End of the run

During the winter things at Sarvey inevitably slow down. The babies all fledge or wean, and the place gradually starts to empty out. That's not to say that we're ever well and truly empty. There are still plenty of patients to care for, as well as our permanent residents. Unfortunately the onset of winter means the end of internships and my paid time at Sarvey. So I'll recap here on some of the winter happenings, and I'll use the opportunity to further my experience in other areas.

We said goodbye to a couple of our permanent residents this winter. One of which I had the opportunity to get to know very well. Atka was a little Northern Saw-whet owl who spent a brief period of time living with us as a permanent member of our Sarvey family. She was a small owl with a lot of personality, and she managed to charm just about everyone that met her. She was brought to Sarvey with head trauma that resulted in the loss of her left eye. Unfortunately her remaining eye deteriorated quickly, and within a year of coming to Sarvey she was fully blind. The day we said goodbye to her was difficult for everyone that cared for her.

 I know that I personally learned to love her for all of her little quirks. I tried my best to make her as comfortable as possible as her quality of life deteriorated, and I was there beside her when she passed away. 

Atka provided me with a wealth of invaluable experience. She taught me some tough lessons, and allowed me to feel a connection that I hadn't previously had the pleasure of feeling with any animal. She was truly an amazing little bird, and I will always think of her fondly. 


We also said goodbye to our Static education raven Rex. Several of us were quite attached to him, and were saddened by the loss of him. Rex was a very intelligent bird, but he was also very nervous, and did not enjoy the company of humans. He was often visited by other ravens living in the area, and could be glimpsed interacting with them from time to time. Unfortunately, his quality of life declined to the point where it was deemed necessary to perform a humane euthanasia. He was a fascinating bird, and a not one we will soon forget.

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During the winter, I noticed odd little trends cropping up with the rehabilitating wildlife. We seemed to be getting a bunch of the same type of animal all at once. It started with Barred owls, and then we suddenly were intaking ducks left and right. Now we're inundated with Red-tailed Hawks. 

A Male Bufflehead

The ducks were especially interesting to me. There are so many different varieties. I never really thought much about ducks during my internship. Despite focusing primarily on birds, the ducks were for the most part outside of my realm. 

I imagine this was probably a good thing, because we must have had hundreds of ducklings, and I think my head might have exploded if I'd been dealing with them on top of all of the other babies I was working with. 

A juvenile Common Goldeneye

Most of the Ducklings we got in during the summer were Mallards with a few random species mixed in. Mallards are one of those species that you pretty much see every time you go to a park or a beach, so I admittedly never paid them much mind other than when I was tending to them.

It wasn't until after all of the freshly fledged mallards took their leave, and baby season dwindled to an end that I started noticing ducks. They became less of a regular occurrence through the winter. Suddenly we had some really interesting species cropping up. 

A Lesser Scaup

Buffleheads, Goldeneyes, Scaups, and several other neat birds rolled through the clinic. Since they weren't as common of an occurrence they were easier to take a vested interest in. Along with the ducks came other fascinatingly similar species such as grebes, and coots. Now that I suddenly had time, I found that it was so much easier to really appreciate these birds. It's amazing how much personality they have. Buffleheads are one of my favorites. Right now we have a Bufflehead who, when threatened, will turn his back, wiggle his tail, and open his mouth as wide as possible to look threatening. 

The lobed foot of an American Coot

The other thing that endeared me to them was going above and beyond to learn about their individual natural histories. There's nothing quite like being able to apply learned knowledge to an animal that is struggling to thrive, and actually see it affect them positively. These little highly specialized ducks made this especially satisfying. It also offered me the ability to connect with some of my coworkers through learning about species with special needs.

A common Murre

Two of the most interesting, and unusual patients we had in my opinion were a Marbled Murrelet, and Common Murre. These were both neat little Seabirds that I honestly didn't even know existed beforehand. I remember that when we initially got the call about the Murre, it was from someone in the middle of farm country claiming that they'd found a penguin. 

A Marbled Murrelet

I guess they were too off. Common Murres are essentially large Auks, and I can easily see how they could have been mistaking. Seeing the original, grainy, cell phone pictures the finder sent us to confirm the species left me feeling pretty confused myself. I'd never seen an Auk outside of an aquarium, and I couldn't for the life of my figure out what a seabird like that was doing so far inland. 

The Murrelet was actually an intake that happened before the Murre. They're small, stout-bodied birds, with teeny little flippery feet that wiggle when you pick them up. They look much more Auk-like to me than the Murrelet. Though, my Auk experience is strictly limited to the occasional trip to the Seattle aquarium. Just as an aside, they look absolutely silly as chicks. Seriously, just look at that. How is that even the same bird? Although, perhaps they don't look as soul-crushingly huggable as a Tawny Frogmouth chick. That is just sickeningly cute. Australia gets all the cool birds.

Mostly, winter was business as usual. We had a few snowy owls roll through this year actually. We successfully released a one-eyed snowy not too long ago, which was pretty exciting. We've most just had a lot of common raptors come through the doors though, as well as a few small passerines including an Anna's Hummingbird, that I took a special interest in. The little guy was able to be released in full health back into the are he came from after it warmed up a bit. 

Here in Washington we have Anna's hummingbirds all year round. This is partially due to the fact that they have a higher dietary intake of insects than the other hummingbird species indigenous to the region. I was actually able to get help with caring for this little bird From Jane with Mt. Vernon Songbird Sanctuary, based out of Connecticut. Even though they specialize in Ruby-throated hummingbirds, and are located quite a ways away, Jane was incredibly helpful, and was able to impart on us some very useful knowledge. I'm so grateful for her help!

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Athena, looking awfully cozy on her perch.

Sarvey has been undergoing a lot of changes this winter. We have some great plans to eventually build a new clinic, as well as establish a public education meadow on the property for our permanent residents. We're all really excited for all the positive changes that are sure to come from it. 

I keep seeing signs that we're getting super close to the onset of baby season though. One of which being the fact that our Educational Great Horned owl, Athena, laid eggs recently. That's usually a pretty good sign that the wild owls are soon to be following suit.

Athena has since seemingly abandoned the eggs. They've gone unattended for about a week and a half now. She's back to perching in her usual spots, and doesn't seem too keen on the idea of going back to tending them. 

Athena's eggs

Athena's eggs are surprisingly about the same size as an average store-bought chicken egg. I'm always caught off guard by this when I see them. They look so normal, and unassuming. As if someone placed chicken eggs in her flight as a joke. They're definitely hers though. Athena guards her eggs pretty fiercely when she's in a nesting mood. Just wait until she gets babies. That bird seriously raises the meanest babies. 

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A Sharp-shinned hawk with severe
head trauma being examined at intake.

The quiet atmosphere of winter offered me the opportunity to learn quite a bit. I got to be more involved in the intake of animals to the clinic, and help with medical procedures such as applying wraps, anesthetizing, and medicating animals. I got to learn more about the way these things work, and why. As things slowed down even further I got to become more involved in the natural history of the animals receive  and I collected a lot of information about their diets.

I also had the opportunity to read through a lot of the material available for those who plan to take the test to get their state rehabilitation permit. There's a lot of great general information available, and a lot of the source material isn't too terribly expensive. 

I'll leave you with a few more pictures from my time at Sarvey.