2016

[boonibarb]

 
i was in the back forty of my garden when i thought i heard a rumbling car pull in & people start calling.
When Otto barked, i knew they were in my driveway.
A man was driving & a woman had a Canada Goose wrapped up in her scarf.
The bundle looked too small to be a big Goose.
We went to the kennel shed & lined a kennel with a towel & she tucked him into the kennel head first.
He was all done in & barely moved.
They thought he had been fighting with another male, & one foot seemed injured.
They raced him down to the ferry & got a ride for the Goose to Buckley Bay.
i called MARS & Reg answered.
He was arranging for someone to meet the Goose at Buckley Bay.

 

[Tigerlady105]

Thank you, booni, for doing what you do so well... caring for wildlife that need help.   

[boodle317]

Thanks to both you and the kind couple.   

[jeavverhey]

It is so heartening when people respond appropriately to a creature in need.    . Keep spreading the word. Thank you Booni. 

[Donnae]

Thanks booni and the others involved.

[boonibarb]

 
Today i was just about to pull out of the driveway when the woman who had captured the Goose in her scarf biked in.
She had the Goose kennel & towels back already!
She apologized, & took the towels with her to wash first before returning them to me!
So yippee, i don*t have to arrange for our kennel & towels to be returned to me.
She told me the Goose does not have an injured foot after all, but rather has an abdominal injury & was in surgery for it this afternoon!
i worried the Goose would not survive the trip to town, but obviously he did.


link to my fotos page -  
 
https://www.flickr.com/photos/43214021@N08/
 

[Donnae]

Thanks for the update Booni. Keeping fingers crossed for the goose 

[Rajame]

Booni! You just continue to amaze me over and over again. Thank you for being remarkable with a loving heart.

[Tigerlady105]

Hope all goes well, booni.        

[boonibarb]

 
i am FINALLY getting around to telling you this story.
i got a message on my answering machine that my friend had found a fledgling Rufous Hummingbird, all done in with eyes closed on their path.
There seemed to be no other Hummingbirds around, & it was cold, so she brought the youngster inside the house in a basket with a cloth over the top, & she fed her sugar water.
i kept calling back to offer help, but no one was answering.
When we finally connected she told me she had *gone over my head*  & called MARS, which is actually excellent, because they know WAY more than i do, & i would rather get my orders from them.
Reg told her to pretty much just keep doing what she was doing.
i advised her on the ratio of sugar to water, she hadn*t realized it would matter, & warned about not dripping the sugary liquid onto the little one, which Reg had also warned her not to do.
We did a bit of swabbing with a wet q-tip to clean up some drips, & she kept offering her the 10cc syringe of sugar water.
At first the youngster was just too done in, but then she got the hang of it & her eyes brightened & she would flap her wings vigorously after each feeding.
Here you can see the tiny fledgling.
Her default setting was to keep her beak up in the air, which worried my friend.
She also had some loose feathering in the breast area, so i hope she wasn*t cat caught.

june 12 2016 14:30 -  Rufous Hummingbird fledgling





<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNi6jONW4l8" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNi6jONW4l8</a>

i advised her to keep it up, & be sure to feed last thing before bed & first thing in the morning, & any time she got up at night.
She was reluctant to let the youngster go in the cold, alone, before dark, so waited til the next day.
This is what she wrote back to me the next evening -

I set her free this afternoon.  She flew 5 feet up into a tree and sat there.  Within minutes another hummer came to check her out, perched in several places near her and then just left!
I was so hoping it was her mom but maybe not.
She was peeping.  About 30minutes later a female came and went ahead and like a sword swallower jabbed food down her throat.  Yeah!
 I sat and watched her get fed 4 times, then I did some other stuff for a couple of hours and when I came back she was gone.  She wasn’t a great flyer and it’s cold out there so by no means is it sure she will make it.  It just felt good to see her get some proper food.
Wish her luck !
It was fun looking after her, hope I did the right thing.

link to my fotos page - 
 
https://www.flickr.com/photos/43214021@N08/

[Tigerlady105]

    

[Faerie Gardener]

Awwww   

[boonibarb]

 
On this saturday afternoon i came in from running around to find a message on my answering machine.
A woman was visiting Hornby Island for the first time & was in the Park that began with an *H*, she couldn*t remember the name, & she had found a dead River Otter pup.
She said it was too late to help the poor youngster, but that someone might be interested in this finding.
She left a description of where she saw the pup, & i listened to the message twice to be sure i would know where to go, & with another Natural History Center Steward, we went looking.
The directions were perfect, & we spotted the pup right beside the trail.
The pup looked in perfect condition & i brought him home to photograph.
Just to give you an idea of size, this pup weighed 1352 grams/47.7 ounces/2 pounds 15.7 ounces, so pretty close to three pounds.
i should have measured the length, but probably less than two feet.
Once i started taking fotos, i saw the injuries to the chest, on both front & back.
We are thinking this poor youngster was grabbed by a dog.
There are signs everywhere, saying dogs must be on a leash, & this is one of the many reasons why.

june 24 2016 15:22 - River Otter pup







i had to keep petting the tail.
It was softer than the softest kitten you have ever petted.





i don*t know what these patches on the toe pads are, they were on both back feet.
The precious pads were so soft & cool.



link to my fotos page - 
 
https://www.flickr.com/photos/43214021@N08/
 

[boonibarb]

 
Here you can see whatever those things are on the back toe pads are on both feet.

june 24 2016 15:27 - River Otter pup



So perfect, she could be just sleeping...



Those patches aren*t on the front feet pads.



Sweet tiny teeth.





Size comparison with my hand.



link to my fotos page -  
 
https://www.flickr.com/photos/43214021@N08/
 

[Cawatcher]

Thank you booni, such a useless loss