Suisun Wildlife Center

GIVING TUESDAY POSTS OCTOBER 2020 - ANOTHER HEARTBREAKING LOSS. October began well, with the start of work on rebuilding the bird of prey flight aviary, This aviary is crucial in the process of preparing young raptors to enter the wild, and recovering birds to gain the strength needed to go back. We are so grateful to the wonderful group of volunteers that is helping us get back on our feet with this construction they are the best!... Then, in a shocking event, we lost the Beav to a pulmonary thrombosis that killed him very quickly. We had a necropsy done at UC Davis to determine the cause of death, which was totally unexpected. The Center has cared for some wonderful and unusual wildlife before; Bobcats, Badger, Grey Fox, Peregrine Falcon, Golden Eagle but none that touched our hearts like the Beav. Please consider helping us get ready for what next year may bring!

SPOOKY SATURDAY A TINY TERROR! Birds of prey come in all sizes! For this small American Kestrel, even a Potato Bug is a big meal. Dolly is a female you can tell from her reddish or rufous wings and the male, with his blue wings, is even smaller than she is. That’s right, ladies, in birds of prey, the girls are larger! These adaptable little hunters may wait on a treetop, telephone wire or pole to spot its prey then dive down on it. Or they may fly over an open field and hover to search. They eat small mammals and insects mostly, but do occasionally take birds, so used to be called Sparrow Hawk. To many people, the Potato Bug is probably scarier than she is!

FREAKY FRIDAY! Bats are big at Halloween, and they are some of our favorite animals! For starters, they are the only flying mammals (flying squirrels really just glide), and they provide many benefits we are often unaware of. Everyone knows that sonar, or echolocation, helps them catch hundreds of flying insects every night (their body weight in many species), but they also pollinate many plant species and propagate them by eating their fruits and spreading the seeds. White b...ats are a surprise to many people, and they are only found in three of 13,000 species of bats! The Northern Ghost Bat (Diclidurus albus), seen in Costa Rica, is one of four ghost bat species found in the New World. It is medium-sized, with a diet consisting mostly of moths, which are captured in mid-air with the tail membrane and maybe the help of a wing, using echolocation. Honduran White Bats (Ectophylla alba), also called tent-making bats, use more of a group strategy, with several roosting under a large leaf they have bitten along the vane so it will droop and provide a tent for shelter in daytime. They are tiny, with a wingspan of four inches, and feed on fruit, primarily figs. They are one of a few bat species that does not have a tail. Bats are beautiful!

GIVING TUESDAY POSTS SEPTEMBER 2020 CONTINUING CARE! In September we had quite a few birds and animals in care, both in home and at the Wildlife Center. ... While we were very appreciative of the help we received from other centers, our goal was to care for as much wildlife as possible ourselves. There were a lot of Opossums, 8 squirrels in home care, the Great Horned Owl we were preparing for release, and more. Then there was the Beav, busily delighting everyone who cared for, met, or even saw a picture of him! He was eating well, gaining weight, and swimming more and more strongly. The Beav was a special creature, one we had never had the privilege to work with, so we kept in close contact with the expert. For those who took care of him, every day was exciting and filled with joy! Soon we will have birds and animals coming in (probably squirrels and hummingbirds in February!). We may never see a critter more special than the Beav, but they will all need care and we appreciate your help!

GIVING TUESDAY POSTS AUGUST 2020 PROGRESS AND A SURPRISE! In August rebuilding continued, and the damage to the Wildlife Center itself was repaired a great step forward! Our last of many hummingbirds was released back to the wild, and we were able to visit with Suisun City Mayor Lori Wilson to thank her for creating a Go Fund Me page for us after the fire.... Then came a complete surprise when we received the first baby Beaver we have ever seen in our 44 years working with wildlife in Solano County. The baby was extremely young for August (only about a week old) and we could not determine how or why it was separated from its family. We decided to try to raise The Beav and began the experience of caring for one of the most amazing animals we have ever had. Every animal in our care is precious to us and given our best efforts, and we are so grateful for your generosity please consider a donation!

A HEARTBREAKING LOSS We are terribly sad and sorry to tell you that a few days ago the Beav died very suddenly from what appeared to be a catastrophic event. He was in good condition in the morning and died by early afternoon. We immediately had a necropsy done at UC Davis so that we would know and be able to share with you the reason for his death. The cause of death was listed in UC Davis’ report as pulmonary vascular thrombosis or pulmonary embolism, a blood clot in th...e lung. Thankfully, it happened quickly, and he did not suffer. The Beav was cared for with devotion and great affection while he was with us. We were in communication with experts in beaver care and followed all their advice. All of us are shattered by this tremendous loss, especially those who were his caregivers. It was impossible to care for the Beav and not love him. As sad as it is right now to lose him, we would never give up having known the Beav he was pure joy!

GIVING TUESDAY POSTS JULY 2020- TWIN CHALLENGES! After the fire, we faced two major challenges. The first was to reconstruct wildlife care enclosures to be ready for spring. This included the bird of prey aviary, the squirrel enclosure, and the songbird aviary. Thankfully, our fellow wildlife care workers volunteered their help Napa Wildlife and the California Raptor Center took in wildlife we could not house. By this spring, we will have to be ready to handle all wildlife ...care. Our other challenge is how to restore the education programs. Not only did we have an unthinkable loss of education birds, but for now we must use all efforts toward getting ready to receive wildlife. As much as we would like to be exploring new ways to bring education to students and to our members, that will not be possible until rebuilding is complete. We still have a long way to go, and we still need your help!

PROGRESS TOWARD FLIGHT! Thanks to the continuing efforts of some wonderful friends, the large flight aviary is closer to being ready to help put birds back into the sky! A big building is a big job, and a big step toward normal functioning at the Center. Birds of prey come in year-round with injuries that require time in the aviary to give them exercise and get them into condition for release. As top predators, birds of prey are cornerstone species that have a huge influence on the health of ecosystems. They are also beautiful, amazing birds that are always a privilege to work with we look forward seeing them again in the aviary! Our deepest thanks to Mike, Chuck, Bob, Andrew, Ron, and Jeff for their help now and on past projects you are super!

GIVING TUESDAY POSTS JUNE 2020 FIRE!!! June 3, 2020, the Wildlife Center experienced the most catastrophic event we have ever had a major fire. We lost Guinevere, Griffin, Milo, and ultimately Zuma. Also lost were four young pre-release squirrels. These are losses that can never be fixed. Facilities were also hard hit. The Center had minor damage, the bird of prey flight aviary was heavily damaged, and one squirrel enclosure, our songbird aviary, and a display aviary were... destroyed. These things can be fixed, and with the help of so many of you, we are working hard to get that done thank you! Hard as all this was, we found some bright spots in June. We held a naming contest for Tule the Short-eared Owl that everyone enjoyed, and we released five Barn Owls back to the wild! And with the help of a terrific team of volunteers and the donation of a dumpster by Republic Services, by June 27 the cleanup from the fire was completed! We still have a long way to go, and we still need to ask for your help - please donate if you can!

WILD WEDNESDAY AMAZING HERONS AND EGRETS! Many of you have probably noticed the beautiful herons and egrets we are lucky to have near us because we are near the Suisun Marsh. Gorgeous as they are, in other parts of the world there are even more extravagant examples. Here we have the Boat-billed Heron, seen in Costa Rica, the Zig-zag Heron in Brazil, the Rufescent Tiger-Heron in Brazil and the Capped Heron in Brazil. Beauty comes in great variety!

GREETINGS FROM THE BEAV! We’re sure some of you may be ready for an update on the Beav, so here it is! The Beav is doing well, learning to eat new foods, and gaining weight. Special thanks to Robin and Cheryl for the tree branches, they are not only food but great bedding and play material! The Beav is also now enjoying cattails, tules and bulrushes, in addition to rodent chow, fruits, greens and vegetables. After every meal there is swim time, which includes lots of diving and grooming life is good!

WILD WEDNESDAY - MORE ABOUT THE YARDBIRDS! Things are changing in our yards as the winter residents return and are settling in. Since some birds are here in the winter, some arrive for spring and summer, and some live here year around, the backyard never gets boring! Most of you are probably familiar with these winter guests, but we have included a couple of them that can be a bit tough to see. Enjoy! (Seen here are: White-crowned Sparrow, Golden-crowned Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Yellow-rumped Warbler, House Finch! See if you can identify the ones you might not know!)

WILD WEDNESDAY A BACKYARD SURPRISE! This beautiful little guest hails from far away, but here in Solano County it's probably an escapee from a cage. This Red-cheeked Cordonbleu (a type of finch) is found in sub-Saharan Africa, but yesterday was in a Fairfield backyard at a bird feeder. If you are a feeder of birds, keep an eye out, you never know who may turn up!

THE BEAV IN A BIGGER POND! The Beav continues to grow and is now enjoying a swim in a larger space, sitting up and grooming as well as swimming, as you can see! We estimate the Beav to be around seven to eight weeks old, and we have begun feeding solids including apple, sweet potato, dandelion greens and more. We are also offering tender branches to chew (thanks to our friends who are helping with that!) and will be adding more natural foods like cattail, sedge, and other water plants. When the Beav is two years old they can weigh up to 35 pounds. When he is weaned, we will have our hands full providing branches, saplings, bark, twigs, buds, flowers, leaves, roots, and shoots! The work is always interesting at the Wildlife Center!

WILD WEDNESDAY A CHARM OF HUMMINGBIRDS! There is a total of 367 hummingbird species found exclusively in the Western Hemisphere. We are fortunate in western US to be able to see up to 17 species, with 8 occurring regularly in California. The other 9 species can be found along the US-Mexico border. Only 1 hummingbird occurs regularly east of the Mississippi, the Ruby-throated. All but the Anna's in California migrate south - some into South America. That leaves 349 speci...es that you’ll have to travel outside the US to see. The mountains, rainforests, and islands of Central and South America have many fascinating and unusual hummingbirds in appearance and habits. Here are just 4 of them The Sword-billed Hummingbird, Booted Racket-Tail, Black Jacobin, and Sparkling Violetear! And, yes, a group of hummingbirds is called a charm.

TURN UP YOUR SOUND FOR THE BEAV! The Beav is starting to eat more and more solid food, mainly grapes and apples, and growing well. It will take a lot of food to support him for two years until he is ready to go back to the wild, and to build an enclosure with a water feature to enable him to swim. If you would like to help, it would be greatly appreciated or just enjoy the Beav like we do!

WILD WEDNESDAY MEET NEWTON THE BRAVE! This is Newton, or Western Grey Squirrel #617. Newton was a victim of the complex of fires that included Solano County. He was found crawling down a street in Vacaville after people, seeming to be looking for help. His lower front teeth (the first to come in for rodents) were broken and he was extremely thin, indicating he had been separated from Mom for a while. We thank the folks who brought him in, all of you are the first to find an...d save wildlife! Round the clock care by his Super Mom has brought Newton back to good condition, his teeth have grown in, and he is quite the character very spunky! We now have eight squirrels like Newton that have come into care so late we will probably have to overwinter them as we build a new squirrel enclosure to replace the one that burned down. If you can donate for their care, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks to you all for helping us to save these precious animals Newton and you are our heroes!

WILD WEDNESDAY - THE BEAV GETS BIGGER! At over twice its weight on intake, the Beav keeps needing larger places to swim! Notice how it can now dive more easily but is still fairly buoyant. Beavers are North America’s largest rodent, with the chisel shaped teeth of rodents that must be constantly worn down by use, in their case, cutting branches and trees for food and building material. Solid foods are now part of its diet, with the Beav enjoying dandelions, apple, grapes, and sweet potato. Thanks to our friend Robin, who brought willow and cottonwood branches with tender leaves we’ll need lots of those!