Grand Rapids Wildlife Rehabilitation

We finally had two people guess correctly on what our mystery patient was! Great job, Cass and Stephanie! I’ll put the original photo in the comments. This Belted Kingfisher was brought to us after they had flown into a window and were unable to take flight again. I was unable to palpate any fractures so I’m assuming they have head trauma and possibly a shoulder girdle fracture that I can’t feel. One of our amazing transporters is bringing them to Wild and Free today for radiographs. Migration is here and birds are on the move! Window strikes kill billions of birds every year. Here are a few tips to help you keep our feathered friends from colliding with your windows. •Leave them dirty. The dirt breaks up the reflection. Halloween is coming anyway. Get in the spirit and let that dirt and cobwebs do their magic. •You can take chalk and draw lines, dots, or maybe you’re feeling artsy and want to draw more extravagant images on the outside of your windows. •There are cute UV stickers you can buy online or in store to put on the outside of your window. These are clear and hardly noticeable for us humans, but the birds can see UV and this will help them to see the window. •If you want to go all out, there is a company that will come and tint your windows! https://www.collidescape.org/?ai=

This fledgling Pileated Woodpecker was very excited about all of this free food! It took him a second to realize he didn’t need to peck THROUGH the dish to get the mealworms in his mouth. This is his second try after sending mealworms flying all over the place the first time 🤣 He was being so gentle once he figured it out. Pileated Woodpeckers are the largest living woodpecker species in North America. They nest in dead trees and are thought to be the best natural defense against the invasive Emerald Ash Borer beetles!

This fledgling American Woodcock was brought to us after a cat brought them home. They are incredibly interesting birds! Here are some fun facts about them and a short video of ours hunting for earth worms. •Their eyes sit towards the back of their skull, which allows them nearly a 360° view. • Mother woodcocks nest on the ground and will pretend to have a broken wing to distract predators from their young. •Woodcocks have a very distinct “dance” they perform while hunting. This helps them to disturb earthworms underneath them and allows them to feel their movements. •“The bird’s long bill, which can reach up to three inches, has a sensitive and flexible tip perfect for rooting through soil. The lower third of its beak is packed with nerve endings, helping the woodcock feel for its prey. In an extraordinary feat of avian dexterity, woodcocks can open the upper tip of the bill while it's underground. After the bird snares its prey, rough surfaces on the underside of its bill and tongue keep its snack from wriggling away.” - Audubon.org

We sure got a surprise this morning! Turns out our orphaned fawn that we admitted last night had a twin brother. He was found this morning at the neighbor’s house where mom was yesterday. He is much smaller than his sister, but he definitely is just as enthusiastic about his formula! They were happy to see each other and immediately snuggled up together when they were reunited. I am so grateful that he was able to stay safe in that storm last night 🙏🏻 Momma must have been watching out for him 🤎 Both babies have full bellies and were transported to Wild and Free in Garrison where they will be until they are able to be released. The DNR took mom. I am sure they will likely be testing her for CWD (or more) since we are not sure why she died. Good luck, little ones!

We released another batch of Eastern Cottontails over the weekend! One bolted out before I could get my camera ready and the others sat inside for a while before they decided to venture out. Good luck in the wild, little ones!

Who has time to eat when you can PLAY?! This little female gray squirrel is always wanting to rough house with her new brother. Every time he is snacking on something she usually interrupts him for some wrestling. 🩶☺️

We admitted these two snowshoe hare leverets after their nesting area was mowed. Snowshoe hares are not born in a designated nest so when the entire area was cut we were unable to try to safely reunite them with their mother. Snowshoe hares are precocial, which means that they are born with their eyes open and ready to hop around. These babies are only 3 days old and are already full of spunk! The larger one charges me whenever I take them out to feed them. These are my favorite species to rehabilitate and I’m so excited to share their journey with you!

I almost had a cute video of her eating her favorite snack until she noticed the door was open 😄

Bunny munches, bunny stretches and bunny ZOOMIES!🐰 We have a camera in with our patients so we can observe them when we aren’t around. They are ready to be released, but we have to hold onto them until the weather lightens up. If you see bunnies this size they are weaned and on their own. Do you have any dandelions (the whole plant), plantain or clover you could drop off for them? They would appreciate it! 🥬

This little red squirrel is getting settled in for the night after her last feeding of the day. She was found crawling down a tree and approached the home owner. Orphaned squirrels will often do this if their mother doesn’t come back to feed them. The home owner did try to reunite her with mom, but she never returned, so she will be in care for the next month or so until she is ready to be released back where she was found. Thank you for rescuing her, Deborah! ❤️

On February 15 we admitted a female Bald Eagle that had a leg hold trap on the end of her left middle toe. The home owner was able to remove the trap and a dedicated Conservation Officer drove her to us. We cleaned and bandaged her toe and gave her subcutaneous fluids and pain medication. The following morning she was transferred to The Raptor Center (TRC) in Minneapolis by one of our amazing volunteers. While there she was treated for an infection, had the tip of her toe amputated and was reconditioned for flight. After almost 2 months in their care she was cleared for release and transferred back to us. On April 4 we drove her back out to the farm she was found on and let her fly free. The finder said that she flew right back to where they found her. I wish we could have been there when she reunited with her mate! 🤍 This eagle was the exception! We have never had an animal with a leg hold trap have a treatable fracture. Every other patient that has come in with one on their leg has had to be euthanized. Please do not use leg hold traps! They cause enormous amounts of suffering by the target species and other species who inadvertently fall victim to them. If this eagle had it caught on a different toe or further up her leg she would have likely had to have been euthanized. She was extremely “lucky”. We were so grateful to be a part of this rescue story. This is what it’s all about! Shout out to TRC for their phenomenal care and all of the other humans involved in her story! We are hoping she has a long and successful life back in the wild! 🦅 Regular speed video in comments.