Nature's Critters

11/03/2023

Fall is a great time for a visit from Princess!

09/09/2023

09/03/2023

09/03/2023

Jimmy Buffett, who died at age 76, was a longtime advocate for manatees, helping to found the Save the Manatee Club.

08/31/2023

Coming through California now, down from their summer homes in the boreal forests, Wilson's Warbler is a flash of yellow with a distinctive cap. Have you seen one yet? You can learn more about their migratory journey here: https://ow.ly/Y7sU50PG0qt
Photo: Mick Thompson

08/31/2023

Small but spicy is the perfect way to describe the American Kestrel, North America’s littlest falcon. Where they lack in size, they make up for in feistiness! This juvenile needed a wash after accidentally flying into a local shop and contaminating her tail and primary feathers in the process. Experienced handlers at Bird Rescue’s San Francisco Bay-Delta Wildlife Center successfully cleaned her feathers, and she was returned to Napa Wildlife Rescue for continued care and eventual release!

📷 Kelly Beffa

08/22/2023

What is Barbie’s favorite seabird? The Peli-Ken!

Credits to Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center of Orange County's Instagram post for this great joke. We had to re-share! 😂

📷 Ariana Gastelum

08/21/2023

Dragonflies are one of my favorite insects and I was able to snap a picture of this beauty yesterday. Did you know dragonflies eat mosquitos? They have excellent eyesight and catch their prey mid air! That is why I love having them in my yard!

08/21/2023

Blue Monday

07/30/2023

Aquatic species aren’t the only ones who can be affected by oil contamination. This Common Raven recently came into contact with vegetable oil and required a thorough wash. Food-based oils can severely damage a bird’s feathers and impair their ability to fly.

Attempting to wash without proper preparation and training can kill them. If you find a contaminated bird, seek your local wildlife professional for help.

📷 Ariana Gastelum

07/30/2023

07/30/2023

When they're nestlings, Belted Kingfishers have acidic stomachs that help them digest bones, fish scales, and arthropod shells. But their stomach chemistry changes by the time they leave the nest, and they begin regurgitating pellets, similar to owls.

07/02/2023

This holiday weekend, we’re celebrating 39 birds who returned to the wild!

📷 Released Black-crowned Night-Heron by Ariana Gastelum

07/02/2023

Meet Mango Guava, our adorable new parrot! Do you know what species of parrot this is?

05/17/2023

It’s a fact!
Manatees do not sweat, but instead regulate their body temperature by increasing or decreasing blood flow to their extremities, including their tail and flippers. The underwater environment transfers heat 25 times faster than air, so an increased blood flow to its extremities results in a loss of heat that cools the manatee. Alternately, manatees reduce blood flow to the extremities to conserve heat and keep warm. Find more facts at savethemanatee.org/facts

05/17/2023

Happy 🐣 Around this time last year, we received exciting news that a blue-banded Brown Pelican had been sighted on Santa Barbara Island with a chick! In May 2018, Brown Pelican banded N89 was rescued in Malibu, California. Over the course of 19 days, she received care at Bird Rescue's Los Angeles Wildlife Center and successfully recovered from low body temperature, emaciation, minor bill and pouch wounds, and bruises and scabs on her wrists.

Placing numbered bands on birds provides us with valuable data on breeding success, returning patients, live sightings, travel patterns, and life span. Seeing a bird like N89 thrive after release is a testament to the work that we do rehabilitating one bird at a time.

📷 Jim Howard

05/17/2023

𝔽𝕒𝕔𝕖 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕦𝕟, 𝕥𝕒𝕚𝕝 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕣. 𝔹𝕖𝕤𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝕓𝕠𝕥𝕙 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕝𝕕𝕤. 𝕃𝕚𝕗𝕖 𝕚𝕤 𝕘𝕠𝕠𝕕. 😎


Galápagos Marine Iguana (𝘈𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘺𝘳𝘩𝘺𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘴)
📷 Amy MacLeod

04/16/2023

Hummingbirds are on the move and heading north on spring migration. Help support them on their epic journeys by making your yard a great rest stop of sorts. This includes things like planting native plants for food and keeping cats indoors for safety. https://abcbirds.org/blog20/hummingbird-paradise/

Photo: Rufous Hummingbird female and flower by Greg Homel, Natural Elements Productions

04/16/2023

Like many of our migratory warblers, Cape May Warblers lead double lives. They summer in northern spruce woods, but winter in the Caribbean, where they're often seen in palm trees. Their diet changes, too—from eating insects in the summer to sipping nectar during winter and migration.

04/16/2023

To help members of the public who find stranded Mallard ducklings, we encourage following the necessary steps in this infographic before taking action. If a bird needs help, it is strongly recommended to call your local animal control or wildlife center before any type of intervention.

Please note that not all animal controls are prepared to respond to wildlife challenges, so you may need to make several calls if your first call is not successful. Our Bird HelpLine is available to support you if local options fail: https://www.birdrescue.org/contact/found-a-bird/helping-a-debilitated-bird/

03/15/2023

Millipede or centipede?

03/15/2023

03/15/2023

Look! You can see the weekend from here!

03/15/2023

Just like us, adjusting to Daylight Savings is a challenge for wildlife too. As we change our schedules, wildlife will need to adjust their hours to avoid us during our newly active times.

Beware and slow down when driving in the early morning hours, or darker hours, this week as more wildlife are still out and about. As we spring forward an hour, do your part to protect local wildlife. Stay safe and have a great week!

https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/heres-how-daylight-saving-time-influences-wildlife

03/11/2023

Do you know that bearded dragons are only found naturally occurring in Australian deserts? They are calm and gentle pets but require warm and dry terrariums.

03/11/2023

03/11/2023

Meet 'GOP'

This beautiful female iguana has been a long term resident in our protected area's since her release from BIC and is a favourite with our visiting survey teams each year.

Post release monitoring of our released iguanas is a vital part of our work and allows us to know if our efforts are effective.

(Photo credit - Shannon Farrington)

09/10/2020

Blue Iguana Conservation

It’s International Iguana Awareness Day!

🦕 Did you know that Grand Cayman blue iguanas (Cyclura lewisi) were discovered by Bernard Lewis in 1938?

🦕 Did you know this species recovered from functional extinction between 2002-2018 and are classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species?

🦕 Did you know that the only place to see over 100 blue iguanas is at the BIC facility on Grand Cayman? Come to support the blues by visiting the Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park and attending a tour of the BIC facility!

Tours: Tues - Sat 10:30, 11:30, 14:00; Sun 10:30, 11:30

National Trust for the Cayman Islands