I actually have noteable news today. Yesterday I got back from a stay at Matt's which lasted three days. We went to the St. Paul Rodeo which was highly entertaining (except the calf roping does look a tad harsh on the necks of the young bovines). I also acquired the Back to the Future trilogy for a mere $17 at Fred Meyer as well as a used copy of Naked by David Sedaris. One can never have too much Sedaris! Thus far it has proven to be a highly entertaining read. In other news, I have acquired the new Guster album, Ganging Up On the Sun. It's markedly different from their previous works, but I love it. "The Captain" is my favorite selection right now.
Today I returned to the 'paca ranch and worked and then after that went to the Rowena Wildlife Clinic to see the facilities and meet the vet. It is amazing. I'd been looking freaking all over the web for a wildlife rehab. clinic close to home and I finally found that there's one only 40 miles away! Jean (the veterinarian) told me just about all the background info. on all the current patients, and there are many. Anyway, inside I got to see a grosbeak, three osprey, a weasel, several small birds (including a tiny fluffly scrub jay which chirps seemingly uncontrollably when fed), a goose, a baby barn owl, and a duckling. She then lead me outside to a pen..we entered and there's birds flying and waddling everywhere, and then there's a deer fawn just walking around, and right next to that pen, an enclosure with two mature bald eagles! Another pen held a sharp-shinned hawk and a baby screech owl (Becky, 'tis freaking adorable!). The largest outdoor pen is for birds on the verge of being able to be released and it held two red-tail hawks, a great horned owl, and a prairie falcon. Wow!
I got to cut a fish up (with garden shears) and feed a baby osprey (had fallen out of its nest and broken its leg). Jean went out to the release pen with rats and said I could feed the fawn when I was done with the osprey, so I got to bottle-feed the fawn. The bad news is the fawn is probably going to have to be euthanized: from all outward appearances it's blind, and I'm pretty sure there's no way a blind deer could ever survive long in the wild, and it also has a very odd birth defect: it only has one hoof, rather than the normal cloven hooves, on three of its feet, which would probably impede its ability to run. Someone found it near a road alone, and it hadn't been hit or anything, just lost its mother. The bald eagles were apparently hit by a car while feeding on road-kill: they have minor bone breakages and one has a scratched cornea.
So: I am super enthused about being able to volunteer there and get some experience working with wildlife this summer. I shall return tomorrow, perhaps with my camera.
Today I returned to the 'paca ranch and worked and then after that went to the Rowena Wildlife Clinic to see the facilities and meet the vet. It is amazing. I'd been looking freaking all over the web for a wildlife rehab. clinic close to home and I finally found that there's one only 40 miles away! Jean (the veterinarian) told me just about all the background info. on all the current patients, and there are many. Anyway, inside I got to see a grosbeak, three osprey, a weasel, several small birds (including a tiny fluffly scrub jay which chirps seemingly uncontrollably when fed), a goose, a baby barn owl, and a duckling. She then lead me outside to a pen..we entered and there's birds flying and waddling everywhere, and then there's a deer fawn just walking around, and right next to that pen, an enclosure with two mature bald eagles! Another pen held a sharp-shinned hawk and a baby screech owl (Becky, 'tis freaking adorable!). The largest outdoor pen is for birds on the verge of being able to be released and it held two red-tail hawks, a great horned owl, and a prairie falcon. Wow!
I got to cut a fish up (with garden shears) and feed a baby osprey (had fallen out of its nest and broken its leg). Jean went out to the release pen with rats and said I could feed the fawn when I was done with the osprey, so I got to bottle-feed the fawn. The bad news is the fawn is probably going to have to be euthanized: from all outward appearances it's blind, and I'm pretty sure there's no way a blind deer could ever survive long in the wild, and it also has a very odd birth defect: it only has one hoof, rather than the normal cloven hooves, on three of its feet, which would probably impede its ability to run. Someone found it near a road alone, and it hadn't been hit or anything, just lost its mother. The bald eagles were apparently hit by a car while feeding on road-kill: they have minor bone breakages and one has a scratched cornea.
So: I am super enthused about being able to volunteer there and get some experience working with wildlife this summer. I shall return tomorrow, perhaps with my camera.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home