Orphaned Waterfowl of Anchorage and the Volunteers Who Care for Them

As our short Alaskan summer comes to a close, our work at Bird TLC slows but doesn't stop. And while the summer may have been short, it sure was busy.

Baby birds were the majority of Bird TLC's intakes from May-August, including over 100 orphaned waterfowl. We want to introduce you to our waterfowl-loving volunteers, Dave and Cindy Schraer, and highlight their incredible work.

A family of Green-winged Teals orphaned when their mother was struck by car.

Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) (Read about HPAI and Bird TLC's preventative protocols at the end of this post) has made caring for orphaned waterfowl challenging. Because waterfowl are asymptomatic carriers of HPAI, they are cared for in a quarantine area, allowing us to rehabilitate them safely and responsibly. This area has been affectionately coined "Gullville" by Dave and Cindy.

Dave has volunteered for Bird TLC for over a decade (since 2008!). He has worked with raptors, corvids, and songbirds and now specializes in caring for orphaned waterfowl. Cindy has volunteered at Bird TLC since 2019, getting her start by hand-feeding baby gulls. Now she's hooked on gulls!

The hard-working Schraers, both retired doctors, are invaluable volunteers who manage the set-up and running of Gullville throughout the summer with the help of other volunteers and staff. They are involved with every step of caring for orphaned waterfowl - from the initial care to release back into the wild. They spend their days cleaning, feeding, and monitoring the health and behavior of each of their charges. At the height of the season, the Schraers can have up to 60 baby birds at once!

Cindy and Dave estimate that in the summer of 2022, the first year of HPAI, they worked 8-10 hours daily in the waterfowl quarantine area. But before the waterfowl arrived, they spent a month and a half constructing the quarantine area with the assistance of other volunteers and staff. This year, they were grateful for additional help from the Alaska Chapter of the America Zoo Keepers Association.

Operating Gullville, as Cindy describes, is no easy feat; it requires a lot of work physically, mentally, and emotionally, but the reward of releasing rehabilitated young waterfowl into the wild makes it worth the effort to them.

An orphaned Common Goldeneye and Canada Goose gosling cuddle together.

We can't begin to express how much we appreciate all the Schraers do for Alaska's wild birds and Bird TLC.

Next month, we’ll meet the volunteer who raises baby songbirds.

About HPAI and Bird TLC's preventative protocols:

HPAI is a highly contagious and tough virus that can survive freezing temperatures and remain viable in aquatic environments. Raptors, like Bald Eagles, are highly susceptible to contracting the virus.

With the significant outbreak of HPAI in 2022, many avian rehabilitation centers across the country temporarily closed their clinics or stopped admitting waterfowl to keep their resident education birds safe from the virus. Waterfowl are asymptomatic carriers and can pass the disease to other birds simply by shedding the virus in their saliva, nasal fluids, and feces.

Bird TLC has remained open to all species of birds throughout the HPAI outbreak. We implemented and continue to follow strict protocols to keep our Ambassador Birds safe and prevent the spread of the virus from an infected wild bird to an uninfected bird.

Baby Birds: To Help or Not to Help?

It’s summer and that means many Good Samaritans are calling about an all-too-common situation that appears worrisome but is typically not a cause for concern: young birds, called fledglings, on the ground, making their first attempts at learning how to fly. 

This period when fledglings are "grounded" is a natural part of the growing-up process. Sometimes fledglings will be grounded for a week or longer while trying to learn the ropes. Meanwhile, the parents remain nearby, keeping a watchful eye and tending to their young when needed. 

One common bird you might encounter as a fledging is a Black-billed Magpie. Magpies are omnivores that nest in trees, forage on the ground, and are found throughout open woodlands across the state. They frequent urban, human-developed areas because of the excellent foraging opportunities these areas provide. It is common to come across adults and fledglings throughout the trails and city of Anchorage. You can read more details about Black-billed Magpies, including their species range and how to identify them, here.

Several magpie fledglings have come into the clinic this summer. When caring for these fledglings, we must ensure they do not imprint on us. Imprinting occurs when a young bird is exposed to humans at a crucial age while learning how to be a bird. When wild birds imprint on humans, they look to humans for food, care, and social bonding since they no longer think of themselves as birds.

Rehabilitation Assistant, Katie Thorman, feeds a fledgling magpie.

The unfortunate result of imprinting is that the bird's chance of surviving in the wild is significantly reduced. 

Magpies and other corvids, such as ravens and Steller's Jays, rely on social connections and bonds with other birds, so they are more susceptible than other bird species to imprinting on humans.

Bird TLC's Ambassador and social media darling, Shavila, is a magpie that we could not release back into the wild because she had imprinted on humans. Because she is imprinted, she is comfortable living her life under human care. Shavila still has many magpie traits - she is chatty, smart, inquisitive, and excellent at caching.

When Shavila came to Bird TLC, she had the blue eyes that all young magpies have.

The best chance of long-term survival for fledglings is to learn how to be a bird from their parents. Humans should only get involved if a fledgling has been orphaned or injured.

You can help keep wild baby birds stay wild by waiting and watching from a distance to see if parents are coming to care for them. If you don't see parents in the immediate area, you can approach the fledgling and see if parents suddenly appear, letting you know they would like you to back away. If the parents are tending to the grounded fledgling, then all is good, and there is no reason for the fledgling to come into human care.

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.