Alaska's Wild Birds Need Alaska’s Native Plants

In 2022, the Garden Club of America began a nationwide initiative to promote native plants. Their goal was to establish a Native Plant Month in every state. 

Led by the Alaska Native Plant Society, several organizations, including Bird Treatment and Learning Center, came together to ask Governor Dunleavy to proclaim a Native Plant Month in Alaska. Elsewhere in the United States (or the lower 48 as Alaskans say), National Native Plant Month occurs in April, but with winter slow to loosen its hold on our northern state, May was chosen as Alaska's Native Plant Month. 

Why is Bird TLC invested in National Native Plant Month? Because the birds we love depend on native plants for survival. 

Birds rely on plants in various ways - for shelter and shade, protection from predators, nesting material, nesting sites, and perching.

With some observation, it's easy to see the connection between birds and native plants. As snow fell and a cold wind blew on a wintry April day, we watched a newly arrived robin perch in a White Spruce to take cover from the inclement weather. See movement in an alder thicket? Stop to look and you’ll see migratory songbirds flitting among the dense cover, staying safe from predators. And that bird going head first down the spruce tree outside your window? That’s a Red-breasted Nuthatch searching for insects.

Birch, aspen, cottonwood, black spruce, and willow are other woody plants that benefit wild birds. They offer food (sap, seeds, and insects), nesting materials (bark, leaves, twigs), and nesting sites to wild birds. Berrying shrubs, such as blueberry, red elderberry, and red raspberry, sustain birds with their fruits. 

Familiar backyard birds that utilize these plants are numerous, including woodpeckers, Black-capped and Boreal Chickadees, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Brown Creepers, Common Redpolls, Pine Siskins, Bohemian Waxwings, Dark-eyed Juncos, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, sparrows, warblers, thrushes, and flycatchers.

Native perennials and ferns are also crucial to Alaska's wild birds. Common Redpolls enjoy fireweed seeds, and Ruby-crowned Kinglets and Dark-eyed Juncos gather nesting material from this well-known flower. Lady Fern provides shelter to Black-capped and Boreal Chickadees, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Dark-eyed Juncos, and several sparrow species, to name a few. 

Photo credit: Rob Tappana

You can help Alaska's wild birds by including native plants in your landscaping and planting in layers - adding groundcovers to perennial beds and planting understory shrubs beneath trees. Let a patch of your yard retain some wildness - let the alders, cow parsnip, raspberry, and elderberry grow. And leave your garden clean up for spring. Birds will take advantage of flower seeds and forage for insects among the fallen leaves.

The birds will thank you and may see new birds in your yard who come to capitalize on those resources! 

Read more about gardening for birds and other wildlife in "Landscaping for Wildlife" by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

Other sources:

https://nationalnativeplantmonth.org/

https://www.migratorybirdday.org/

Thank you to Bird TLC volunteer Lisa Pajot for the information on which native plants are important to birds.

A Saw-whet Owl’s story of rehabilitation and release in Anchorage, Alaska

We received a call from a Good Samaritan about an unusual patient at Providence Hospital. They weren't sure if he wanted to go inside or was just passing the time and admiring the landscaping. They told us he was about 8 inches tall, had yellow eyes, and mottled cinnamon, brown, and red feathers. Feathers? Yes, feathers. This patient was a Northern Saw-whet Owl that refused to leave the safety of the bush he was perched in, despite being surrounded by a small crowd. 

As the group stood around the owl, wondering how to help, a woman approached to see what was happening. Because she had volunteered for Bird TLC, she could assess the situation and knew how what to do for this tiny owl. She instructed an onlooker to get a box and towel. After safely securing the owl in the box, she contacted us. A rehabilitation volunteer hurried to the hospital and brought the owl to the clinic.

The owl was unusually quiet and was squinting one eye, so Bird TLC veterinarians suspected their new patient had suffered head trauma. 

We treated him with pain medication and eye drops and placed him in a quiet, dark enclosure.

In the wild, Northern Saw-whet Owls eat primarily small mammals so we fed him pieces of rat. Initially, we used tongs to feed him to ensure he would eat and maintain weight.

Once the owl had recuperated and shown us that he could eat independently and all signs of head trauma had resolved, we coordinated his release. 

Dr. Karen scouted for a release site close to where the owl was found. We wanted to return him to the territory where he had likely been raised the previous year. The wooded area also met the preferences of Northern Saw-whet Owls. These owls like to forage in a forest with an open understory, nest in deciduous trees, and roost in conifers.

Other staff coordinated with the family who had won an owl release at a recent auction. They were particularly excited because their young sons, especially their 6-year-old, are fascinated by owls. 

Within 48 hours of determining the owl was ready for release, everyone had gathered on a Saturday evening, ready to set the owl free.

Dr. Karen instructed the young boys on how to help with the release. They held the carrier as still as possible and patiently waited for the owl to fly out. With some encouragement from Dr. Karen, the owl flew from the carrier, landed on a tree in front of the group, watched us for a few moments, and then flew off into the woods.

We loved sharing this special moment with this family of owl admirers. Their mother told us, “The owl release was an absolutely amazing experience for our family!  My sons talked about Northern Saw-whets for the rest of the weekend, and my middle son, the owl-enthusiast, told me that the Northern Saw-whet is now his favorite owl.  Many thanks to you and your team for making it such a memorable moment for us.”

Releasing our rehabilitated Northern Saw-whet Owl.

You can read more about the biology of Northern Saw-whets and find tips for identification here.

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Stories like this our possible because of your support.

Thank you.

How to Determine a Bird's Age

Determining the age of a bird can be tricky, but with the help of UV light Avian Care Director Dr. Karen Higgs and Rehabilitation Assistant Katie Thorman determined that this owl had hatched just last year. Under UV light, porphyrin, an organic compound in newly molted feathers, becomes fluorescent, allowing the differentiation between one-year-old and two-year-old feathers.

A Look at Bird TLC's Bald Eagle Patients

Welcome to the Bird Treatment and Learning Center blog!

This monthly blog will delve into what's happening with rehabilitation patients and our Ambassador Birds. We'll also dive into topics pertinent to the rehabilitation of wild birds and the training and care of our Ambassadors. Let's get started!

In the first two months of 2023, we've been busy with Bald Eagles. All of our eagle patients have moved from the clinic to the flight center where we test their flying ability. The eagles will stay there to build their strength before being released.

Because eagles are social birds, all our patients are living together in a 100-foot flight lane. We suspect the single adult did not plan on babysitting three juveniles! Volunteers visit daily to deliver food. They also watch the birds fly and report concerns to Dr. Karen Higgs, Bird TLC’s Avian Care Director and Veterinarian.

One of our eagle patients had elevated lead levels in her blood when she arrived at the clinic in December. She had also sustained a wing fracture from being shot. After confirming that the injury did not prevent her from flying, she returned to the clinic to undergo chelation treatment for lead toxicosis. Chelation, essentially “scrubs” lead out of the bloodstream to be excreted. Chelation can be successful, but only if intervention is timely.

All birds are at risk of lead toxicosis, but loons, vultures, bald eagles, and condors are the most susceptible. They may ingest lead fishing tackle or eat from carcasses that contain spent lead ammunition. You can read more about the effects of lead on eagles in this article on Science.

Symptoms of lead toxicosis can include ataxia, seizures, and limb paralysis. Lead affects all major organs and eventually can work its way into the bone. When a bird ingests lead, small amounts are absorbed into the GI tract and released into the bloodstream.

We can prevent birds’ exposure to lead by using substitutes for lead ammunition and fishing tackle. The use of copper-based ammunition is becoming a more popular choice and some states have taken measures to phase out the use of lead ammunition. Hunting with Nonlead’s website is an excellent resource for more information.

Thank you to Bird TLC volunteer Katie Verbarendse for the photos of the eagles at the flight center.