Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research

MONTHLY FLYER
A Volunteer Newsletter
May 2016

Celebrating 40 years of excellence in

wildlife rehabilitation and research
Photo: snyders/moonbeampublishing

Editor: Loretta Carlson

THE BABY BIRDS ARE HERE!

The first Great Horned Owlets came in a bit later than usual, but they have
arrived at last, along with the first American Robins, House Finches, Carolina
Wrens, Mourning Doves, as well as ducklings and goslings. Soon the clinic
will be filled with the chirping and peeping of many more babies begging for
food.
To help with our expanding caseload, we have added a third shift that will
run from 6 to 8 p.m. for the next few weeks. As we admit more babies, we
will extend our third-shift hours, so watch for announcements about
scheduling and be ready for calls for clinic help from Julie and front desk
volunteers.

A Song Sparrow and Chipping Sparrow

eagerly beg for food.
Staff Photo

FAREWELL, SAM CHRISTIE

We are sad to announce that Oil Programs Senior Coordinator Sam Christie is leaving Tri-State to become the
wildlife rehabilitation manager at the Hawaii Wildlife Center, a response, rehabilitation, research, and
education organization devoted to native wildlife. Check out this amazing organization online at
www.hawaiiwildlifecenter.org.
Executive Director Lisa Smith praised Sam for four years of innovation, process improvement, fabulous
presentations, and professional representation of Tri-State while on the Oil Spill Response Team and for
several years of service before that in the clinic as a volunteer, intern, and relief supervisor.
Sams last day will be May 16. Please join us in wishing her success and the best of luck.
TRI-STATE HONORS VOLUNTEERS

With the amazing live bird show by Phung Luu and

Jackie Kozlowski for entertainment, volunteers and staff
alike enjoyed an afternoon of food, fun, and fellowship
celebrating our wonderful volunteers. (See Service Pins
article below to learn about another way Tri-State
acknowledges its valued volunteers.) The highlight of
every celebration is the recognition of that years top
volunteers. This year, we honored twelve individuals.

(Back row): Lisa Smith, Lisa Robinson, Julie Bartley, Pat

Jones, Ellie Hileman, and Valna Persak; (Front row): Rob
Romeo, Lauren Sugar, Kathy Wiwel, and Lyndsay Ayers
Staff Photo

Lifetime Achievement
For twenty-eight years, Lisa Robinson has played
many roles at Tri-State. Shes helped with bird care, oil
spill response, transport, special events, and safety. Her
most monumental contributions, however, have been
keeping the laundry room at the Frink Center organized
and well stocked and helping set up the laundry facility
in the Wildlife Response Annex.

Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research

Volunteer of the Year

Dennis Davis started as an adult-bird-care volunteer in 2013. Soon he was also feeding baby birds, working
on oil spill responses, helping complete an oil spill inventory, transporting birds to the clinic, and helping at
special events. He volunteers at least one day every week throughout the year and trains our newest
volunteers.
Pat Wolters Wild Bird Stewardship Award
Kathy Wiwel started volunteering with Tri-State in 2011, first with bird care and then oil spill response. She
works weekly shifts in the clinic, helps at special events, transports birds, and speaks to student groups,
educating them on ways to become stewards for wildlife.
Mary Robinson Awards
Since 1993, Ellie Hileman has been an integral part of Tri-States success. A former member of the Oil Spill
Core Team, shes also helped with bird care, workshops, yard sales, special events, and training new
volunteers. Her signature achievement has been her work organizing and helping run the annual yard sale.
Patricia Jones has been a behind-the-scenes volunteer for many years. During the past five years, Pat has
been Ellie Hilemans indispensable yard sale partner. With Pats and Ellies tireless efforts, the yard sale has
become one of Tri-States most successful fund-raisers.
Fledglings of the Year
For the past year, Ray Bryant has been one of Tri-States most active volunteer transporters, retrieving and
transporting birds from Sussex County in Delaware and Somerset and Wicomico counties in Maryland. Because
of the long distances involved, Ray has dedicated a portion of his garage to safely house the birds that cannot
get to our clinic until the next day. Rand McIlvaine first become involved with Tri-State when he helped
another volunteer corral an injured swan. He was soon retrieving and transporting other birds and using his
carpentry skills to help with maintenance tasks around the clinic. Rand was part of the team that replaced the
rafters in the flight cage last winter, and he also recently helped renovate the Raptor Room.
Unsung Heroes
A Tri-State volunteer since she was a teenager, Lyndsay Ayers started with bird care and later joined the oil
spill response team. Until we introduced the electronic database last year, Lyndsay also helped maintain the
clinic database. Jim Howey started volunteering in 2011 and helps with maintenance inside and outside the
clinic, most recently building our new Raptor Room cages. Valna Persak has been a faithful clinic volunteer
every Saturday since 2006. She also works on the oil spill team, trains new volunteers, and helps at special
events. A clinic and oil spill team volunteer since 2007, Rob Romeo has also been a dedicated committee
member for our annual Open House and Benefit for the Birds.
Rising Star
Lauren Sugar joined Tri-State as a clinic support volunteer last summer. She soon earned the privilege of
working with baby birds and now helps train new bird care and clinic support volunteers.
RAINY DAYYET LOTS OF OPEN HOUSE GUESTS
Can you believe it? Even with rain all day long, our big tent, selfguided tours, and Animal Behavior and Conservation Connections
birds helped prompt an estimated 1,000 guests to visit the annual
Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research Open House. Our updated
venue design provided a more convenient way to tour both the
Frink Center and Wildlife Response Annex, get up close and
personal with trained raptors, and be treated to food, nature tips,
kids fun, and more.

Volunteer Gail Shrenk tells young visitors how

Tri-State cares for baby birds.
Photo by Russ Carlson

Monthly Flyer, May 2016

Joining us again as a food concessionaire was our good friend

Leigh Ann Tona and her I Dont Give a Fork food truck. Our
younger bird enthusiasts enjoyed face painting, bird species
coloring, and bird word search. The What Is Your Wingspan?
banner on the second-floor deck had guests young and old
lined up in the rain to compare their wingspans to the
wingspans of a variety of birds.

Bird-themed merchandise entices young shoppers.

Photo by Russ Carlson

We want to extend our very special thanks to the planning

committee and our dedicated volunteers, staff, and board
members who freely gave their time and talents to make this
family-friendly, community event a highlight of the year. Mark
your calendar now to join us next year on Sunday, May 7,
2017, for Tri-States annual Open House.

CALLING ALL FOSTER WILD BIRD FAMILIES

Whenever baby owls, finches, wrens, goslings, and ducklings come through our doors, we hope we can return
these youngsters to their parents. However, some of our patients will be healthy orphans. With your help, we
can place these youngsters with foster families whose nests are located in suitably safe locations. Contact
clinic supervisor Brie Hashem (bhashem@tristatebird.org) if you know of good foster family candidates for
goslings, ducks, or songbirdsespecially species that nest in boxes. If you know where we can find a good owl
or hawk family, contact clinic supervisor Aimee Federer (afederer@tristatebird.org).
RECENT RELEASES
Our first two baby owls came in on April 4 and 7. Patient 16-266 was a Great Horned Owl that fell from its
nest in Easton, Maryland. Despite a fractured wing, the young owl was alert and started hand-feeding within a
day of admission. We wrapped the wing, and by April 7, the youngster was self-feeding and ready for gentle
physical therapy. Once the wing fracture had stabilized, we started investigating the feasibility of reuniting this
young owl with its family. On April 11, volunteers Jim and Sue McVoy placed the Great Horned Owl back in its
Easton nest.
Ocean City Animal Control agents found another Great Horned Owlet on the
ground on April 7. Volunteers Ray Bryant and Tom Jones joined forces to
transport this young bird up to the Tri-State clinic. Fortunately, the downy
nestling, whose eyes had not fully opened, sustained only abrasions when it
fell, and it soon began self-feeding chicken pieces. We cleaned the abrasions
and provided a snuggle buddy in patient 16-277s incubator nest. After
spending a few days recuperating at Tri-State, the young owl was strong
enough to return to the care of its parents on April 10.
Finch-eye syndrome (FES), a condition similar to conjunctivitis in humans, is a
Patient 16-277
Staff Photo
common eye infection among finches. A West Chester homeowner began
monitoring an adult female American Goldfinch at her feeder when she noticed the bird had crusty eyes.
After a couple of attempts, she was able to capture the finch and bring it to Tri-State on March 20. The finch
was thin and depressed, and both eyes were swollen shut. We cleaned the birds eyes and started her on a
course of antibiotics. With a heating pad and pain medication to soothe her, the finch was soon self-feeding.
By March 26 she was perching and navigating well in her cage. As her condition steadily improved, she proved
herself to be an accomplished escape artist. Finally, on April 13, with the FES fully resolved, her weight
stabilized, and her flight skills strong, the American Goldfinch was ready for release by the presenter back in
West Chester.
An office worker found a Northern Flicker outside a building in Centreville, Delaware, on April 6. Quiet on
admission, the adult woodpecker was neurologic and had damaged its tail feathers. By the next day, however,
the flicker was self-feeding mealworms, and it flew well during its test flight, although it was easily captured.

Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research

After a week in an outdoor cage recovering from its ordeal and regaining its strength and flight skills, the
Northern Flicker was ready for release at the Ashland Nature Preserve on April 16.
Although we admit Barn Swallows and Tree Swallows on occasion, the swallow that came to Tri-State on
April 12 from West Chester was a more unusual patienta Northern Rough-winged Swallow. Despite some
bruising and feather damage, the swallow was very active, flying and clinging to the sides of its screen cage.
An accomplished escape artist, the swallows flight was excellent after a night of TLC in the Tri-State clinic. We
released the bird on April 13 at Brandywine River Park where it was found. Learn more about the Northern
Rough-winged Swallow in this months Featured Bird article.
OTHER RELEASES IN APRIL
In April, we also released a Bald Eagle, an Osprey, Turkey Vultures, a Northern Gannet, a Mallard, a Canada
Goose, Carolina Wrens, and House Finches. We also released a long-time patientthe Broad-winged Hawk
that came to us in November. More on his story in June!
FEATURED BIRD: NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW
Named for the tiny hooks on its outer primary feathers, the Northern Rough-winged Swallow is a highly
adaptable swallow found throughout the United States. The function of the hooks is unknown, although some
ornithologists surmise they may produce a distinctive sound during courtship displays.
With its mostly brown plumage, the Northern Rough-winged Swallow is
rather plain in comparison with some other swallows. It has a short black
bill and a slightly forked dark-brown or black tail. Its about 5-1/2 inches
long, with an 11- to 12-inch wingspan. Juveniles look similar to adults,
although their coloring is more of a cinnamon brown with cinnamon-brown
wing bars.
An aerial forager, this swallow hovers over open landscapes or water,
catching a variety of flying insects and consuming them in flight.
Forming monogamous pairs, Northern Rough-winged Swallows nest either
in solitary locations or in colonies. Typically, they use their feet to dig
nesting burrows, although these swallows have been known to nest in rock
crevices or other man-made structures. They have one brood of four to
eight young each year. The female incubates the eggs for twelve days, and
both parents feed the young until they leave the nest when they are
nineteen to twenty-one days old.

Photo by snyders/moonbeampublishing

Learn more about the Northern Rough-winged Swallow at the Cornell Lab of Ornithologys All About Birds
website, www.allaboutbirds.org, as well as in Birds of North America, published by the Smithsonian Institution,
or your own favorite birding book.
NEW RAPTOR CAGES IMPROVE LIFE FOR BIRDS AND PEOPLE
We are excited to introduce our new raptor cages. The special design
not only reduces stress on the birds, it also allows more frequent
cleaning and improves air quality.

Staff Photo

Each cage features a removable divider that enables us to work on

the empty side of the cage while the bird is secure on the other side.
Staff members and volunteers can safely and thoroughly clean the
cages and more easily capture birds. The windowless design limits
visual interaction with people, thereby reducing stress for the birds.
The low level of light in the cage will keep the birds calm and
eliminate the need for padding for high-strung accipiter species.
When room lights are on during the daytime, birds will be able to see
their food, water, and perch.

Monthly Flyer, May 2016

The instructions below provide guidance for the new Raptor Room procedures. If you have any questions,
please dont hesitate to ask a clinic supervisor or Andrea Howey-Newcomb.

Cleaning & Feeding

Place the divider in the cage. This allows you to work on the empty side of the cage while the bird is safely
on the other side of the divider.

Place the newspaper up to the side of the divider but not under the divider. This will eliminate newspaper
getting caught under the sliding divider door. There will always be a thin strip where the divider door slides
that will not be covered by newspaper or other bedding.

Take the divider door mostly out and slightly open the front door. The bird should move to the other side;
close the divider door and proceed with cleaning the empty side.

Every cage should have two perchesone on each side of the divider as well as one food dish and one
water dish. You can place dishes on either side (whichever is easiest to access), and they do not need to be
side by side.

Capturing

Close the divider.

Slowly open the door and hold up a towel the full length of the cage. The new cages are not as deep as
the old cages, so capturing birds should be easier.

If the cage is too high for you, please use a step stool.

Work in pairs whenever possible.

We extend our deepest thanks to the generous, anonymous volunteer who donated the funds for this
transformation and to volunteer Jim Howey for his craftsmanship in building the cages.
ANNIVERSARY PINS FOR LONG-TIME VOLUNTEERS
Thanks to the funds raised by our volunteer knitters,
crocheters, and crafters, Tri-State was able to purchase
service pins to reward our most loyal volunteers with a
concrete sign of our gratitude. Volunteer Manager Julie
Bartley and Executive Director Lisa Smith handed out
the first pins at the April 10 Volunteer Appreciation
Celebration.
Four designs honor volunteers with five (Cedar Waxwing), ten (Wood Duck), fifteen (Great Horned Owl), and
twenty-plus (Bald Eagle) years of service. People who think they qualify should stop by Julie's office or contact
her to receive their pins.
VOLUNTEER ANNIVERSARIES FOR MAY
20 years: Ann Banning 12 years: Donald Bauman 9 years: Janice Brink 8 years: Rachel Despins
6 years: Melanie Figgs 5 years: Carol Donner and Mary VanderDussen 4 years: David and Tara Kee
UPCOMING EVENTS
Volunteer Upgrade Session dates have been posted in the Volunteer Office. These sessions are for
volunteers who have been trained in adult bird care only and who would like to continue working in the clinic
through the summer. We hope you do! At the peak in July, we could have as many as 300 birds in-house.

Friday, May 6, 1:30 3:30; Monday, May 9, 5:307:30; Saturday, May 14, 122; Friday, May 20, 1:303:30;
and Tuesday, May 24, 1:303:30
Spring Information Session: Saturday, May 7, 11 a.m.
Adult Bird Care Workshop: Sunday, May 15, 9 a.m.1 p.m.

Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research

Giant Yard Sale. Saturday, October 1. Details to come in future issues of The Flyer. The trailer will be in
the upper parking lot in June. Start cleaning out your basements and attics now.
Benefit for the Birds. Friday, October 21. For information, contact Duke Doblick in the Development office
at (302) 737-9543, extension 108.