Tidewater Wildlife Rescue

12/16/2024

12/16/2024

Tidewater Wildlife Rescue got another call out at the Notorious Stumpy Lake in VirginiaBeach.

Female Hooded Merganser wrapped in fishing line. Luckily able to get to surface to breathe but not move from spot since line was entangled in the cypress knees. These ducks dive and catch fish so are especially vulnerable to this kind of trash.

Caller was a kind person flying his drone when he spotted the bird struggling. Called and stayed thru out rescue!
Michele went in kayak while Robin got bird from her and disentangled. Cleared for release by Rose. VB duck rehabber.

Please we can't keep up. This is number 5 this week alone from locations all over.

1st Fisherman be responsible for retrieving your OWN trash.

2nd if you enjoy taking pictures of wildlife at this location or any others please help that wildlife by removing any tangled or thrown down line and other trash. Or calling the city to complain (make your voice heard) or if at a county park make sure they send someone out to clean up. MAKE A DIFFERENCE in this World for the BETTER. Save a Life!

12/12/2024

Let's talk totally preventable wildlife entanglements.
Use Hard wire only to protect plants.
Take down and store soccer nets when not actually in use.

03/03/2024

Just the kind of thing that is so important to prevent. This Osprey fledging got fishing tackle on him 1st flight...never could be caught to remove it..why? Because he was FLIGHTED. (Hooked onto side of body under wing)
Preventing this kind of tragedy is KEY.
-don't leave your poles upright and rigged unattended on boat.
-bring gear in your tackle box to assist in getting your OWN tangled line and lures down.
-clean up wherever you see (carry bags to retrieve human trash so the next person may also be able to enjoy being in nature)
-small grapple and rope is great for retrieving tangled line.
-or ask for help

03/03/2024

We have to give a shout out to the good samaritans that seeked help for an Osprey nest wrapped in fishing line. And a huge shout out to one of our senior rescuers, Julie Wobig, and to the many volunteers that took time to travel out to the Colonial Beach area to fix the nest before the Ospreys started nesting.

Great things are done by a team of people. Alone we can do so
little; together we can do so much.
Thank you all so much for your compassion to wildlife ❤️

Monofilament (plastic fishing line) takes up to 600 years to decompose but unfortunately if improperly discarded it is also very dangerous to our wildlife. Wildlife rescuers see these effects daily.

01/09/2024

09/06/2023

Just a little something we all can do to help

This month!

09/06/2023

A lot of lifesaving information. Please share and help prevent a tragedy.

06/20/2023

OUR HOTLINE IS DOWN TEMPORARILY AS WE CONVERT TO A DIFFERENT GOOGLE SYSTEM! We hope to be back to full functionality as quickly as possible. If you call our line, you will be directed to Evelyn's Wildlife Rescue 757-434-3439. If you are texting and not getting replies, this is why. EWR also accepts texts. We know that caring about wildlife that is in distress or possibly in harm's way is stressful, but please be patient with us during this transition. We will get through it!

TWR handles approx 10,000 (yes...10,000) texts/calls for help per year. We receive calls for help from not only the Seven Cities of Hampton Roads but also Richmond and surrounding counties, Northern Virginia, Northern Neck, Middle Peninsula, Western Tidewater and beyond, as well as the Eastern Shore and many counties in eastern North Carolina and the Outer Banks. We also receive calls for help from Ohio, Georgia and other far flung areas. Our hotline is manned by six people (the max our system allowed for free)--all of whom are rescuers, transporters and/or permitted rehabbers, with "real" jobs and families. Of those six, half of us are eligible for AARP membership!!! This upgrade will allow more people to man our hotline... and this is only possible through the generosity of donors to EWR. We and many others who support our mission (veterinarians, tree services, independent rehabbers, other small nonprofits, etc) receive NO funding from any state or local organization. Not a penny. Thank you so much to Meredith at Evelyn's Wildlife Rescue for helping us help so many animals, and realizing we were way beyond what was physically possible for six humans!

This is the busiest time of the year for wildlife rescues. It’s not unusual to get over 50 calls or more in a single day. All the rehabbers are overflowing with critters in care while more are coming in before we can even get some released. The transporters and rescuers are trying to keep up with the dispatches but it’s almost impossible some days.

And in the midst of everyone being worn thin, praying for the season to end, we have to deal with the rudeness from many of the callers.

We have callers that are impatient and want help right now! We have callers that don’t want to hear about ways to attempt reuniting. We have callers that want to make no effort to contain the animal nevertheless think about transporting them. We have callers that tell us “I’ll find someone else who actually will help” because they don’t agree with our advice. We have callers that say one of my all time favorites, “just do your JOB”.
We get callers who yell at us, call us inappropriate names, swear at us and even hang up on us.

Just a friendly reminder we are UNPAID volunteers.

Rehabbers are unpaid volunteers.
Hotlines (those that answer the rescue lines) are unpaid volunteers.
Transporters are unpaid volunteers.
Rescuers are unpaid volunteers.

We all receive NO government funding and NO paychecks.

Our days start before the sun rises and our days end after the sun sets. Everything we do is purely for the love of the wildlife.

We try to keep up with the extreme amount of calls, texts, emails and Facebook messages coming in. Sadly some will get over passed but not intentionally. If you don’t hear back from the Rehabber that you reached out to, give it a little time (at least 30minutes) then reach out again with some understanding that they are probably very busy.
We definitely are not ignoring you. When you want a minute of our time, believe me when I say we wish we had a minute of our own time.

Please understand the animal you are concerned about is not the only animal we are trying to help. Rehabbers literally have dozens if not hundreds in care right now.
At any given moment when the phone is ringing they could be dealing with an animal being dropped off, feeding hungry babies, assessing a severe injury or possibly comforting an animal during its final moments.
Wildlife volunteers also have their personal daily lives they are juggling with wildlife rescue. (I’m definitely not implying a vacation because we could only dream to be one on of those right now.)
Most of us have a daily employment. Some of us have health issues. Some of us have families, little children. We are just like you, normal people going through things just like everyone else.

Wildlife rescue volunteers deserve your support, not your criticism.

So please show kindness! ❤️

06/01/2023

Just a reminder. This Sunday is the Last Wildlife Rehab Workshop until end of year!!!

Sunday June 4, 2023 at 1:00pm

Being held at Tubbs Used Auto Parts 2215 E Indian River Road Norfolk, VA

If you have been thinking about becoming a wildlife rehabber or a volunteer with a wildlife rescue, this is a great opportunity to learn more information and to be able to ask permitted rehabbers questions in person.
We will be going over Virginia state regulations, wildlife legalities and requirements to become a permitted wildlife rehabber or volunteer in the state of Virginia.
We will also be going over duties and responsibilities of wildlife rehabbers.
We will help you find a Virginia sponsor whether it’s with us or another amazing Virginia wildlife rescue specific to the species you are interested in rehabbing.
We will also go over other ways you can help the wildlife community if rehabbing is not for you.

The workshop is FREE!

You MUST be a Virginia Resident!!!!!!!!!!!!

You MUST be 18+ years old to become a wildlife rehabber and 16+ years old to volunteer!

We do require registration to help us with a head count and handouts:
https://form.jotform.us/92165739584167

03/13/2023

GREAT info!

We've been seeing a lot of online posts lately suggesting using yarn scraps, twine or other material as outside nesting material for songbirds. While the intentions are good, please do NOT do this.

Birds should be able to find their own nesting material and do not need our help. If you insist on providing nesting material please look for natural materials.

Yarn and any type of string, twine and even human hair can easily become tangled around birds legs, neck etc. and cut off circulation causing serious injury or even death. We get in many baby songbirds every year missing limbs due to string like materials in a nest. These are also choking and obstruction hazards when other animals eat them.

If you want to have nesting materials in your yard, we suggest purchasing pre-made nesting material or use these natural alternatives.

Small Yard Debris: Pine straw, wheat straw, and tiny twigs make good bird nest building materials.

Grass Clippings: One of the most common nesting materials, grass clippings can be gathered into balls or simply left mulched into your lawn. (grass without chemicals)

***we removed animal fur from the list. After hearing from other rescuers they are having problems with it, too many variable like size length and chemicals being used**

Coco Fiber: Recycle worn-out linings of hanging baskets for bird nesting material.

Plants and Seeds: Fluffy seeds and plants, such as cattails, make good bird nesting materials.

Batting: Wool or cotton batting cut into 3”- 6” strips makes good nesting material.

Feathers: Providing feathers for nesting material is a great way to recycle old down pillows!

Moss: Sphagnum or Spanish moss make great bird nesting material (make sure it's not been chemically treated).

NO DRYER LINT! It does not maintain its structure when wet and can create holes in the nest. It also can contain harmful chemicals and dust from the lint is bad for birds.