Treetop Home Makeover

On March 20, we had a call from a homeowner reporting a Great horned owlet on the ground. It turned out that there were actually two owlets that had come out of the nest and mom was there with them. It was critical that we tried to get them back into the tree where they could be safe from the elements and predators. We contacted Shaun with Canopy Cat Rescue. CCR is another area non-profit that rescues cats from trees. Having worked with them before, we knew they could assist us in re-nesting these owlets. Shaun was happy to help and met us at the home, ready to climb the tree.

Our staff conducted a quick exam of both owlets to be sure they were not injured in the fall. Fortunately, they were healthy and in great condition. Mom had been feeding them well and watched us from a nearby tree as we worked to re-unite the family. The original nest was too small and in a precarious spot in the V split of the tree. We used a large wicker laundry basket filled with sticks to make a new nest and Shaun secured it in the tree. 

Both owlets were carefully placed in the nest and shortly after we left, the homeowner reported that mom had returned to tend to her babies. We hope she appreciated her extreme home makeover. The neighborhood is watching this owl family, from a distance, and report they are all thriving. We love a happy ending and keeping wild families together. You can see more photos of the rescue on our website. 

Spring has Sprung

We are excited to share our newsletter with you this month. After several years using the same template from another provider, we decided to approach the local company that hosts our website and ask their design team to develop a newsletter we can use in conjunction with our current website. Efinitytech has created a beautiful new modern template for us, and we are excited about the change to this new platform. Please check out the links at the bottom of the page to visit our YouTube account and our other social media platforms for more of our stories, photos, and videos! 

The impacts of COVID-19 have caused this past month to be filled with so much uncertainty. Businesses and households are trying to keep up with the changes to our daily lives, and it seems like there is nowhere functioning with a sense of business as usual. Our wildlife hospital is considered an “essential business”, but we have had to make numerous changes to our activities and protocols. All of our outreach educational events have been cancelled and we have had to ask all of our volunteers to stay home. Our staff are taking extra precautions to keep our work environment safe and sanitized. 

We have made significant changes to our patient drop off protocols, but we continue to fulfill our mission to help orphaned and injured wildlife. If you find an animal in need of our help, call us at 360-435-4817, and we will assist you in making arrangements. As always, we cannot thank you all enough for helping make it possible for us to be here. 

Like many businesses, we are not sure how this pandemic will impact us long term. Many of our interns have had to cancel their travel plans to come to Washington state this summer. We hope that some of the local applicants will still be able to join us and assist with our baby season. We look forward to the day we can welcome our volunteers back to the facility. 

But some things do remain the same – Baby Season is underway! We have already received many orphaned Eastern cottontails, an Eastern gray squirrel, an orphaned Barn owlet, and today a one-week old coyote pup arrived. He is small and was found cold and alone in a storm drain. Several patients have needed surgery, like this Bald eagle that was shot. More of his story is also on our website Patient of the Week blog feature. We remain committed to help these patients, keep our staff safe, and navigate the changes in our community during this difficult time.