On Thursday, our day couldn't have been any more packed! Thursday morning, Clinic Assistant, Addie, headed to William Rall Elementary in Lindenhurst to present two Living with Wildlife programs to an enthusiastic group of students. Meanwhile, Clinic Supervisor Jess and volunteer Leslie, were driving back from upstate with a van full of food for our raptors. When Jess and Leslie returned to the hospital, we had the daunting task of packing all of the food into our freezers! Luckily, we had plenty of help from our volunteers to make the job go quickly!
Right before leaving for the evening Thursday,we received a call about an emaciated Great Blue Heron in Locust Valley. Volunteer, Eileen, and I took off for Oyster Bay in search of the Great Blue Heron. In the woods of a picturesque house perched on the top of Moore's Hill Road, an emaciated Great Blue Heron had grounded itself with no energy to fly any further. The homeowner, a bird-lover, had seen him the day prior and then again on Thursday. Together, the three of us searched the wooded area until we found the Heron hunkered down sleeping next to some thorney bushes. Unable to evade capture, the heron was swaddled up in a sheet and transported back to our hospital. Back at the hospital, we administered him rehydration fluids and set him up in an enclosure for the evening. This bird was a shadow of his former self, weighing in at only 1.5 kilograms: an entire kilogram less than an average Great Blue. Friday morning, we would be able to begin feeding an easily digestible diet to start the long road of recovery.
Right as the storm was starting on Friday morning, we received a call about a Mute Swan in Bayville. The swan was bleeding substantially from the chest and was resting on a strip of beach on Mill Neck Bay. We caught the swan easily with a net and brought him right over to Dr. Leonhardt. It turns out the swan had a ruptured tumor and is now back at our hospital receiving treatment for the wound.
The remainder of Friday was devoted to preparing the hospital for the storm. To be sure we were able to care for the animals through the storm and on Saturday, Jess and I stayed overnight at the hospital. Through the night, we watched the snow accumulate, provided our critical patients with extra feedings and went out several times to check on our birds outside. All were tucked away in the eves of their aviaries well protected from the snow. We awoke early Saturday morning to 18 inches of snow coating the arboretum. We quickly went to work on our patients knowing we would have a busy day of caring for our animals AND shoveling. Luckily, our local (Bayville, Locust Valley and Oyster Bay) volunteers came in to help us clear the snow from the paths and aviaries and to help us take care of our patients and resident animals.
This week has been a week of progress and many releases! The Great Blue Heron picked up in Oyster Bay is slowly but surely putting on weight with thrice daily feedings. The Mute Swan from Oyster Bay has a hearty appetite and is finishing up antibiotics today. We expect to release him in the next two days. The first Red-throated Loon is gaining weight as well, but has an appointment tomorrow at our veterinarian for further assessments on his condition.
Yesterday, we released three patients that have been with us for some time: a Mourning Dove, Opossum and a Mute Swan! Perhaps our most exciting release of the week was that of the second admitted Red-throated Loon on Monday. We brought him to Ransom Beach in Bayville and released him from the shore. Despite the rain that was coming down, We watched with big smiles and he preened, splashed around and dove through the water. He will be in good company in Bayville as we sighted several Red-throated Loons and Red-breasted Mergansers right nearby!
This week, we are in need of a couple very important items for our current patients.
Large Bath-Tub Mats (the rubber kind that go in the tub)-
Exercise Mats- (yoga mats etc)
and Fish Filets of any kind.
The tub mats are for lining our aviaries so we don't have to do as much laundry. We have so many towels to wash it is impossible to keep up with all the laundry. And the fish will help us feed our Loon, Great Blue Heron and a multitude of Great Black-backed Gulls that are currently in our hospital.
If you would like to help us by donating any of these items, please shoot us an email at wildlifeadvisory@gmail.com. Donations can also be mailed to Volunteers for Wildlife, Inc at 194 Bayville Road Unit A, Locust Valley NY 11560.
Have a great week, everyone!
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