2018

[boonibarb]

HEART rescues in 2018

Thank you to our Hornby first responders!

March 8

• Three Sea Lions are spotted with a plastic or a rubber band stuck around their necks. The story can be read here.

May 30

• Song Sparrow found stunned on the side of the road! The story can be read here.

May 31

• Tiny Fawn spotted on the side of the road! The story can be read here.

June 12

• A Canada Goose with a drooping wing is spotted on the beach to the left of Grassy Point. The story can be read here.

August 12

• i get a late call from a neighbour about a Buck tangled in their fish net fencing! The story can be read here.

August 3-19

• We get calls about three Seal pups needing rescue over the course of one week & then there is one more at Grassy Point! The story can be read here.

August 22

• A Great Blue Heron who appears to have a broken wing is reported near the ferry terminal. The story can be read here.

August 23

• A young Raven is down in a yard & something seems wrong! The story can be read here.

August 25

• A Fawn*s mother is found dead, then the search for the Fawn finds a Seal pup in need instead! The story can be read here.

September 15

• A Hawk in trouble is spotted on the steep slope down to Olsen Farm! The story can be read here.

September 16

• A weaner Seal pup is spotted at Helliwell! The story can be read here.

[boonibarb]

 
Back in december i went on an around the Island adventure to count Sea Birds!
i posted all about that trip here.
In this post i showed where i had spotted one injured Sea Lion & one with a plastic banding strap around their neck.
i had reported this to DFO & The Vancouver Aquarium, but because i hadn*t realized i had this footage til quite a few days later, they requested a second sighting.
If i could confirm that this individual was still there, they might be able to round up a team to remove the band & treat the poor Sea Lion.
These are two scaps i did from the video i*d taken that day.
It wasn*t til i played the video that i realized what i*d caught.

december 15 2017 12:08 - entangled Sea Lion





A different individual.
Not sure what this injury is caused by.



So, ever since that day, i have been trying to get back out there to confirm this entangled Sea Lion*s presence.
It took us til monday march 5 2018 to finally get out there again.
On that trip i was never able to spot this individual again myself.
However, on Norris Rocks, off Olsen Farm & Heron Rocks nesting territory, i spotted this poor individual with a similar entanglement.

march 5 2018 12:40 - entangled Sea Lion on Norris Rocks



Then yesterday i got to go out on a boat again & on that trip i was able to photograph this individual also on Norris rocks.
This entanglement looks more like black rubber & it isn*t as terribly embedded as the nasty white plastic banding straps were.
Yet.
& who knows what the other side looks like?

march 7 2018 12:23 - entangled Sea Lion on Norris Rocks



Then yesterday i noticed this foto posted to facebook!
Waiting for permission to use the foto, but this may well be the individual we went looking for on monday that we first spotted back in december!

march 7 2018 3pm? - Flora Island Sea Lion



So, i*m learning.
The first thing i need to do is call DFO*s Marine Mammal Incident Hotline & report the sighting & get a file number.
i also send details such as location, date & time, & any fotos i have.
i also talk to the people at the Vancouver Aquarium & between them all they may be able to put a team together of two rigid hull boats to come from Campbell River & someone who knows what they are doing will dart any of these three that they can find then try to remove the band & treat the wound.
It is a risky thing to do, & a lot of effort to send a team, but because there are three of them all in close proximity to one another, it makes it a more likely thing to happen.
So, we shall see.
They were very pleased with what i supplied to them & they said they*d keep me in the loop!

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

[Donnae]

Thank you Booni... those poor animals... sure hope they can help them.  Your the best and I know anything you supply them will be great information for them. Great eyes!!!

[Tigerlady105]

I hope help will come soon for the sea lions, booni.  Good you followed through. Thanks for letting us know here through our H.E.A.R.T thread.   

[jeavverhey]

    HEART 
((((( Booni )))))

[boonibarb]

Okay, so i heard back just now from i believe the Vancouver Aquarium.
She said they attempted finding these Sea Lions on saturday.
They didn*t find either of the ones i*d sent them fotos of, but they did find two others.
One was a juvenile & when that one was darted they went into the water & weren*t seen again, which is one of the risks of this type of rescue.
The other was a female & she had some kind of rope around her neck that might have been from a fish net?
They were able to help her.
i think she said they saw another entangled individual but weren*t able to help that one.
She told me the one i*d photographed with the black rubber band, that that is actually the worst type of entanglement because it constricts the throat area & just gets tighter & tighter & when they are darted any muscular resistance to the tightening relaxes & can be life threatening.
The plastic banding tapes tend to dig in as the animal grows & aren*t as restrictive.
i was thanked profusely for the part i played in this & asked to continue what i do, which of course i will!

[Tigerlady105]

Thank you for letting us know, booni.

[jeavverhey]

So sorry it didnt work out for them  and Bless you for trying Booni.  Keep up the great work you do 

[boonibarb]

Here*s a news article about the two Sea Lions rescue!

[Donnae]

Thanks Booni.. you sure tried and thank you. Just goes to show people how much garbage is in the ocean for so many in a small span to be catch up in this plastic etc.... something needs to be done !!!

[boonibarb]

Another entangled Sea Lion!

i heard from Vancouver Aquarium this afternoon & she said this is a very good foto of the harm humans cause to Sea Lions.
She said this Sea Lion is in very bad shape, that they have very low mentation, & that you can see the pus around the wound.
There is also significant weight loss at the hip area.


Hi,
I was out by Norris Rocks today and saw this sea lion with a fishing flasher lodged in his mouth.  It looks like it probably swallowed a bait and broke off the rest of the angler’s terminal gear. Typically anglers use 40 pound test leader between a lure and flasher so chances of it breaking away are slim. If you look closely you can see a pus discharge around its mouth.  
Is there an animal rescue group that could help with this poor animal?  Thanks for any help or suggestions.
Don

march 20 2018 - Sea Lion with flasher - by Don Peterson

[boonibarb]

 
i went to the Co-op for the second time in one day to finish my shopping & the nice fella there who does the repairs & maintenance said - oh, good, the Bird woman is here!
My mind was elsewhere so i was a bit confused.
He said he had a Bird for me.
So i ran after him as he went up the porch ramp from the parking lot to a spot next to the front doors.
He brought out a tiny box lined with paper towel & kleenex with no lid & a small Bird lying in it!
He had seen the Bird beside the road going one way & the Bird was still there when he came the other way so he picked them up.
A Song Sparrow, must have been hit by a car a few hours ago & was still feeling so unwell that they were in a box with no lid on the Co-op porch with all the activity there!
Not good.
i was totally thrown, i hadn*t known this was coming & i didn*t know what to do.
My mind goes right away to the problem of how to get this Bird in to MARS.
If they are still stunned or whatever after all this time, maybe they need to get in to help.
If this is concussion, the brain swells & MARS can give medication to help with this.
But we are such a long way from MARS.
It is already 4pm & there is only the 5 & 6 ferry off the Island today.
i*d need to find a ride then arrange with MARS on short notice to meet whoever i find to take the Bird at least to Buckley Bay.
Sigh...
What to do, what to do.
& i have other things i need to do right now, too.
Often when a Bird is hit by a car, they just need some quiet dark rest to recover.
Unless something is broken...
The trip to town would be high stress for the poor Bird.
People don*t understand, they talk, they play music, they show people the Bird.
It is hot out.
i decide to let the Bird rest at my place.
i don*t want to disturb them by pulling out the flaps of the lid of the box to close them in so instead i put the Bird in the box in my mailbox with the door left a bit ajar so i can check.
The Bird looks at me, then gradually closes their eyes again.
Not good.
i go about my business then come back to check.
Eyes open, then gradually close again.
Geeze, have i made the right decision?
Next time i check the Song Sparrow is perched on the edge of the box!
Wow!
That*s good.
But when i open the door the Bird goes to the back of the mailbox & is scritching around in there at the back.
So i need to reach in & grab them which of course panics the poor Bird who manages to get away from me.
Good, i thought, flying.
But they land on my bike, can*t get a grip, & end up exhausted on my deck.
i snag the Bird again & put them back in the nest box & this time i place the box on a towel inside a cleaned small kennel with a wire lid i can see through.
i leave them outside under cover where i can watch.
It is now too late for the last ferry.
i*m inside & i hear a strange soft banging noise.
i think it is my neighbour but when i go outside the Bird is outside of the cardboard box & bonking themselves towards the wire lid of the kennel.
i decide to open the lid.
Wowzer, before i can think the Bird is out of there, jumps on my head & off again, & disappears into the bush.
i would have preferred to return them to where they were found but that*s not going to happen now.
At least in my yard there are bugs & water & seed & hopefully the Song Sparrow can find their way back home where perhaps they are nesting, which is what had me worried.
i can still feel those little talons or whatever they are called scritching on my scalp when they took off!
 
link to my fotos page -  
 
https://www.flickr.com/photos/43214021@N08/

[boonibarb]

 
i got a call fairly early yesterday morning from our Radio Station!
One of the fellas who is a DJ for our radio had found a small Fawn right on our busy main road & was in a bit of a panic about what to do with them as he was in the middle of moving & what should he do, how do we rescue them?
He described to me where he found the Fawn & i told him he*d done the right thing to move them to a safe place.
i told him the Fawn*s instinct is to hide & stay still til the mother returns.
i said i*d go check.
i went to where he said & wowzer, there was the tiniest Fawn i had ever seen.
They were the size of a cat!
& sure enough, right on the side of the road in the grass lying on where a tire had recently driven over the grass.
Too close to the road, i decided, but was the Fawn even alive?
i saw no movement at all & the eyes were closed.

may 31 2018 10:13 - new Fawn
 

 

 
i wasn*t even seeing the movement of breathing, but i set my camera down & picked them up.
Ohhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
They were so warm & soft & definitely alive.
But still absolutely still.
So i walked down into the roadside bush & set them down in there away from the road for the Mother to come back to.
i marked the spot so i could come back later & check.

i am borrowing one of those wildlife cameras so i got the brilliant idea to leave the camera near the Fawn when i went back to check & maybe we would get a nice video of the Mum coming back!
But when i went back to the spot the Fawn was already gone.
 
link to my fotos page -  
 
https://www.flickr.com/photos/43214021@N08/

[Sandor3]

Thanks for all you do, Barb!  Can't imagine how it felt holding that little fawn...sigh.  Both incidents had a happy ending...good news...and thanks for sharing.

[Cawatcher]

You have good instincts to leave and see if mom returns  wow must have been just born   just saw this posted on FD may have been similar incident ?
https://www.facebook.com/KIRO7Seattle/videos/2107806862572389/