Our Newest Naturalist

My name is Tess Rogers, and I am the newest naturalist here at World Bird Sanctuary!  I started at the beginning of this month, and am having a great time learning all about our wonderful birds.

I am originally from St.Louis, where I’ve lived for most of my life.  As a native St. Louisan I will provide the obligatory high school information--Maplewood Richmond-Heights.  For all of you not from St. Louis, it’s a well known fact that the first question asked when two St. Louis natives meet for the first time is….”what high school did you go to?”

For college I decided to get away from home, broaden my horizons, and apparently never be warm again as I went north to attend the University of Minnesota.  I had a fantastic four years there, during which I went even further away from home to do a semester abroad in Australia.

Myself and an irate Tufted Titmouse, one of the first birds I banded with WBS this summer!

 Upon Graduating this spring I returned home to St. Louis where, through a research fellowship, I started to get involved with the World Bird Sanctuary by working with the fantastic bird banding team. When I was told they might have a job opening coming up in the fall, I jumped at the opportunity to apply.  And here I am!

Thus far I absolutely love my job. There has been quite the learning curve working with raptors, as the most dangerous birds I had handled previously were cardinals.  That being said, getting to meet all the birds and starting to learn their individual personalities has been one of the most enjoyable parts of my days here.  My other favorite part, by far, is getting to tell people all about each bird when they come to visit, especially the kids. When I was little I adored animals, and when kids (and even some adults) come in to the Nature Center full of excitement and a list of facts about their favorite kinds of animals, I immediately feel a kinship with them since I WAS them.  Getting to teach them even more is by far one of the most rewarding experiences I have had while at work.  I know from personal experience I may very well be helping inspire the next batch of conservationists or even naturalists.

The kestrels and I have made fast friends. Though they may just be using me for my access to food if I’m being honest

 So if you see a naturalist down at the Nature Center or at the Visitors Center arguing with a bird about why they should not bite the glove, or seems to be taking longer than usual to tie their leashes to a perch, that just might be me.  I’m still getting the one-handed dexterity thing down.

The next time you visit the World Bird Sanctuary feel free to say hello, and level any questions you may have at me!

Submitted by Tess Rogers, World Bird Sanctuary Naturalist

The Little Angel

The American Kestrel was one of my mother’s favorite birds.  This small member of the Falcon family can be seen hovering over the grassy areas along roads and highways.  To me they look almost like an angel, still in the air, as they hunt for bugs and mice below.  

Sassy, one of the WBS resident American Kestrels (photo: Gay Schroer)

Kestrels seemed to have been more common years ago when we had more cloverleaf interchanges and the grass was cut short.  The trend today by most highway departments is to let the medians, interchanges and roadsides grow up in native plants, which are only mowed once or twice a year. The World Bird Sanctuary has placed hundreds of nest boxes along highways to accommodate Kestrels looking for homes.

Population studies have shown conflicting data and have shown yearly variations in populations.  Some population drops were regional phenomena.  Other drops seemed to coincide with the rise in the population of Coopers Hawks, which would indicate loss by predation. Luckily we have recently seen increases nationwide in kestrel numbers, but they seem to be a fragile species in some areas.

These small falcons sometimes appear to hover in mid-air when hunting (photo: Gay Schroer)

Besides national studies, which were instituted in recent years by the government and some universities, the World Bird Sanctuary has noticed reductions in the number of American Kestrels admitted to our wildlife hospital.  This has taken place over a number of years, so we thought we might investigate. 

We have many interns each season at the Sanctuary who are assigned special projects as one of the goal of their internship, and we try to give them interesting projects to do while they are here.  Kim Sage was the intern chosen to research these yearly fluctuations in kestrel admissions, not only at World Bird Sanctuary, but at centers throughout the country. 

Kim contacted fifteen centers to see if they could dig through their files and see how many kestrels were admitted in recent years.  They reported that admissions had fallen in most areas of the country, probably meaning kestrel numbers dropped in that part of the country.  In the Northeast kestrel admissions were already starting to rise by the time we published our report in our Mews News newsletter, and the other studies finished.

We still don’t seem to get the historic numbers of kestrels at the hospital that we once did, but we admit 20 to 30 each year.  Most of the kestrels we receive at the World Bird Sanctuary Wildlife hospital are collision victims, most likely hit by car or truck (or sometimes even trucks that might be carrying cars).  Another large group is orphans. 

These little Falcons seem to be making a strong comeback, but you might not see them in the same areas where we were accustomed to seeing them--by the highways. 

On your next long car trip watch in fields where the grass is short and you might see a little angel hovering over the ground.

Submitted by Joe Hoffmann, World Bird Sanctuary Wildlife Hospital Manager

North by Northeast

World Bird Sanctuary is 1,207 miles from Stone Zoo.  Every year we have to drive that far because we have our awesome bird show there during the summer.

WBS Director Jeff Meshach loading the truck for the long haul (photo: Mike Cerutti)

For the past 3 years I have driven this with Jeff Meshach, our director.  It is a long drive that takes us over twenty hours to complete.  This year it took us 22 hours and nine minutes, our fastest time yet.  We drive straight through, only stopping for food and gasoline.  We take turns driving to make sure that whoever is driving is awake and alert.

This sounds like a long and rough drive, but it’s actually a lot of fun.  It’s a time I get to talk to my boss about everything non-work related.  During the winter I try to keep small talk with Jeff to a minimum, just so we have more to talk about during that drive.  We get to discuss movies, sports, music and just about any little thing that crosses our minds.

We saw a Rough-legged Hawk like our beautiful Bella (above) (photo: Gay Schroer)

We also get to see a lot of different bird species during this trip.  We see countless birds, but I pay close attention to the raptors that we see.  There are always Red-tailed Hawks, Turkey Vultures and Bald Eagles.  However, this year we got to see a Rough-legged Hawk fly over the highway right in front of us!  At first glance we thought it was just another Red-tailed Hawk, but after seeing its dark bellyband we were sure it was a Rough-legged Hawk.  It was the first time I have ever seen one in the wild, so that was special for me.

In Indiana we spotted an American Kestrel like our own Detour (above) (photo: Gay Schroer)

I was keeping an eye out for American Kestrels all the way into Indiana before we actually saw one.  There were also a few Red-shouldered Hawks, which happen to be one of my favorite hawk species, and my favorite native to Missouri.

We also saw Red-shouldered Hawks like our own Flip (above) (photo: Gay Schroer)

My favorite state to drive through on this trip has to be PA.  It has smooth highways and fantastic views as you drive through the Appalachian Mountains.  As you come over the top of a mountain and see the beautiful view into a valley, it almost takes your breath away.  But as beautiful as it is, it can be terrifying.  This year a deer decided to meander onto the highway, and stopping a truck full of birds hauling a car on a trailer isn’t a simple task.

This year Jeff and I were both hoping to see a Black Bear while on the long haul, but no dice.  I’ve only ever seen a Black Bear once in the wild in my life, and they will always be my favorite animal in the world.

We pulled into Stone Zoo in the early morning hours (photo: Mike Cerutti)

Near the end of our journey we always have energy drinks to make sure we “hit our second wind”.  As we are coming East on I-90 we watch the sun rise over Boston in the distance, a pretty cool sight.  Finally, as we pull into the zoo, I feel a sense of accomplishment.  I also start to feel a little nervous, for while I’m happy to be back doing zoo shows, this will be my first year supervising one.  But that’s a story for another blog.

So, if you’re in the Boston area this summer be sure to take a day to see the Stone Zoo, and in particular the Birds of Prey Show presented by the World Bird Sanctuary.

Submitted by Mike Cerutti, World Bird Sanctuary Stone Zoo Show