Paws 'N Claws

Training Sam
by Roger Rucker


This is Sam.

Sam is fitted with anklets and jesses.

Once fitted with anklets and jesses, Sam can sit comfortably on a glove.

Sam is spending time at the center getting accustomed to being around people.

• The first command “step” teaches the bird to step up on a glove on the trainer’s hand and perch on the glove. Most raptors try to fly away when we first try to get them to stand on the glove. We gently lift them back on the glove while repeating the command "step” until they learn to stand on it. It takes a lot of patience to train a raptor.
   
• The second command is “perch.” Once they stand on the glove, we bring them close to a perch and tell them to "perch," which means to step from the glove onto the perch. It usually takes several tries before they do not try to fly away. We then attach the leash to the perch, so they cannot fly away and then repeat the “step” and “perch” commands until they learn them. We will leave Sam on a perch in the rehabilitation center during the day so he can get used to people.
   
• The last command, “kennel” is used to get the owl to go into a carrier for transport to education programs.
   

Sophia Potempa, ATW staff, preps the evening meal.

Wild animals in rehabilitation benefit from fresh wholesome vegetables, greens, fruits, dairy, eggs, and meat. They eat more, heal faster, and are stronger when returned to the wild.  Last year ATW spent almost $16,000 on feeding supplies for the wildlife in rehabilitation including expensive species-specific milk-replacer formula; fresh produce, eggs and dairy, meat and fish including frozen rodents and live mealworms; intensive care food; and feeding utensils like syringes, nipples, and baby bottles.

The animal refrigerator at ATW is crammed full of fresh food.

Even with all the great food donations, we still depend on HEB and Costco for produce, dairy, eggs, and meat where we pay for the food. We have asked and been told they cannot donate food to us. Each grocery haul consists of bags of fresh kale, Romaine lettuce, sweet potatoes, corn, squash, carrots, apples, grapes, yogurt, eggs, and chicken parts like hearts, backs, and necks.  H Mart, a Korean grocery near Lakeline Mall, is a great source of small whole frozen fish for the herons, raccoons, and other fish eaters.

After stops at HEB and Costco, a volunteer shopper's SUV is full of fresh food.

A bowl of chop. The animals prefer baked sweet potatoes.

Chop with protein added for the raccoons, opossums, skunks, and foxes.
 

Are you a host to a nest of baby birds at your front door or back patio? Lucky you! It’s great fun to watch the babies develop and fly away. Here’s some information that will help you enjoy the process.

Although there are several species of songbirds that nest at human establishments, we are going to concentrate in this article on three of the most common species : Carolina and Bewick’s wrens, house finches, and barn swallows.

Wrens are cavity nesters, but with the lack of a cavity, like a nest box, they will create their own cavity with nesting material. They are little brownish birds with a stripe on the side of their heads. Wrens are insectivores, meaning they eat primarily insects.

A Carolina wren is bringing food to babies in a nest box.

House finches are little birds too with thick beaks and striped breasts. The males have a red head and breast. House finches like to build nests in wreaths and potted plants. They eat a plant-based diet including seeds.

A male house finch is feeding babies.

Barn swallows build their nests out of mud and plant materials that they stick on the side of walls and other surfaces. They have a dark back and rust-colored throat and breast. Barn swallows are aerial insectivores who catch flying insects on the wing.

Barn swallow with babies.

Here are some helpful hints to get you human hosts through the nesting period and keep you from fretting and worrying too much:

You may never see the parents. Or you may see the parents a lot in the beginning and then not so much later on. Both the male and the female are equally responsible for caring for the babies. They come and go very quickly. When outside temperatures are hot, like now in August, they will not stay on the nest.

Bewick's wren nest in a small pot.

It is extremely rare for parents to abandon an active nest.

If something happens to one of the parents, the mate will carry on with feeding and caring for the young. Chances are slim that something will happen to both birds.

There won’t be any bird poop in the nest. In the case of wrens, the parents pick up the poop and fly it away. Baby bird poop comes out in fecal sacs that can be picked up. Baby house finches stick their butts over the edge of the nest as do barn swallows. All in all, the parents keep the nest clean.

If you are hanging around, the parents will not come to the nest. Stay away! You may even want to block the entrance until the babies are gone.

Once the babies have feathers and are ready to fledge (leave the nest), the parents will stop bringing food to the nest in an attempt to get the babies to leave. This may go on for days. The parents will be nearby watching patiently for their off-spring to fly away from the nest while the young ones scream for food.

Wren, finch, and swallow babies all fly out of the nest. When they fledge, the parents will be nearby to lead them on their maiden flight to and show them where to find food.

YOU CANNOT MOVE THE NEST. The parents cannot find their babies if you move the nest.

Of course, tragedies do happen. Babies that fall out of the nest should be put back in the nest. You can touch the babies. Remember, the touching thing is a myth.

You can make a substitute nest for a nest that has been destroyed and put the babies in it in the same location. Use a small container with some grass and other soft natural material. If the nest location is not protected from the rain, use a container that drains, like a small sieve, colander, or strawberry box with holes in the bottom. The parents will continue caring for their babies.

If you are considering bringing the babies to a wildlife rehabilitator, please remember that baby birds always, always have a better chance at survival when raised by their natural parents. Birds raised in a cage without natural parents will not know how to recognize danger or find food when released.

You can do it! You can survive the few weeks of nesting and be the proud host of healthy baby birds. You can trust that the bird parents know how to raise their babies and are doing their job. Now, you do your job and leave them alone!

For more information on Carolina wrens, click HERE.

For more information on Bewick’s wrens, click HERE.

For more information on house finches, click HERE.

For more information on barn swallows, click HERE.