What We Can All Do To Help Wildlife

[sharonann]

Hi everyone...Want to get your bird fix in real life?  I volunteer at a wild life rehab sanctuary near my home in Colorado.  Every week, spring, summer and fall, I hand-feed and care for baby birds that have been admitted  to the sanctuary.  If you have a rehab place near you they are always looking for volunteers.  We take all birds  except  birds of prey. (They go to a raptor rehab place in the area.) We also have mammals- raccoons, squirrels, fox.  All these animals need care daily year round.  If you  are unable to volunteer consider donating money or needed supplies to a place near you in honor of the eagles that are now flying free and were cared for by people in rehab centers.  I am in my 8th year of volunteering at my place.  Best part is releasing the rehabbed animals and birds.  Thank you for your time reading this.  Sharon      

[Nora in IA]

Hi Sharon!  That is really a neat thing to do, most people probably don't know about that sort of opportunity.  Keep up the good "work" and thanx for throwing a great idea out of all of us.  Do you mind me asking what part of Colorado you're in?  Nora

[AliceWitt]

I don't think a lot of people realize how much they can do for rehab centers by just being at home. I belong to a national organization called the Linus Project. We make blankets of fleece with crocheted edging for hospitals, NICU's. Children's wards, Cancer centers, Senior Citizen centers, and Nursing Homes. I have sat in airports crocheting while waiting that long 1-2 hours for the plane. You'd be surprised how many people stop and recognize what I am doing.
We cut the fleece remnants into small pieces, insert in pillow cases, and donate them to rehab centers for bedding. The scrap yarn is either crocheted or kitted into small "nests" for newborn animals ... birds, rabbits, fox, etc. 

[sharonann]

Nora...I am North of Denver and East of Boulder.  Thanks for the feed back- after I posted I thought maybe it was not the appropriate thing to do.  My place is Greenwood Wildlife Rehab Sanctuary.  There is also a raptor rehab place near me, but I don't like rodents (mice, rats) which keeps me from volunteering there.

[kittenface]

Sharonann& AliceWitt
I'd like to say thank you for the things you do for the wildlife you are the unsung hero's that make life for these animals possible. I am going to look around my area and see if there is somewhere I can go and help out it won't be alot due to the jobs I have but a little is better than none. Thank you for posting those pictures AliceWitt they are just wonderful I just learned how to crochet so maybe if nothing else I can do some kind of sewing I'm at least pretty good with a needle and thread

[elfruler]

Here are two directories of raptor centers in North America:

http://www.wildliferehabber.org/st_disp_list.php

http://www.raptorcenter.org/raptor-directory.asp

[elfruler]

I'm wondering if anyone can explain how we might all go about determining if an organization has all the right permits and is following proper procedures in its rehabbing?

[jfrancl]

SOAR's research on eagles and lead poisoning.

http://www.soarraptors.org/leadresearch.html

[Pagent]

Wondering if perhaps this thread can be renamed to maybe something like "What you can do to help Raptors or Wildlife" or something else besides just wild life rehab.  Even "How to hel wild life rehab". Just wondering because I had a hard time finding it from the Home Page.  
Thanks for starting it.  

[AliceWitt]

Sharonann, I was so glad to see you bring this thread to the forum. It reminded me so much of one of the Discussions on the RRP FB page started by Annie Lindstrom called "After The Fledge" It had been going for about a week or so when an eagle's nest at Mooseheart in Illinois near Aurora was blown down in a terrible windstorm. As hard as the volunteers tried building a new nest overnight, the parents would not return and feed the baby. It was subsequently taken to Flint Creek in Barrington, IL. I started a thread in this Forum called "Flint Creek Needs Your Help" and posted about it in also on Anne's topic in the Discussion Section.
Since then I have become a volunteer at flint Creek. Since FB closed its conversational posts the RRP MOD has done a fantastic job of organizing and summarizing the Discussion threads to assist in navigation. She has retitled it Raptor, Wildlife & Audubon Centers Listing.
Perhaps some of our members would like to take a look at the listings of centers for raptors and other birds
http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=103786266324668&topic=639

[AliceWitt]

I am a member of the National Wildlife Federation and was so glad to see it listed.
The National Wildlife Federation works to inspire Americans to protect wildlife for our children's future.
As the nation's largest conservation organization, founded over 75 years ago, NWF and its 4 million supporters are committed to sustaining the nature of America for the benefit of people and wildlife.
http://www.nwf.org/Wildlife/What-We-Do.aspx
Be sure to peruse all the pages on this website. You want to know what is near you? They give state maps and addresses. Want to know where to go or what you can do right from your own home? They have all the suggestions.
Sign up for their newsletter, it will blow your mind.
The National Wildlife Federation's mission is to confront global warming, protect wildlife habitat, and connect people to nature.

[jfrancl]

Outward signs and symptoms of lead poisoning in water fowl and birds of prey.

http://www.unbc.ca/nlui/wildlife_diseases_bc/lead_poisoning.htm

[sharonann]

Please feel free to rename this anything you want to better brand it.  I have had so much enjoyment and learned so much from my volunteer years even tho I am mostly dealing with song birds. I don't even mind doing the "scut" work ie cleaning cages, doing dishes and laundry.  It all benefits the birds and that is what is important to me.  I don't know how to change the name so Pagent, feel free to do it.  Sharon

[elfruler]

sharonann, since you started the thread, you are the only one who can change the name.  You do that by going back to your very first post on the thread, click on "Modify" and then change the text in the Subject line.  Then click "Save" when you are done.

How about What We Can All Do to Help the Wildlife -- ?

[Pagent]

jfranci, Thanks for that link.  It is one I didn't have!!