2020

[boonibarb]

HEART rescues in 2020

Thank you to our Hornby first responders!

january 23

• An Eagle is spotted down in peoples* yard. The story can be read HERE.

june 23

• i get a call about four baby Mink who*s Mum got taken by an Eagle, & then another call about a Seal pup. The stories can be read HERE.

june 26

• i get a call about a small Bird found down on the ground in someone*s yard. The story can be read HERE.

july 8

• i get a call about a Bird found down on the ground in someone*s yard that seems to have something wrong with their wing. The story can be read HERE.

july 10

• i get a call about a Bird that had hit a window & was stunned, & seems to have something wrong with their foot. The story can be read HERE.

july 13

• A lone Seal pup is reported to be somewhere on Hornby. The story can be read HERE.

july 24

• A lone Seal pup is reported on the north shore of Helliwell. The story can be read HERE.

august 12

• i get to rescue my first Fawn! The story can be read HERE.

august 16

• Another Seal pup! The story can be read HERE.

september 21

• A Barred Owl perched on my front deck! The story can be read HERE.

october 21

• An Eagle is spotted behaving strangely near Heron Rocks & Olsen Farm! The story can be read HERE.

august 31

• i get a call from a lovely young woman about an injured Bird. The story can be read HERE.

[boonibarb]

i was just settling in for some afternoon puzzle time when the phone rang.
People near me had heard Eagle sounds in their yard & found one face down with wings spread in their yard.
The Eagle was making strange calls, which is what alerted them.
i told them to call MARS & see what they said.
i asked if perhaps there were two Eagles?
They only saw one.
i said sometimes they challenge each other & grab each others* feet & spin earthwards.
Hopefully they let go before crashing, but sometimes they are so wound up that they don*t let go & crash into the Trees or the ground.
Meantime, i gathered my capture gear & loaded it into the van.
They called back to say the Eagle had gotten up with difficulty & flown away with difficulty.
But then they discovered another had been underneath the whole time!
& that one was splayed out on their back & not getting up.
When they called MARS they said to capture the Eagle.
Drat.
So i went to have a look.
This is what we found.

january 23 2020 14:30 - down Eagle



Look at all the down feathers everywhere.
The one foot is grasping a Salal branch.
The wings are kind of tangled in Salal, too.
The feet have blood on them & maybe some gashes.
When i move in to put a towel over the head the head lunges at me & i jump back.
But the wings & feet don*t move.
The beak is open with stress & i see blood on the tongue & in the throat.
i move in again & place a towel over the face.
The Eagle is beaking the towel from below, but the towel stays put.
i drape a second towel over top.
i ask my helper to make sure the head stays covered with the towel while i reach in with gloves & grab each foot.
i start to pull from the feet but the Eagle is tangled in the Salal.
So we free the wings & tuck them in & then i am able to draw the Eagle out from the Salal.
We pick up the Eagle, she is keeping the head covered, & tuck them, towels & all, into the kennel.
i tip the kennel a bit to slide the Eagle in a bit further & i think this startles them & they stand up.
So they are able to stand.
i was wondering.
We lock the kennel & there is already a blanket over it so i draw it over the door & then we carry it to the van.
Now.
How to get them to MARS.
The woman needs to go to the School to get one of her kids & then she says that the teachers will be going for the four ferry!
It is 3pm.
Perfect.
We go to the School & the music teacher is game to meet MARS at Buckley Bay!
So i call MARS & arrange for them to meet him there.

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

[boonibarb]

i got two calls last evening from the people who discovered the down Eagles.
MARS had called them to get more details about what had happened to this Eagle.
They wondered if electrocution or what.
i guess in the flurry of calls the story never got told.
They found the Eagle had a HUGE amount of bruising, & wondered why.
The Eagle was likely a male, small.
He had gashes to his head & a big gash on his chest.
There was blood in the mouth & throat & in the nares.
It sounded likely that he will do well!

[jeavverhey]

  that sounds like a miracle! Thanks for  HEART and all you do Booni  And thanks to all those who help as well. 

[boonibarb]

i called MARS yesterday to see how our Eagle was doing.
Our Eagle is patient # 035 for 2020.
She said he was getting antibiotics & has pain medications for pain in one shoulder.
He has a throat infection called trich.
He also has cuts & bleeding in the mouth, likely from the other Eagle*s beak.

[boonibarb]

i got a call from MARS that this Eagle was ready for release!
The people who originally spotted the Eagles was willing to go in & pick him up.
He is afraid of Birds, so this was quite the adventure for him.
There was quite a group of parents & children gathered when he arrived back home with the Eagle in the back of his car.
i had scouted out an area where the kennel could be placed with the back against a car & the open door looked out on a good sized field that sloped up hill for the Eagle to escape to.
He had been banging around inside the kennel going across Denman & you can see the kennel shaking as he bangs around some more before his release.
MARS was glad we took him off their hands as he was a bit of a dominant trouble maker.
They also said he was in such poor condition that he wouldn*t*ve survived more than three days had we not rescued him.

february 20 2020 15:23 - Eagle release

<iframe width="640" height="385" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Cknl9wDRVAg?fs=1&start=" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
link to my fotos page -
 
https://www.flickr.com/photos/43214021@N08/

[Cawatcher]

Fabulous Thank you booni .. he sure wanted out off there and great tracking! 

[gmadeb3]

Boy what a great release and what a great time to get released !!!!!!

[boonibarb]

A fella who lives near me heard from the Eagle release neighbours i wrote about above that i was the one to call about a baby Bird he found crawling around his yard.
i told him it was often a normal stage for some fledglings to be on the ground with their parents still feeding them til they developed further.
But i wasn*t sure what kind of Bird he was describing.
If the parents are still there & caring for them, best to leave well enough alone.
So i asked him to take a foto & then call MARS to see what they said.
Well, next i got a call from MARS saying this was a Swallow & that they were far too young to be down on the ground like this so could i care for them til we could get the nestling to MARS?
She told me what to do, so i phoned the guy back & he brought the nestling over in a small box with wood shavings & a cap of water & some ground up flax seed.
i got a fresh box & lined it with a dry cloth & popped the youngster in there.
MARS said to keep them warm.
It had been a cold wet day for a Bird like this to be out of their Nest & crawling around on the wet ground, so fortunately i had my fire going & it was nice & warm in the house.
The lovely little thing dried out & dropped all the pieces of wood shavings stuck to them & went to sleep.
i wasn*t sure how to get them to gape so i could pop some food in there, but we gradually figured it out & they were happy to just snuggle up to the side of the cloth & sleep.
i was supposed to feed every fifteen minutes but i did not manage to do that.
But any time the Bird gaped i would pop some food in there.
She said she puts her Birds to sleep around 8, but since it had been such a long hard day for this one i kept feeding til i went to bed.
i started advertising right away for a ride into town first thing next morning, but no one was responding!
Next morning i woke at 5 & was just enjoying lying there when i remembered SWALLOW!
So i got up to check.
i could hear the youngster calling but they were not in the box!
Finally found that they had gotten out somehow, crawled across the table, pooped on a kleenex i had there, then snuggled up against the red towel i have over my camera!
Good thing they hadn*t gone over the edge of the table.
i went back to feeding whenever possible.
At first i was thinking the nestling wasn*t looking too good but they soon perked up.
Now, back to arranging a ride to town.
Still no one had replied to my two ads so i updated them, hoping to attract attention.
i was starting to panic & thought about heading for the 7:30 ferry lineup & beg a ride, which i HATE doing!
Then i realized there was no 7:30 ferry on a saturday so i decided to go for the 8 line up.
There was someone i recognized who looked like a good ask!
But, drat, she was just picking up the newspapers & heading right back.
We called MARS & they couldn*t scramble a ride to meet at Buckley Bay at such short notice.
i asked the next person in line, she was watching us & smiling, but she was headed south to meet the big ferry.
Then i asked another local but she was stopping on Denman first.
Then i realized i recognized the last couple in the line!
They live near me & i had helped them once with a dead doe that got hung in their fishnet fencing.
Well, they had a cellphone & knew where MARS was & were heading to church nearby!
So they called MARS & were arranging a meeting place at the church at 9:30.
Turned out they brought the Swallow right to MARS! 
Well, i was in tears with it all by then.
Getting the Swallow into proper care was so important.
i don*t have the proper stuff they need to eat.
& we need our Swallows!
The insect eaters are at great risk right now.
Here is the foto i used to try to get a ride into town.
i wonder what kind of Swallow they are?

june 26 2020 18:36 - Swallow Nestling



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

[Cawatcher]

HEART! Thank you booni
 

[boonibarb]

i got a call from the same fella who had called me about Salal!
Salal was an Eaglet from Nest #20 who was down on the ground & hiding in Salal bushes.
Today the fella was calling me about a Bird that was hanging around his yard who seemed to have something wrong with their wing.
He*d been watching for a few days & finally decided to call me.
Yay.
i went there with my small nets & a box with a cloth on the bottom & a light towel.
We snuck around his house so he could show me the Bird.
Turned out they were a fledgling Robin & there they were, lying down on the seat of a wooden chair.
Was hoping to nab them right there, so tiptoed in with my net & small towel, but no luck, the Bird jumped to the ground & started running towards the bushes.
Bushes can be your friend because the Bird gets up against them & then are trapped & easier to catch.
No such luck today.
The Bird was able to keep running while it was me who got stuck.
i had to go around & in another way & was begging the Robin not to go under the gate, but under they went.
Had to go through the gate & now i was in a car port & the Bird seemed to be under the car but the fella spotted them & told me to go around, but the chase was on, the Robin just kept running.
Was finally able to pop the net over the Robin in the garden next to the house.
The Robin screeched.
They got quiet when i put my towel over the net.
The fella went & got the rest of the equipment, including the box.
The Robin was not happy when i grabbed them from under the net & popped them into the box & closed the lid.
Then they got quiet.
i decided my best bet was the ferry lineup so i went straight there.
The last vehicle in the lineup was the great big delivery truck that brings all our groceries & other things to the Island.
Haven*t had much luck with delivery trucks in the past.
They just didn*t want to help, for some reason.
But this fella said he LOVES animals & would be happy to help!
He said he*d take the Robin to MARS after work!
He then hopped down & came with me to get the box.
i said i*d call MARS & give them the heads up that he was coming there around five with an injured fledgling Robin.

Two days later the fella who reported the Robin to me called to ask if i knew how the Robin was doing.
Me, i love to know, but never seem to call & ask, but he was game, so i gave him the number.
He said the Robin was #626 patient already for the year!, that the wing was wrapped & that they*d need to molt out some feathers before they were ready to be released, & things were looking good for recovery.

[boonibarb]

i was out til early afternoon & when i got home i found that a woman was trying to reach me about an injured Bird while i was away.
i listened to her message then called her.
She had a small Bird that hit her window & there seemed to be something wrong with the foot.
She had given the Bird a cap of sugar water.
i said it would be best to remove that & she wondered why.
i answered that Birds don*t necessarily know how to drink out of a container like that, that it might just get spilled & then dry to a crust on their feathers & just need removing somehow.
i also said we don*t know what kind of Bird this was, & at what stage of development, & so what might be best for them.
i gave her MARS*s number & asked her to call them & show them a foto & see what they said.
Well, she called me right back, saying they wanted the Bird brought in.
She offered to bring the Bird to me in the box, as she just lived around the corner.
Yay!
Now to figure out how to get them to MARS mid-afternoon.
The Bird was making a loud interesting call, so maybe a Wren, i thought, but now i am wondering if they were a Starling perhaps.
It was a friday, so that meant my nice CTS truck guy was on the Island!
i called the Co-op to see if he was there, but he*d left already.
They understood quickly why i needed to reach him & happily gave me his cell number.
i called, but got his voice mail & left a message.
i figured next he would be at Ford Cove, so i called there.
She was busy at the time, but asked me to hold on while she checked.
Drat, he*d already left.
i figured his next stop would be the ferry lineup, so i hopped in the van with the Bird in the box & went down there to find him.
i got almost all the way there & suddenly there he was, coming right past me going away from the ferry!
So i turned around & the chase was on.
He turned into the road that leads to my house!
Maybe he was coming to me?
i flashed my lights from behind him, so when it was safe to do so, he pulled over & i ran up to his door.
At first i don*t think he realized who i was or what i was doing, but soon he was smiling & saying yes he*d take the Bird, could i meet him at the 3 ferry?
i convinced him to just take the Bird right away, which seemed easier.
& i said i*d call MARS & tell them he was coming by around 5 pm.
Turns out someone is there til 10pm, so there was no rush.

[boonibarb]

i got a call asking if i*d heard about a Seal pup found somewhere on Hornby.
i hadn*t, but said people knew to call me if they had found one.
So i kept my ears open, & kept an eye on our facebook pages.
It was quite a few days later & it was after dinner & i was winding down for the evening.
When the phone rang & i saw it was from the Seal pup rescue center, i knew i*d be going out the door immediately.
Turned out the Seal pup was at Grassy Point.
So, this is only minutes away.
i just needed to get dressed & down there.
She said the people would meet me in the parking lot.
Well, i got there, & there was no one there to meet me.
But a woman sitting in her car & a young mother on the beach had heard about the Seal pup & directed me to the location, which was just to the right of the point.
i walked that way with my tub & towel, looking for someone who was expecting me.
Finally someone noticed me & they pointed to a sort of rock cliff where the poor fella was lying.
Yikes, i have never seen one in such poor shape, so skinny & there was vomit or wounds on the face.
The fella took my tub, thankfully, & i had him stop a bit short of where the pup was perched on the ledge within an easy jump of the water.
i wanted to sneak up on him myself with the towel & be sure to get him in hand first.
i popped the towel over him & picked him up & he was putting up such a squirm i had to set him down again to get a better grip.
The fella was right there with the tub, thankfully, so i popped him in.
Phew.
& the fella was happy to carry the tub to the car for me, too.
Yay.
i went straight home & just as i was opening the door i heard the phone ring & ran for it.
Jim Funk is no longer here to transport the pups, so i was to go down to Ford Cove & meet Jesse Berg of Hornby Island Ocean Adventures instead.
i said i would head there right away.
i got down to the dock & Jesse*s boat was already running & he was ready for me.
He would head over to Deep Bay to deliver the pup to the waiting volunteers there, who would deliver the pup to another volunteer at the Saltspring ferry terminal, quite a drive away.

Jesse must have taken this foto of the pup on the way across.
i ran out the door so fast that i didn*t even think to bring my camera.
So, yay.
You can see  how skinny the pup is.
You shouldn*t see all those skin wrinkles like this, nor should the shape of his skull be so noticeable.
They are born nice & fat, & this poor fella has just been losing weight since he was born.
He also has been pecked at by Birds.
You can see one of the injuries on his nose.

july 13 2020 - Seal pup by Jesse Berg



That same night i got an e-mail already about this pup!

 Hi,

I want to send a huge thank you to all of you. Thank you so so much for transporting this seal so fast. It was really a fantastic team work and it could not have been better. Even a paramedic with an ambulance could not have done faster. It was so tight to make it before the last ferry.

So thank you for all saying yes right away and doing what you all just did for this seal. Barb thank you for rescuing this pup in no time and rushing to the water taxi. Ed and Linda thank you for driving all the way to Deep Bay, that was a long drive and a late drive, and for checking on the seal. Mel thank you for going so late and driving all the way to Crofton and back and making it on time . Thank you a billion for going on the ferry, after the 2 rescues that you had already done today, and at such a late hour.

This little seal who has starved for probably 2 weeks, was attacked by birds and is barely alive, thanks to you can now have a second chance. Thanks to you. Thank you.

Now today i asked about the pup & got this back.

HI Barb,
He is doing beautifully and improving each day. His wounds are healing and he is starting to look quite cute. I should send you a picture of before and after. Now his personality might be something else...

i asked about his personality?

yes he has wounds everywhere. I think he got traumatized by what the birds did to him. They attacked him so many times. He is just very nervous. I cant blame him. Touching his face is very very scary for him. He is still not perfect health wise, very pale and not strong, but he will recover fully.

[Cawatcher]

Wonderful News on the seal pup and my gosh you have been super busy booni!!  HEART 

[boonibarb]

i was thinking about our Bird that hit the window, reported above, & wondering if maybe they were a Starling, so i wrote to Gyl at MARS to inquire about them.
Here is what she said.

Hi Barb,

It was a subadult warbling vireo, but unfortunately she passed away a couple of days later. She had some head trauma that we were treating. Sorry for the bad news!

Gyl