cats expect to be fed and pampered, touched on their terms. And they like birds. I relate.

There are times however when I have problems with the people cats own. I have "regulars" who bring me 5-10 birds a year.

Working in an animal hospital was a real eye-opener. I found that the worst enemy of cats are other cats. Several times a week we worked on "Frankenstein Cats". These poor guys were stitched from head to toe because they jumped over the wrong fence.

When cats hunt during spring and summer they often catch either babies or parents. If they catch a parent half of the babies in the nest will die.

Poor kitties. They do a lot of damage and a lot of damage is done to them from being outside.

Lucy is the cat that owns my friend Cheryl Semple. Cheryl says that Lucy is a very strict owner. She doesn't allow Cheryl to own potted plants or designer bowls. If Cheryl disobeys and brings one home Lucy will punish her by using it as a toilet.

Cheryl feels that Lucy has decimated the wildlife in her backyard. Lucy often brings her the back end of the animals she catches and Cheryl is often left wondering if she's being presented with a gopher butt or a mouse butt.

Poor Cheryl works at the Project Wildlife facility. She's doing penance for Lucy. She'll probably be there for years!

Cheryl has found, along with many others, that there are ways to cut down on wildlife assaults. Buy a bell and put it on a safety release collar. Keep your kitty in two hours after sunrise and two hours before the sun goes down. This is when the birds are vulnerable because they are hungry.

Kitties are nice. They're nicer indoors. The problems indoor kitties have are usually related to old age or being overweight. I suffer from both. I need to get out more.

High Speed, High Altitude Flyers
By Meryl Faulkner

Imagine mating while tumbling end over end and falling 500 feet through the air. No, doesn't appeal to me either! But that's what white throated swifts seem to do. As for nesting, Phil Unitt's Bird Atlas Project handbook mentions nest sites under freeway bridges as well as more traditional spots like the cliffs at Torrey Pines. Some nest sites such as one site in Nevada are used over long periods of time, over 54 years, longer than the life spans of the individual birds.

Swifts are a challenge to rehabilitators. The nestlings snap food from the parents' mouths and don't gape as do the songbirds. This makes feeding them a challenge. Luckily like the rest of our orphans, they learn to grab a syringe and swallow cat food, albeit with some reluctance. High flying bugs probably taste much better!

Swifts cannot fly from the ground since their legs are small and weak, whilst their sharp clawed feet are well adapted to clinging to vertical surfaces. Hence their release has to be from a height of a couple of stories at least. Wild juvenile swifts fly from their high nest, tumble out and catch insects on the wing. No help from the parents, just instinctive aerial feeding! The white throated swift is possibly the fastest flying North American bird, and has been seen escaping from a peregrine in a chase.

Fledgling swifts such as the one pictured, come to us from "the ground under the 805 overpass near route 5," or from the ground near very tall buildings. A few adults are grounded (probably at dusk when misjudging distances) and try to climb upwards, instinctively trying to get to a height from which they can once more launch themselves back into the sky.

Launching a swift from a second story building or from the bluffs at Torrey Pines is not for the faint hearted, since even flight tested in a 20 foot aviary, swifts make four to six wingbeats and hit the netting end to end in what seems a heartbeat - hard to judge whether their extended flight will be successful. Just as well for our nerves that we get only half a dozen a year!

And Now, A Word From Debbie Beam,
Project Wildlife Care Facility Manager

I am always in awe of the stamina of pigeons. This is one such story:

It all began when our Facility took in a young pigeon with a gunshot wound below the ribs. After assessing the situation, we began the treatment plan.

Daily cleanings and medications would have caused any other animal to go into "high anxiety stress." But not this guy! He didn't like us too well -- but I really think he knew we were trying to help him.

When he saw us coming, he would flutter a little, but was a real trooper when it was his turn. Not only was he shot, but he had a swollen eye and parasites to boot. There were days when he didn't feel like eating, so here we would come, put a tube down him and feed him!

A few weeks passed, and although he'd lost a little weight, he was improving. Then, to our amazement, we discovered another wound, which we think was created by the bullet working its way out and creating an exit wound. So it was back to square one!

On his second road to recovery, he developed another problem due to all his medications. We knew then that he was a survivor. Two and a half months later, we were able to put him outdoors. But because a good many pigeons will return from where they came, we opted to find him a permanent home and live a life of luxury. We think of him often and do miss him in an odd sort of way.