Tern photos by Bill Steinkamp At last count, our wildlife centers are caring for well over 200 birds, from Pied-billed Grebes to a young American Avocet now learning to master catching live feeder fish. Here are two beautiful releases our staff and volunteers photographed earlier this week. According to Audubon, Elegant Terns were historically only seasonal … Read more
The Ruddy Duck you see in the background of the photo above was brought to California Wildlife Center in Malibu late last month with a laceration on the right ventral wing. A few days after its wound was cleaned and sutured, the bird was transferred to International Bird Rescue’s Los Angeles center to receive continued … Read more
Photo by Andreas Christensen via The Bird Rescue Center Thanks to everyone who attended Thursday’s heron and egret release at Laguna de Santa Rosa! Here’s some great shots of the release from three different lenses. Via Sean Scully of the Santa Rosa Press Democrat: For Isabel Luevano, rehabilitating lost and injured baby birds is a … Read more
Snowy Egret, photo by Isabel Luevano Love egrets? Love herons? Live in the Bay Area? If so, join us for a great release in Santa Rosa on Thursday morning! Here’s the deal: More than 20 young egrets and herons, many of which had fallen from their nests at Santa Rosa’s well-known Ninth Street colony, are … Read more
Photo by Cheryl Reynolds This male Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator) was recently sent to us from a rehabilitation group in Arizona that was unfamiliar with the species and lacked appropriate water caging. “The bird was found to have a fractured clavicle, a wound on its wing and foot lesions,” says Michelle Bellizzi, center manager of … Read more
During this past winter, a number of California Brown Pelicans were reported to have traveled well north of their usual habitat – British Columbia, to be exact. Several of these birds settled in Victoria’s inner harbour, and three were found to have parasites, frostbite, and in the case of one pelican, wounds that may have … Read more
This Great Egret (Ardea alba) was treated for multiple wing fracture and a leg wound in spring 2013. Here, Los Angeles center manager Julie Skoglund releases the bird. Video by Dr. Rebecca Duerr.
In these trying times, an image of simple compassion and care can have a profound effect on the viewer. Here’s one that recently moved us: This past weekend, International Bird Rescue rehabilitation technician Kelly Berry released five Common Murres at the Malibu Pier. If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know that our … Read more
East Bay Regional Park District supervising naturalist and KQED QUEST contributor Sharol Nelson-Embry recently wrote a blog post on this Common Loon, found wrapped in fishing line by park visitor Martha Ashton-Sikora. Upon transfer to International Bird Rescue’s San Francisco Bay center, X-rays later showed this bird had also swallowed a hook (both are common … Read more
As you may have read recently on this blog, our Los Angeles center has had a busy season with oiled Common Murres — medium-sized seabirds that nest on rocky cliffs. Natural oil seepage off the Santa Barbara coast is to blame; because these oiled birds are affected by natural causes rather than a human-caused oil … Read more