Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Clinic Update 4/29

Things have been running smoothly in the clinic this week. The third years have officially moved on to clinics, and the first and second year students have stepped up to help their teams.

The weather has been great, so the resident birds have been able to go out to their flight cages. They are very happy to get out of the ward for a few hours everyday. They also went to Petstravaganza on Saturday and helped introduce more community members to the WMC are our mission. On Thursday, they will be headed to a high school in St. Joseph.

Orphans are coming in and being shipped off to wildlife rehabbers regularly. 5 orphaned raccoons and 4 orphaned rabbits left the clinic for rehabilitation this afternoon. Make sure orphaned wildlife really needs help before bringing it to the WMC!

We also have several interesting cases in the clinic. Currently, we are treating a mallard duck with a right wing injury, a red-tailed hawk, an opossum, a turkey, and a snapping turtle. Lucy, the goose, has finally gone off to a rehabber.

Snapping Turtle

Turkey
Mallard Duck

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Doodle for Wildlife

Doodle for Wildlife, the WMC's annual fund-raiser, occurred last Saturday. Guests had a great time bidding on the silent and live auction items, as well as honoring important contributions to the clinic. All of the resident birds attended the event (including Susie) and their paintings were the hit of the live auction.

Thanks to everyone who attended the event! The Wildlife Medical Clinic sincerely appreciates you support!

Julia with Odin, Pistol, Penelope, Nokomis and Noel
Bidding on the Silent Auction Items

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Orphans!

Now that it's warming up, we are getting a pretty regular stream of orphans into the clinic. Remember, our recommendations are to call us when:
1) you know the parents are dead (evidence of a dead parent nearby)
2) the animal is obviously injured, weak, thin, very cold or sick
3) the animal is covered with flies or insects , or
4) the animal is in unavoidable, unnatural danger.

Parents often leave their young unattended for most of the day and will still care for them if they've been handled by humans. If the "orphan" is fat, bright eyed and apparently healthy it is probably best left alone. You can return the animal to its nest (if you can find it) or move it out of the way to a safe location. If a baby bunny's eyes are open or a baby bird is completely feathered, they are typically old enough to fend for themselves.

Michelle and an orphaned squirrel


Orphaned Mourning Doves
Don't forget to buy your tickets for Doodle for Wildlife! The event is Saturday night. We met last night to put together packages for the silent auction, and we have some amazing items!

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Rounds 4/8/08


Every week, the clinic volunteers get together for rounds. This provides us an opportunity to learn about important topics and occasionally practice our clinical skills. For today's rounds, we practiced suturing on bananas. Everyone had a great time!

Stacy helps Kelly with her suturing technique

Monday, April 7, 2008

Educational Event Update

Our residents were very busy last week. On Thursday night, Nokomis, Noel and Penelope visited Washington Early Childhood in Urbana for their "Night at the Zoo." The students got to see the birds up close and touch some real owl feathers!

Night at the Zoo:Nokomis


Erin with Noel and Penelope

On Friday morning, Odin and Pistol visited a 6th grade class in Monticello. They helped our volunteers discuss falconry with the students and enjoyed being out in the community.

Saturday was the College of Veterinary Medicine Annual Open House. Five of the residents (Nokomis, Noel, Pistol, Penelope and Odin) perched in the anatomy lab and wowed the visitors. Many people commented that they had never seen the birds so close before but often saw other members of the species in their yards or on the highway. The birds did great, considering the length of the event, and helped demonstrate the importance and beauty of wildlife to thousands of people.
Open House:
Amanda with Odin, Pistol, Penelope, Noel and Nokomis

Finally, Doodle for Wildlife is fast approaching. We have some amazing items in the auction, so don't forget to buy your tickets! Click here for more information or to purchase tickets.

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Busy, busy, busy!

Activity in the ward has really picked up since spring break. We now have 2 Mourning Doves, 2 Red Tailed Hawks, and a young Great Horned Owl. The Barred Owl is still here and doing very well. He should be headed off to a rehabber fairly soon. Lucy, the Canadian Goose, is also progressing and will hopefully be able to leave the clinic shortly.

Treatments:
Red-Tailed Hawk Surgery


Barred Owl



Bumblefoot treatment on a Red-Tailed Hawk

The residents have also been really busy. Odin, Nokomis, Pistol and Noel went to an event on the vet school campus yesterday. The owls have an event tonight and Odin and Pistol have one tomorrow morning. Saturday is the CVM Open House, and all of the birds will be coming out for that too! It's also been warm enough for the birds to start going outside to their flight cages for a few hours, and they have been really excited to spend time outdoors!