New Box Turtle Exhibit

Thank heaven for volunteers!  At World Bird Sanctuary that phrase is repeated many times a day.  If they could, I imagine our Box Turtles would be shouting it from their new exhibit box.

Joe Dolezal and Dan Cone put the finishing touches on their poject (photo: Melissa Moore)

Earlier this month Tuesday Crew volunteers Joe Dolezal and Dan Cone put the finishing touches on the new Box Turtle exhibit. The turtles reside just below the small exhibit enclosures in front of the windows that look out onto the Nature Center weathering area deck.

Our four Box Turtles are named Rose, Blanche, Dorothy and Sofia (the smallest one) after the characters in the television series, The Golden Girls.  Our “Golden Girls” are Three-toed Box Turtles Terrapene carolina triunguis a subspecies of the Common (Eastern) Box Turtle. 

One of our "Golden Girls" (photo: Melissa Moore)

When constructing the new Box Turtle exhibit Joe and Dan and Don Marcinkiewicz, who designed and installed the electrical components, took into account the specific needs of this species:

•            Reptiles cannot regulate their own body heat, so you have to produce an ideal temperature for them within their enclosure.  There should be a heat bulb that produces a temperature of about 85f.  This should be to one side of the enclosure so that they can move closer to or further away from the heat source as needed.

•            Water and humidity is important. There must be fresh water within the enclosure constantly.  There should be a large shallow body of water that they can soak in and you must be able to use a spray bottle on the enclosure several times daily to keep the humidity level up.

The turtles are free to use their pool whenever they feel the need (photo: Melissa Moore)

•            Box Turtles do not like glass, and will often try to climb through it pointlessly.  The enclosure should have walls that they cannot see through to give them better peace of mind.  Our enclosure does have one wall of Plexiglas for better viewing, but this is offset by the fact that the majority of the exhibit has numerous hiding places if they desire.

•            There needs to be plenty of artificial brush and bedding that they can burrow into.

Volunteers Joe Dolezal and Dan Cone admiring the results of their handiwork (photo: Melissa Moore)

The World Bird Sanctuary’s new Box Turtle exhibit meets all these criteria and more.  Many thanks to Joe, Dan and Don, members of the World Bird Sanctuary’s Tuesday Crew….we don’t know what we’d do without you.

The new habitat more than meets the criteria for a healthy and happy turtle exhibit (photo: Gay Schroer)

For more information about this species Click here.  

The next time you visit the World Bird Sanctuary be sure to look for our “Golden Girls” in the Nature Center.

Anna’s New Home

We at the World Bird Sanctuary are very excited about the new home for Anna our beautiful Green Tree Python.

As many of you know Anna has resided in a rather small enclosure for many years. This seemed to work out well for Anna, since Green Tree Pythons spend the greatest part of their lives curled around a tree branch in their native rain forests and don’t move around much.  In fact, the only time they come to the ground is when they need to move to a different tree to hunt.  Since Anna is given “room service” by our staff, even this minimal movement is not necessary and snakes, like most wild animals, are all about conserving energy.  

Anna's amazing new home (photo: Gay Schroer)

However, WBS employees Katrina Whitener and Jeff Meshach felt that Anna deserved a more natural looking and larger environment. Joe Dolezal, member of WBS’s volunteer group of craftsmen (affectionately know at WBS as the Tuesday Crew) took it upon himself to make the idea happen.  He proceeded to design a new home with a more upscale look for Anna.  Many of the Tuesday Crew helped with various phases, but Joe spent a lot of extra time and his own money to add some incredible features. 

Tuesday Crew member Joe Dolezal puts finishing touches on Anna's new enclosure (photo: Melissa Moore)

The project took on a life of its own, and the end result is a luxuriant new home for Anna that imitates her species’ native rainforest.  It includes humidity and temperature controls that are all important to this species well being, as well as branches and ledges for her to navigate at will.  Anna even has a small pool for bathing if she is so inclined. 

Executive Director Walter Crawford, the Tuesday Crew, and Naturalist Paige Davis (photo: Melissa Moore)

Ask any of our staff who is the most popular reptile at WBS and they will answer “Anna” without a moment’s hesitation.  Children frequently request her for their Birdday parties, and she is a rock star at many of the programs and special events in which she appears. 

Anna seems quite content in her new home (photo: Gay Schroer)

For her part Anna seems to have made herself right at home in her new palace.

Submitted by World Bird Sanctuary Volunteer/Photographer Gay Schroer

Eagle Release

At the World Bird Sanctuary a Bald Eagle release is always a cause for excitement!

On August 30 as I entered the site on my way to the office for my usual volunteer duties I was stopped by Sanctuary Manager, Joe Hoffmann, who asked if I had my camera with me.  All staff and volunteers at WBS wear many hats.  My other hat, in addition to office duties, is as one of several staff photographers.  Everyone knows that I seldom go anywhere without a camera in tow.  Joe told me that they were releasing a Bald Eagle at Lone Elk Park in about thirty minutes!

Drawing names from a hat to determine who will release the bird

The eagle being released this day was a juvenile from the Lake of the Ozarks.  She had fallen out of her nest too early and was not yet able to fly or hunt on her own.  (We believe this bird is a female due to her size—females are larger than males.)  After two and a half months of perfecting her flying skills in one of our large exercise mews we felt she was ready to be released.

Usually a Bald Eagle release is cause for much fanfare, with dignitaries and news media present.  However, this time it had been decided to make this a quiet in-house affair and to give the members of our Tuesday Crew the honor of releasing this bird.

 Tuesday Crew member Bill Kleyboecker won the honor of releasing the eagle

The Tuesday Crew members are an indispensable part of our organization—retired tradesmen who literally keep our organization together with their various construction skills.  They volunteer their skills and expertise every Tuesday come rain or shine.  Today one of them would get to release this majestic Bald Eagle back into the wild, cheered on by the rest of the “crew”.  The choice of who would do the actual release was decided by drawing names from a hat.  Crew member Bill Kleyboecker was the lucky winner.

Removing an uncooperative bird from a crate is never easy

Everyone gathered expectantly at the Lone Elk visitors’ center building.  The time had come to remove our young eagle from her crate—not an easy job since she saw absolutely no reason to cooperate!

 A beautiful release!

Once our youngster was properly positioned Bill lofted her into the air and she burst out of his arms with strong forceful wing beats, making a beeline for the trees at the edge of the lake—and freedom!

 Free at last!

Moments like these are what remind us why we do what we do.  If you would like to volunteer at the World Bird Sanctuary call 636-225-4390 and ask for Teri, or go to our website, click on the “About” header, and click on “Volunteer Program” in the dropdown menu for more information and an application.

Submitted by Gay Schroer, World Bird Sanctuary Volunteer/Photographer

Lance Welling

In memory of Lance Welling

November 3, 1939 – April 3, 2010

  

Earlier this month we said goodbye to Lance Welling, reliable volunteer and friend to many at World Bird Sanctuary.

Lance was encouraged to volunteer at World Bird Sanctuary by his sister-in-law, Patti Sonntag, who has been a volunteer at World Bird Sanctuary for many years.  In February 2002 Lance joined “The Tuesday Crew” .  From then on, he diligently worked at World Bird Sanctuary on many projects – most of them electrical – with his close friend Don Marcinkiewicz.  Lance and Don would quietly go about their work, every Tuesday, come rain, shine and even snow.  Lance’s volunteer duties extended beyond World Bird Sanctuary – he was also a committed volunteer for the St. Vincent DePaul Society and a dedicated usher at Mass on Sunday afternoons.

Lance is remembered by family and friends as a loving husband, a helpful and involved dad and a caring friend.  He was an enthusiastic softball coach, a gourmet shrimp fryer and champion pretzel consumer!  Most importantly, as fellow Tuesday Crew members Don and Bill will testify, Lance was a legendary fisherman.  In fact, the only time he never showed up for ‘work’ at WBS was when he was away on one of his much-loved fishing trips.

It was an honor to have Lance on our team and we will remember him for many years to come.  Every time we turn on a light switch in the Wildlife Hospital, every time we enjoy the cool respite of the overhead fans in the Administrative Offices, every time we hear the extractor fans hard at work in our food preparation kitchens, and every time we walk up the lighted steps from the Nature Center when it’s dark outside.

Tuesday Crew

In an organization like the World Bird Sanctuary there are many unsung heroes--those people who will do whatever is necessary without expecting recognition or praise.

One group of such heroes is our Tuesday Crew.  As the name implies, they show up every Tuesday, rain or shine, to tackle the myriad construction and maintenance tasks that need doing.  Our list is always long.

These men come in many different ages, shapes, sizes and backgrounds.  Most of them have some construction background--some of them don't.  What they all have in common is the willingness to do whatever is needed to maintain a main facility and other buildings that sprawl out over several hundred acres.

The other day I caught up with them when they were trying to work out the logistics of building the most efficient shelving system for our new walk-in freezer.

The next day's project might find them building a wall or hanging a door.

Another day might find them installing a ceiling fan in our offices, or repairing one of our rehabilitation flight cages.  Whatever we need done, they always seem to find a way to get the job done, no matter how impossible the request may seem.

The thing that impresses me the most about these gentlemen is their camaraderie and sense of humor.  They always seem to be having a good time no matter what they're doing.

The World Bird Sanctuary is always in need of people with carpentry, electrical, plumbing, HVAC or mechanical know-how.  If you fit this profile and would be interested in volunteering your services Click Here for a volunteer form, or call 636-225-4390, Ext. 0 and ask for Teri, or email her at tschroer@worldbirdsanctuary.org