Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research

MONTHLY FLYER
A Volunteer Newsletter

September 2017

Celebrating 41 years of excellence in

wildlife rehabilitation and research

Photo: snyders/moonbeampublishing Editor: Loretta Carlson

IN THE HOMESTRETCH OF SUMMER

In a sure sign that the 2017 Baby Bird Season is coming to an end, we admitted the first American Goldfinch
nestlings and fledglings. However, although we are seeing fewer baby songbirds, we still need your help. Late
summer and early fall bring us many young raptors struggling with their flight skills and the first warblers
passing through during fall migration. Please check the schedule on Volgistics and sign up for a shift or two
or three. If you can help in the evening, on weekends, and during Labor Day weekend, we would be so
grateful.
Dont forget our hotline for same-day schedule changes. If you need to cancel a shift you signed up for
that day, please call and leave a message at (302) 737-9543, extension 103. Use the same number if you have
some unexpected free time and would like to come ineven if its only for a couple of hours.

ONE MONTH TO OUR GIANT YARD SALE

The trailer is filling up, and the Yard Sale Committee is finalizing plans
for Tri-States annual fall fund-raiser. We are looking for help with the
following tasks:
Setting up on Friday, October 6, starting at 8 a.m.
Staffing tables and cash registers the day of the event, October 7.
The first shift runs from 7 to 11 a.m. and includes getting ready for
the shoppers. The second shift runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and
includes helping with cleanup.
Cleaning up, packing and loading unsold items, and recycling
cardboard from 1 to 3 p.m. on October 7. Our second-shift
volunteers will still be around, but cleanup is a big chore, so wed
like to have extra hands onboard.
As always, the success of this event depends on our faithful
volunteers. If you have connections with local churches, youth groups,
or high school and college students that may be interested in helping
with this community event, please pass along contact information to
Julie Bartley.
Remember: This year, you may drop off donations ONLY on Sundays
and Tuesdays between 9 and 11 a.m., and on Fridays from 9 a.m. to
3 p.m. The deadline for donating items is October 1.
Last year we raised more than $14,000 for the birds. With your help
donating items and spreading the word among your family, friends, and communitywe can make this years
Giant Yard Sale an even bigger success.
Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research 2

RECENT RELEASES
Two fledgling Cedar Waxwings came to us in early July after spending four days in the care of a woman in
Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Their feathers caked in dried cat food, the young birds were also severely dehydrated
and one had a fractured clavicle. We treated that fledgling with pain medication and prescribed cage rest until
the fracture stabilized. By July 10, both birds were eating well and gaining weight. We moved them into an
outside cage where they spent the next few weeks building their strength and honing their flight skills. We
released them together on the Tri-State grounds on August 1. Learn more about Cedar Waxwings in this
months Featured Bird article.
On August 2, we admitted a young Green Heron that had been attacked by an unknown animal in Kennett
Square. Although the bird was alert, it was also neurologic and stressed and spent most of its time in the hide
box we provided. With pain
medications and a quiet place to
recuperate, the heron began to
improve steadily. By August 6,
we moved the bird outside and
observed it maneuvering well
through grass and sticks and
other obstacles. We even
spotted the heron on high
perches. Once its neurologic
symptoms resolved completely,
we sent the Green Heron to
Annapolis, and U.S. Fish &
Wildlife Service biologist Pete
McGowan placed it with a foster
family on August 8.
Once again, botulism has
apparently reared its ugly head.
On July 22, we admitted a
Laughing Gull from Ocean View
that we ultimately dubbed
Patient 0 when seven other
gulls with similar symptoms
came to the clinic. The first bird
was a juvenile gull tangled in
seaweed and covered in silt. On
admission, the bird exhibited
Green Heron waits in cage just before its August 8 release. Staff Photo
neurologic symptoms as well as
poor motor skills, which caused
us to suspect botulism. It also had corneal ulcers in both eyes. Although the gull was thin and severely
dehydrated, it was alert and began eating and drinking voraciously as soon as we offered it a gull plate and
water. We started the gull on a course of pain medication, rinsed and cleaned the eyes, and continuously
flushed the system with various fluids. On July 24, we offered the gull opportunities to swim in shallow water,
and by July 28 it was paddling and moving well in the water. Once the gulls eyes and overall condition
improved and it was taking short flights inside, we moved the bird outside. On August 7, we observed the gull
sitting in the high rafters, and by August 9, we observed it flying and banking in the flight cage. With its
waterproofing, body condition, and flight skills excellent, we released this Laughing Gull in Middletown along
with six other recovered botulism suspects.
Eastern Screech Owl 17-2391 came to us on August 1 from Chatham, Pennsylvania, with eye injuries and
severe road rash likely sustained when it was hit by a vehicle. After administering pain medication and
cleaning and bandaging its shoulder wounds, we placed the juvenile raptor in the oxygen chamber. Once its
Monthly Flyer, September 2017 3

Staff Photo

condition stabilized, we took radiographs that showed the owl also had a fractured keel. With cage rest, the
keel fracture healed and the eye swelling slowly resolved. While the owl was under anesthesia on August 3,
we cleaned and sutured the shoulder wounds. The owl began self-feeding soon afterward, and by August 6,
its neurologic symptoms resolved. Once the bird was perching and flying well in Raptor Room, we moved it
outside where it immediately flew to the highest point in the cage. When its injuries healed completely and its
flight and lift skills showed it was ready to go back to the wild, we enlisted the help of volunteer Jim McVoy
who released the screech owl on August 9 back in the area where it was found.

OTHER RELEASES IN AUGUST

In August, we also released Ospreys, a Coopers Hawk, a Great Horned Owl, a Turkey Vulture, a Fish Crow,
a Common Tern, Wood Ducks, Mallards, Chimney Swifts, Barn Swallows, Purple Martins, an Eastern Kingbird,
a Ruby-throated Hummingbird, a Red-eyed Vireo, a Northern Flicker, Eastern Bluebirds, an Eastern Phoebe, an
Eastern Wood Pewee, Chipping Sparrows, Song Sparrows, Blue Jays, a Northern Mockingbird, Gray Catbirds,
Northern Cardinals, House Finches, a Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Wrens, House Wrens, Mourning Doves,
American Robins, and Brown-headed Cowbirds.

TRI-STATE IS GOING FOOTLOOSE

After forty-one years, its time to look back, kick back, and celebrate all weve accomplished together at the
annual Benefit for the Birds. For this years event, we are going Footloose and Fancy Free. Leave the black
tie at home and get ready to join us for an evening of friends and food in support of helping wildlife in need.
We are returning to Deerfield Country Club on November 10 from 6 to 10 p.m. With a shorter time frame, a
lower ticket price, and a more casual atmosphere, theres no reason not to kick off your shoes, so to speak,
and enjoy a delightful night out. Browse the Silent Hawktion or take your chances on the ever-popular Big
Card Draw for Philadelphia sports teams tickets, all while you meet up with friends old and new.
Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research 4

Get your tickets online now at www.tristatebird.org/benefit. You may also purchase tickets by sending an
e-mail to Rebecca Stansell at rstansell@tristatebird.org or by calling 302.737.9543, extension 110.

FEATURED BIRD: CEDAR WAXWING

One of the few North American birds that specializes in eating fruit, the Cedar Waxwing is a slender songbird
named for the waxy tips on its secondary flight feathers. Ornithologists do not know the purpose of these
colorful tips, but only older waxwings have them, and studies suggest that pairs with the waxy tips produce
more young than pairs without them.
Approximately 7 inches long with a wingspan of
11 to 12 inches, the Cedar Waxwing is a mostly
brown bird with a black mask, lemon-yellow belly,
and a gray-black tail tipped with yellow. It has a
long crest that often lies flat against its head. The
sexes are similar, although adult females have
brown, instead of black, throats. Juvenile waxwings
have streaked upperparts and underparts.
During courtship, male and female Cedar Waxwings
sit close together, passing flower petals back and
forth and sharing their food. The monogamous
pairs have one or two broods of two to six young
each year. Both parents incubate the eggs. The
female broods the young until they leave the nest
at about 14 to 18 days old.
You can find this bird in woodlands of all types as
well as orchards and backyards with fruit trees or
shrubs. Cedar Waxwings travel in large flocks year-
round, feasting on berries in treesoften passing
fruit back and forthor hovering over water to
Photo by Hank Davis hawk insects. In the fall, listen for the Cedar
Waxwings thin whistle high in the canopy as
hundreds of birds gather together. Learn more about the Cedar Waxwing at the Cornell Lab of Ornithologys
All About Birds Web site, www.allaboutbirds.org. See also Birds of North America, published by the
Smithsonian Institution, or your own favorite birding book.
VOLUNTEER ANNIVERSARIES
22 years: Maryanne Yingst 16 years: Thomas Jones III and Cindy Naylor 11 years: Elizabeth Eldridge
6 years: Kim Cook and Jim Howey 5 years: David & Erica Pearson and Joyce Witte 4 years: Mary Behal,
Barbara & Dennis Davis

ODDS AND ENDS

Are you looking for ways to branch out from your usual volunteer duties? Here are two ways you could expand
your service to Tri-State and the birds:
Please let Julie or our front desk volunteers know if you are planning a day trip to the beach and will be
returning to our area by late afternoon. We are always looking for people who can transport injured birds
up from Sussex and Kent counties. Contact Julie (737-9543, extension 102, Tuesdays through Saturdays)
or our front desk volunteers (extension 0) if you can help us with this vital service.
Do you enjoy working outdoors? Do you enjoy gardening? Were looking for a few volunteers to help us
spruce up the Tri-State grounds on Landscape Day, Thursday, September 7. Weve planned two shifts:
9 to noon and 1 to 4. Rain date is September 8. Call Julie for more information and to sign up.
Monthly Flyer, September 2017 5

Also, we have three housekeeping requests:

Please sign up for your shifts a month in advance. This helps the staff with planning and identifying dates
and times when we may need to send out a plea for extra help.
Please add your picture to Volgistics to help staff put faces with the names.
Please clean up after yourself in the volunteer office: Wash, dry, and put away your dishes; clean up any
spills by the coffeepot; and wipe the table after you eat lunch or snacks so its clean for the next person.
We are so grateful for the many ways our volunteers help the birdsand the staffat Tri-State. Thank you!

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK
We would like to extend the reach and impact of our posts on Facebook,
and were looking for your help. If you are on Facebook, we encourage
you to follow Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research, Inc. If you find a post
of ours to be interesting, please like that post and/or share it from
your personal account. The more people we reach and educate, the
stronger we can become. Thank you!

UPCOMING EVENTS
Information Sessions and Adult Bird Care Workshops. Do you
have friends or family members who think they may be interested in
volunteering for Tri-State, but who are concerned that this may not be
the right choice for them? We have the perfect solution: a one-hour
Information Session that gives prospective volunteers a good overview
of our operations and expectations. All those interested in volunteering at Tri-State must attend one
Information Session before they can register for a bird-care workshop.
Information Sessions will be offered on the following
Saturdays at 11 a.m.: September 9 and 16.
Adult Bird Care Workshop: Saturday, September 23,
8 a.m.1 p.m.
Yard Sale, Saturday, October 7, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The trailer is here and Yard Sale volunteers are eager
to accept your donations. Tri-States annual fund-raiser
for the birds will once again take place at the Aetna Fire
Hall in Newark. See the article above.
Benefit for the Birds, Friday, November 10, 6 to
10 p.m. We are returning to Deerfield in Newark in
2017. Deerfield is across Paper Mill Road, just over one
mile from the Tri-State turn at Possum Hollow Road.
See the article above for more details.

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