Gibsons Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre

11/22/2024

This cute little owl is one of two Northern Saw-whet owls that were brought to us recently. The owl had been found in the middle of the road in Roberts Creek, presumably hit by a vehicle. On arrival the owl was very lethargic, eyes closed and not opening when he was being examined. As one wing was drooping we had him x-rayed at Sechelt Animal Hospital and were pleased the x-ray showed he had no broken bones! Initially we had to force-feed him but he is now eating on his own and on his way to a full recovery.

11/18/2024

A few weeks ago this snow goose was brought to us for help. She was weak, thin and one wing was drooping. We could not find any reason why her wing was drooping so monitored it over the next few days. Initially she did not eat so had to be tube-fed and slowly began to gain weight. Eight days later she started eating on her own and from then onwards regained her strength. She was eventually transferred to our outdoor pen where she has room to bathe and fly if she wants to! It will not be too long before she will be ready for release.

11/15/2024

Found injured and fluttering in a pond in Sechelt, this pigeon was immediately brought to us for help. On arrival the bird was walking but the following morning she was dragging her legs behind her. We could find no obvious reason for this so devised a way she could be encouraged to use her legs and help build strength in them. She can fly well and her mobility in her legs is slowly improving as now she can stand. Her recovery is going to take some time but we are prepared to keep her as long as it takes for her to fully recover.

10/26/2024

We are happy to let everyone know that our baby flying squirrel (posted on September 7th) has grown up to be the cutest little animal ever. She is now outside becoming acclimatised to the weather prior to her release. We will certainly miss her.

09/07/2024

Just over a week ago, this little flying squirrel was found lying on the ground in Roberts Creek and was immediately brought to us for help. She is very young and when we received her, she still had her eyes closed - they opened two days ago! Flying Squirrels are nocturnal and live in tree cavities. Although called "flying" squirrels they actually glide from tree to tree. They eat a variety of foods, including nuts, pinecones, mushrooms, fungi, seeds, acorns, truffles, lichen, and fleshy fruits. This little squirrel will be in our care for a number of weeks before being old enough to be released back into the wild.

07/27/2024

This year, apart from many other young birds and mammals, we were inundated with goslings and ducklings. Happily, after many days of feeding and caring for them, 6 of the geese and 4 ducks were old enough to be released.

We still have a number in care but it is gratifying to see today's birds anxious to reach the water and join the other wild birds. To give the geese and ducks the best chance in the wild, we ensure they can fly before we release them.

Now to continue to care for the others in our Centre. Never a dull moment here!

07/15/2024

Every year we relocate female Mallards and their ducklings when they are running around parking lots, etc. and are nowhere near water. This year we captured initially five ducklings in a Townhouse complex, including one that decided to run into the kennel cab on its own! The family was released in Gibsons Marina. Later that afternoon another duckling was found at the same Townhouse complex. We drove with it to the Marina in the hope the rescued family would still be there. Relief - they were, but would the duckling swim to them and would the female know it's one of her babies? (Female Mallards will only accept their own ducklings). With a huge sigh of relief the duckling swam towards the female.... she saw it and swam to it. The video shows the re-union!

07/07/2024

We have been very busy admitting many nestlings or fledgling birds and young mammals but this adult Spotted Towhee sadly became stuck to a Mouse Glue Board. In the struggle to be free the very stressed Towhee lost many feathers and it took some time to carefully remove him from this sticky trap.

These glue traps are a very inhumane method of trapping animals. They cause pain and suffering to the trapped animal/bird and do not kill instantly, it can take days for the trapped creature to die from starvation and self-inflicted injuries from struggling to be free.

Thankfully, we managed to save the Towhee although the bird will be in our care for some time as he/she has a lot of feathers to grow. Please spread the word about how cruel these devices are to animals and birds, in our opinion they should be banned everywhere. To help us care for the Towhee and the many wild creatures we have in care, a donation would be so welcomed.

05/26/2024

This Steller's Jay is one of the many nestling/fledgling birds we have in care at the moment, along with lots of ducklings, goslings, a baby squirrel and a raccoon kit. We need volunteers to help us care for the wildlife and financial help would be welcomed too. Just to remind everyone, although we have Provincial and Federal Permits allowing us to look after wildlife, we receive no funding from either Government so rely on members of the public and local businesses to help us.

05/08/2024

One "patient" we do not receive into care very often is the Virginia Rail. This little one was found in the parking lot of a business in Gibsons. He/she was lying still and it was thought he had flown into a vehicle or window. Thankfully he did not have any obvious injuries so we kept him for a few days for observation and then released him at the marsh in Sargents Bay. He was in no hurry to be free, just sauntered out of the kennel cab, walked a little bit and then disappeared into the tall grasses at the edge of the marsh.

04/28/2024

04/22/2024

This little Golden-crowned Kinglet is one of three Kinglets that arrived here recently - on April 10th, 11th and 15th - having
flown into windows. If this is happening often at your home, please consider purchasing window decals. Whatever is put on the window(s) MUST be put on the outside of the window. If placed inside, the reflection on the outside will still be seen by the birds.

04/18/2024

Thanks to the people who were looking for Black Turnstones so that we could release the one we had in care into a flock, we are pleased to let everyone know that we did see a flock of them this morning and this is a photo of "our" little Turnstone, flying quickly to catch up with the flock at Roberts Creek.

03/21/2024

This young crow was brought to us after being found at the side of the road. He was dazed on arrival but is now doing well and is enjoying the sunshine in our outdoor aviary prior to his release. Crows are such intelligent birds, and they love "toys"! This crow was given two plastic rings joined together to play with. He picks them up, plays with them, flies with them, drops them and then picks them up again. He also hides his food and steals food from the adult crows in the aviary! He certainly makes the volunteers smile!

03/10/2024

A Celebration of Life for our past-President of Gibsons Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre and much loved veterinarian, Dr. James Bennett will be held on March 18th at the Roberts Creek Community Hall at 1 pm. Remembrances will be followed by tea and coffee. All those who knew James either as a friend or as their veterinarian are welcome to attend.

James holding Gordon Bleu (thank you Sheahan Bennie)

03/06/2024

Ameleia, our staff member, is holding a raccoon that was rescued by us after she had been found lying on a ledge on a roof. The raccoon initially appeared to be "drugged". She was awake and did attempt to eat but it was obvious she had something neurological happening as she was dazed. We suspected she had ingested street drugs. The following day she was unable to stand and her condition deteriorated very quickly. She subsequently died. A few days later we discovered a neighbour where she was found had put out rat poison. Rat poison not only kill rats it also kills other animals that eat it and if rats do eat it, they could be caught by owls and hawks and they die too. If you care about wildlife, please do not use RAT POISON.

02/17/2024

The Olympic Gull posted recently was happy to be free again! Over the last few weeks we have had ELEVEN gulls in care.
These birds are quite costly to feed as they prefer fish (herring being their favourite) but as we had them before herring season it was difficult for us to find enough fish. The gulls did eat some soaked dog food. Feeding them, along with the other wildlife "patients" we had in care, was costly. The economy is affecting us as well and we are asking if you would consider helping us financially. We accept cash, cheques, payment via PayPal, or CanadaHelps. Any amount, no matter how small, would be so welcomed by us.

02/08/2024

This Olympic Gull was hit by a vehicle but luckily he had no obvious injuries. His reaction time was slow so it was suspected he had a mild concussion. Gulls are one of the most difficult birds to identify but after some research we determined our "patient" is an Olympic Gull. These gulls are a hybrid of westerns gulls and glaucous-winged gulls. We have a number of gulls in care at the moment and one way we can easily identify this gull is due to its grey eyes.