PHOTO BY ANN CAMERON SIEGAL
"Aurora" arrived at Diva Crows of Alexandria with a birth defect. She cannot survive in the wild. After receiving the required federal permit, After receiving the required Federal permit, Catherine Sevcenko uses Aurora as an education bird. Rehab birds destined for release don’t get names.
You notice a baby bird hopping around on the ground under a tree, or a shallow ground nest of newborn bunnies as you mow the lawn. What do you do?
Or maybe a fox is limping as it passes through the neighborhood. Who do you call?
It is natural to want to help injured or possibly orphaned wildlife, but sometimes the best thing to do is not to do anything but observe, said Carolyn Wilder, president of Wildlife Rescue League. (WRL)
Many wildlife incidents seen by rehabbers are because of human interaction – intentional or accidental. WRL will help you make the right choice on how, or if, to help.
For example, young birds are often on the ground when testing their wings in preparation for fledging, as parents watch nearby. To avoid attracting predators, rabbits stay away from their young except to feed them around dawn and dusk. And, most mammals can survive minor injuries, thriving even with an injured leg.
“The rule of thumb is if an animal is moving around ok — not crying or appearing to be in distress — it is probably ok,” according to Wilder.
Wildlife Rescue League, a non-profit, all-volunteer organization, has been serving as a resource to the public and offering support to Virginia’s licensed rehabilitators for 35 years.
“Our mission is to support the rehabilitation of sick, injured, and orphaned wildlife so that it can be returned to the wild, and through education, to foster appreciation of our wild neighbors” Wilder said.
WRL’s dedicated team of more than 80 volunteers handles about 3,500 calls a year. Another 70 volunteers log about 48,000 miles annually transporting wildlife from partner vets to rehabilitators. More than 5500 calls were logged in 2020 as so many people working and learning from home noticed more wildlife activity.
Most spring and summer calls to WRL are about baby squirrels that have fallen out of nests, or baby birds seen on the ground. Winter calls tend to be about injuries such as window strikes by birds, or wildlife injured by other animals. Raptors, such as owls, eagles and hawks are often injured as the result of car strikes and lead poisoning from ingesting bullets or fishing waste.
THE WORLD OF REHABBERS
All Northern Virginia state-permitted rehabilitators who take wildlife from shelters, vets, animal control or the WRL Helpline are automatically members of WRL and are eligible to receive supplies from the WRL Supply Depots.
It is expensive to be a rehabilitator — and they are not allowed to charge for their services. Wildlife in their care require cages, food, formula, bedding and medicines. Rehabbers who work with rabies vector species – raccoons, foxes, skunks, groundhogs or bats — must have prophylactic rabies vaccines which can run $1,000 each. In addition, rehabilitators are required to partner with a veterinarian, with costs for treatment negotiated between them. WRL helps new rehabilitators by reimbursing some of those costs. Material donations received from the public are distributed appropriately.
Most rehabilitators pay their expenses out of pocket.
“They do the work for their love of animals,” Wilder said. They are also excellent sources of information and advice. The time investment is amazing, particularly during most rehabbers’ busiest season from May to August. Volunteer help is often needed and appreciated.
Catherine Sevcenko of Diva Crows in Alexandria has a passion for rehabilitating songbirds. When people raise their eyebrows at her love of crows, she sings praises for their strong family units and cleverness.
“They never forget a face, so never make a crow angry,” she quipped. “They also chase away predators and are wonderful to have
in the neighborhood because they clean up garbage and eat rodents.”
As to their loud, raucous call: “There’s nothing in the songbird book that says you have to like to listen.”
She suggests that people keep their cats inside for the few days needed for any young bird to fledge.
Sevcenko, like all rehabbers, savors successes. Many require extreme patience and out-of-the-box thinking, such as when a blue jay came to her with no feathers, just stalks. “I was advised to put it down.” Instead, she fed it dead newborn mice soaked in Pedialyte. Within three months, the jay had a beautiful set of new feathers and was released. For more information, visit divacrows.org.
Olivia LoBalbo, a rehabber and wildlife educator in Gainesville, specializes in small mammals. Caring for more than 700 animals in 2020 she said, “My end goal is that, if possible, every animal that comes into my facility is going to be released back into the wild. They are not pets.” Once a wild animal has been taken in as a pet, (which is illegal), it can never be returned to the wild.
LoBalbo’s son Cirino, 9, is too young to be allowed to handle wildlife in his mother’s care, hebut he helps by cleaning cages and feeding the patients. “If you ever see an opossum or other wild animal, don’t try to interact with it,” he said. For more information, visit aeroanimalrescue.org.
Be aware that wildlife is out there even during the day. “Wild animals are adapting to urban life, trying to coexist with us, and we want to figure out ways to live peacefully with them,” said Wilder.
Wildlife Tips
- Less is more when it comes to interacting with wildlife. However, anytime a wild animal comes up to you, it’s concerning, so call for advice.
- Be aware of netting in your yard as it can trap wildlife, causing stress or injury.
- Watch wildlife from a distance to avoid injury to you or stress to it.
- Don’t acclimate wildlife to humans. Never feed it.
- Keep key wildlife rescue numbers posted by your phone so you don’t waste precious time when help is needed.
- Learn to recognize basic nests – especially rabbits who build their nests on the ground.