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

 

The Rough-legged Hawk

The Rough-legged Hawk, Buteo lagopus, is a circumpolar in Holarctic species, meaning they live around the world in the Arctic regions. 

The newest addition to our Education Department - Bella, a Rough-legged Hawk

The Rough-legged Hawk population is steadily declining in many areas, but is still considered fairly common.  They are in decline due to cultivation and dire degradation of habitat throughout their range. 

Rough-legged Hawks breed in the tundra and taiga habitats of  North America and Eurasia and are winter visitors to the lower 48 states.  They have small feet and toes compared to their body size.  This species eats primarily voles, lemmings and other small rodents--occasionally eating small birds.

 

As in most raptor species, female Rough-legged Hawks are larger than the males.  A wide variety of plumage patterns are exhibited in light vs. dark morphs, males vs. females and adults vs. juveniles. 

Here you can clearly see some of Bella's beautiful markings

The Rough-leged Hawk has two color phases, the light and the dark phase.  The female light-morph birds have a browner back and upper wings and a more heavily marked belly than the male, usually with a lighter band between the breast and the belly, and the undertail has a large, dark sub-terminal band.  Dark morph birds have a single dark band on the light undertail.

In flight, Rough-legged Hawks have long wings that flap slowly and have a dihedral silhouette (wings held at an angle and appearing to form a “V”).  In a glide they have a loose “W” shape similar to an Osprey’s.  The flapping of a Rough-legged Hawk reminds me of an owl in flight.  The Rough-legged Hawk also hovers over fields like a Kestrel, as they search the ground below for movement of prey.

World Bird Sanctuary’s newest education star is Bella, a female Rough-legged Hawk.  She came to us from a raptor center in Wisconsin.  She is blind in the right eye from being impaled by something prior to arriving at the Wisconsin raptor center.  Bella is a very gentle bird that has captured everyone’s heart.  She is a great addition to our education team.

Bella is a large female, weighing in at 2lbs 10oz, with an overall length of 22 inches and a wingspan of 56 inches.

Currently, we are working on getting her comfortable with entering and exiting a travel crate.  Once she is fine with the crate she will be traveling to programs with our Education Department staff to present education programs to the thousands of audience members who see our raptor education programs each year. 

Bella now resides at our Nature Center and can be seen from the large deck overlooking the Nature Center weathering area.  Bella is rather quiet, but is becoming more vocal as she settles in to her new surroundings. 

Bella is quickly becoming comfortable with WBS staff and routines

So far her two favorite things seem to be going outside and dinnertime.  She knows the routine, and gets excited when it’s time to go out for the morning.  The cooler it gets the happier she seems to be, since her kind are from cold climates.  Dinnertime is her other favorite time of day, and she gets very excited when it’s time to go inside to her nighttime quarters. She cannot wait for the staff member on duty to place her on her perch each evening, since she knows dinner comes next.

On your next visit to the World Bird Sanctuary Nature Center be sure to look for this beautiful new resident.  The Sanctuary is open 363 days of the year from 8 am to 5 pm. 

Submitted by Cathy Spahn, World Bird Sanctuary Field Studies Coordinator

WBS Assists Wisconsin Organization

In late August our Director, Walter Crawford, received a call from a raptor rehabilitation organization in Wisconsin asking for our help.

 A mixture of species shares quarters around this facility's pond

Because of the many severe storms and tornadoes in their area this past spring the Wisconsin facility had been inundated with injured and orphaned birds.  Some birds came in with the usual injuries and problems, but many were youngsters who had been swept from their nests by the severe storms.  Many of these were otherwise healthy, but needed time in the large flight cages to perfect their flying and hunting skills.  This large influx of birds had taxed their facility’s holding capacity to the maximum.

This enclosure and the many others at the facility can now be used to their best advantage by shuffling housing arrangements

Because the director of this organization had a longstanding acquaintance with Walter Crawford, our Director, and knew of the World Bird Sanctuary’s excellent reputation as rehabbers and educators, she turned to us for assistance.

REGI staff member Katie Farvour and my husband, Art Schroer, with what looks like a mountain of crates--how will they all fit in the van?

On Labor Day weekend my husband and I headed north to pick up sixteen birds from this organization.  The quarters vacated by these sixteen birds would make room for significantly more than sixteen injured and orphaned birds—housing arrangements can sometimes get complicated with animals. Once all the birds were loaded into the van we made a beeline for St. Louis.

The birds begin their journey on a foggy Wisconsin morning 

Transporting birds can sometimes be tricky—especially if they are birds that have never been crated before.  Some of these birds fell into that category.  Our main concern on the drive home was keeping the van cool so that the birds would not overheat.  Lunch was definitely a drive through affair, and potty stops were taken in shifts while one person stayed with the birds to keep the air conditioner running.  However, all was quiet in the back of the van during the eleven-hour drive and all sixteen of our charges weathered the drive well. 

 Great care was taken with the birds who were unaccustomed to being crated

As the St. Louis Arch came into view we called ahead to let WBS personnel know that we would be there shortly.  To our amazement, when we pulled into the parking area at  WBS’s behind the scenes facility we were met by a small army of WBS staff members, including our wonderful volunteer veterinarian Dr. Stacey Schaeffer.

 WBS personnel help unload the crates after a safe and successful 11-hour trip from up north

With everyone’s help the newcomers were quickly checked out and their health status and injuries evaluated.  The eagles that simply needed flight cage time were released into the large rehab flight enclosure, and the other birds were settled into their new quarters where they would be given time to acclimate themselves to their new surroundings.

 All the birds were assessed by our vet and staff members

Our list of passengers included:

•            Six possibly releasable Bald Eagles which needed time in a large flight enclosure to allow them to strengthen their flight muscles and perfect their flying skills.  As of this date three have been released, the fourth is scheduled to be released next week, the fifth is scheduled to be released on the 29^th, and the sixth and final bird is still in the flight cage regaining his flying skills and being conditioned for a successful release. 

 The six releasable Bald Eagles were released into the flight enclosure to strengthen flight muscles

•            Four non-releasable Bald Eagles who may become Education or Display birds

•            Two Bald Eagles who have already been trained as education birds and will enhance our existing roster of education birds, either locally or at zoo shows in the coming year. 

The education birds who were already wearing "equipment" receive new anklets 

•            One White Pelican who has a wing injury and cannot fly.  This bird has been placed with another injured White Pelican that WBS received about a year ago.  Both these birds will be placed with another facility sometime in the not-too-distant future.

•            One Rough legged Hawk who was non-releasable due to an eye injury. She had already been trained to the glove and has joined our Education Department.  Bella (which means “beautiful”) can be seen in the weathering area behind the Nature Center, and has already begun taking part in education programs.

•            Two wing-injured Sandhill Cranes who will be permanent residents of our display line.  This pair has in the past laid eggs and it is hoped that they will be comfortable enough in their new surroundings to produce young.

Submitted by Gay Schroer, World Bird Sanctuary Volunteer/Photographer