Survivors

Since the World Bird Sanctuary was founded in 1976 we have released four pelicans, one Trumpeter Swan, and six Great Blue Herons.  We have admitted twenty-three White Pelicans, about forty Great Blue Herons, and eleven Trumpeter Swans.  The swans are rare birds that are considered species of concern. 

Volunteer Bob Warbin hand feeding an injured White Pelican

You may ask why we have released so few of these birds.  The main reason is that they are survivors.  When they get injured they may live with that injury for a year or two until they are literally on their last leg.  They often arrive at the door of the World Bird Sanctuary wildlife hospital starving and emaciated, many times with a broken wing that has healed crooked and is not fixable.  We hand feed them and nurse them back to health and then we find them a home with us or another wildlife facility around the country. 

We are proud of the birds that recover to be released--even if those individuals are rare.  The others that remain with us or that are re-homed to other wildlife facilities may breed, and in return their babies will be released into the wild to increase their populations. 

Keep your eyes open for these birds near rivers, lakes, and ponds.  Several hundred Trumpeter Swans can be seen during winter months, near Alton, IL.

Submitted by Joe Hoffmann, Sanctuary Manager, World Bird Sanctuary

Trumpeter Swan Released

On December 21^st, 2012, the Kathryn G. Favre Wildlife Hospital received a call from the Missouri Department of Conservation to see if we could take an injured Trumpeter Swan. 

The swan is a juvenile – about a year old – juveniles have some dark streaks in their feathering.  Adult Trumpeter Swans are snow white.  The swan was found at Columbia Bottoms Conservation area with another swan that was already dead.  Both swans had been shot.

 Sanctuary Manager, Joe Hoffmann and the young Trumpeter Swan

The Trumpeter Swan is listed as a rare species of conservation concern, with current estimated populations of about 5,000 throughout the mid-west.  They are not a hunted waterfowl species and are protected by law.  It is illegal to shoot Trumpeter Swans. 

The area where the birds were found is a waterfowl hunting area, but it is considered easy to distinguish a Trumpeter Swan from ducks and snow geese – they are much bigger and have very distinctive coloring.  The Trumpeter Swan is considered the DC10 of birds because of their large size!

 This young bird weighed 22 lbs.

This young swan weighed about 22lbs – nice and plump.  The heaviest flying bird in the world is found in Africa – the Kori Bustard – weighing in at up to 42lbs! 

MDC conservation agents brought the swan to the World Bird Sanctuary, where we stabilized it with medication and fluids.  The swan had lost a lot of blood and also had internal bleeding.  Two large pellets had lodged in its skull – one in the nasal cavity and one in the brain.  Every three hours, for two days, the swan was given fluids and large doses of antibiotics and steroids to aid in recovery.  The internal bleeding stopped after the second day and, exceeding all expectations, the youngster started eating on its own and drinking out of a large bucket of water.

 We were initially concerned about brain damage but its behavior was normal and it seemed to like looking out of the window near it's inside rehab cage.  The x-rays showed that the swan's legs and wings were untouched by the shotgun pellets, so we moved towards a quick release.

 Joe Hoffmann releasing this young Swan back into the wild

On the early morning of January 3^rd, 2013, we released this juvenile Trumpeter Swan back to the wild at the Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary near West Alton, Missouri. 

 The young Trumpeter Swan back where he belongs

There were about 300 other Trumpeter Swans nearby and they honked at each other before the release.  It seemed non-dramatic as the swan paddled away to meet its friends, but this was the first Trumpeter Swan that I have released in 23 years at World Bird Sanctuary!  Walter Crawford, our Founder and Executive Director, remembers one other time when we were able to successfully return a Trumpeter Swan to the wild.

Special thanks are due to our vets, Dr. Stacey Schaeffer and Dr. Eric Siebel-Spath at St. Louis Hills Veterinary Clinic, for acting quickly to save this beautiful swan.

Submitted by Joe Hoffmann, Sanctuary Manager for the World Bird Sanctuary

Odd Birds in Rehab

The Wildlife Hospital at World Bird Sanctuary has been very odd lately.  

Most of the birds we admit are usually birds of prey, but recently swans, pelicans and great blue herons are filling up our clinic cages. 

 Trumpeter Swan and his mate - victims of a poacher

Unfortunately, the pair of trumpeter swans that were shot by a poacher in December did not survive. Even with a tremendous investment on our part, both monetarily and emotionally, we were unable to save them.  This is one of the pitfalls of working in animal rehab.  However, each time we are able to release one of our patients back into the wild we are reminded why we do what we do.  

 Osprey recently admitted to the hospital

Even the birds of prey that we are receiving are ones that we don’t see that often.  A number of Bald Eagles have made it in to the hospital, including one that was caught in a trap and died from a gangrenous infection where the trap had severed the toe.  We’ve even admitted an Osprey, which was in a fight with a Bald Eagle.  He is eating well and looks set for release in the next 6-8 weeks.

I am glad that we are here for them – at World Bird Sanctuary we are all odd birds!

Submitted by Joe Hoffmann, Sanctuary Manager, World Bird Sanctuary