Piedmont Wildlife Rehab, Inc.

10/03/2024

Happy National Wildlife Rehabilitators Appreciation Day!

20/01/2023

Amazon will be ending the AmazonSmile program February 20th. Donations to PWR can still be made via our website. https://www.wfmynews2.com/article/news/nation-world/amazon-ends-amazonsmile-charity-program/507-065f9948-74c3-4732-b1dd-38d8891fd4ee?fbclid=IwAR0FiEvUGkjU9INU-KHNVbzw8iXee9nICns9HgZ4-_7711BKTIzLjalMKWw

The program allowed customers to have a small percentage of purchases donated to a charity of their choosing. It will end by Feb. 20, Amazon said.

18/11/2022

Prayers needed for our president, Melissa, going thru chemo again and having a hard time. Please pray it works.

09/11/2022

Here’s another reason to “leave the leaves” and not mulch or burn them this fall. In their last act as a caterpillar, Eastern Tiger Swallowtails (Papilio glaucus) crawl down to the base of their host tree and pupate in the leaf litter. At this stage, the brown caterpillar and pupa blend in well with the detritus and a light covering of fallen autumn leaves insulate the pupa from cold winter temperatures.

If you want to see more of these beautiful butterflies in your yard next spring, here’s something to consider with your leaves. If you’re going to pick them up, gently blow or rake your leaves into a planting bed or wild space on your property. Spreading them out in a layer of loose leaves that’s less than 12 inches deep is best (think of the typical leaf depth in a hardwood forest), but this may not be manageable for all homeowners. The leaf litter will allow any Eastern Tiger Swallowtail pupae attached to the underside of the leaves to have a chance at successfully overwintering and then emerging from the leaf litter next spring.

Given their beauty and abundance, it’s easy to see why Eastern Tiger Swallowtails are the state butterfly of Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia.

02/11/2022

https://www.almanac.com/bird-migration-how-birds-know-when-to-migrate?fbclid=IwAR3QLDUm2GtlgrJJEoqD2XWYAfwC750W8Qu9QoC1qYm1ef7I3yYqGRW1f48

Why do birds migrate? And how do they know when to migrate? Do they have a sixth sense? Read more on The Old Farmer's Almanac Web site.

03/10/2022

03/10/2022

We need NUTS!! Any local nuts, acorns, pecans, black walnuts, etc. We overwinter lots of squirrels and we need lots of local nuts to keep them fed. We will pickup if you need us to, also this is a great Boy and Girl Scout project.

UPDATE: Got lots of acorns today, we're good with those for a while, can still use Pecans, etc.

LET ME ADD, we can't drive too far, need to consider how many vs price of gas, also, don't put in plastic, they will mold, paper bags and cardboard boxes are the best. If you have a nice patio, you can lay them out to dry first,

27/08/2022

If you see a sick or dead deer, leave the animal and call the N.C. Wildlife Helpline at 1-866-318-2401. https://www.wral.com/nc-reports-hemorrhagic-disease-in-deer-in-39-counties/20431781/

The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission has a warning about a disease spreading among deer in North Carolina.

23/08/2022

This time of year, it’s common to see Blue-winged Digger Wasps (Scolia dubia) hovering over lawns or visiting patches of native goldenrod or mountain mint (Pycnanthemum spp.). Visiting flowers for sugary nectar makes sense, but what are they doing flying low over yards and parks? Looking for grubs to feed their future larvae! Blue-winged Digger Wasps are a parasitoid of insects such as green june beetles and Japanese beetles. After mating, female wasps burrow into the ground and sting a beetle grub, paralyzing it. She then lays an egg on the grub. As the wasp larva develops, it consumes the beetle grub and eventually kills it. The following year, the next generation of Blue-winged Digger Wasps will emerge.

Despite their large size, these native wasps are not aggressive and there’s no need to fear them. Just consider them as a free and natural source of Japanese beetle control for your yard or garden. These wasps are your friends!

Photo by Photo by David Hill, CC BY 2.0

13/08/2022

😆😆😆

02/08/2022

😂😂😂

28/06/2022

Help!
We will be needing to release some baby birds here in care soon and now have a new issue. There is a feral cat living under a tree near our wildlife cages and yesterday there were kittens with her!!!
I know not much about cats so am in need of help with this issue. I know everyone is full and busy etc so I am so sorry to ask but need to do something quick.
If you can advise or help, please PM me or call with message.
Melissa 336-580-6600

15/06/2022

Sharing from another wildlife rescue and rehab group…useful info contained in the post:

Sadly it's that time of year again. We have already been receiving frantic calls from distraught homeowners that have had their beloved ducks, geese and swans rounded up and slaughtered in springtime round ups.

This is common place in the United States under USDA Wildlife Services in parks, HOAs and golf courses. Animals who are just trying to survive and have lost their habitat are considered a nuisance.

We get so many of these calls and they are heartbreaking. Unfortunately we do not have the resources to campaign in every one of these cases. What we suggest people do is to start a page for their neighborhood in support of animals being treated humanely. An example would be something like "protect Lake Park Canada geese" start a petition, get as many people to write and call your hoa, city official or anyone who has a say in the matter. Organizing activists is the best way for prevention but also for avoiding a repeat if it already happens.

Another tactic is trying conflict resolution. Often times these round UPS cause unrepairable damage to relationships in your neighborhood. Disputes between people who hate geese and want them harmed, clash against people who love animals. These often result in waterfowl being killed. There are groups on the Internet like geese peace that work towards resolving these conflicts. Www.geesepeace.com

One of the methods that has been approved as humane is the use of egg addling. When a bird lays an egg it is just an egg without a baby inside until the mother begins an incubation process. A coating has put over the egg to prevent the incubation process. The egg in this state is very similar to what you would buy in the grocery store or eat for breakfast. Controlling the population with some form of birth control is the 1st step in reducing the conflict with what some perceive as too many geese or ducks in an area.

We also recommend rehoming of domestic animals such as abandoned Easter ducks and geese. These birds often draw well meaning but ill informed people who feed them junk , bread and other harmful items. Artificial feeding of any kind tends to create unsustainable overpopulation in wildlife.

23/05/2022

Beginning Birder Workshop June 18

Mark your calendars now for the Beginning Birder Workshop on Saturday, June 18, 2022, 9:30 – 11:30 am. We will meet outside the Kathleen Clay Edwards Family Branch Library in Price Park in Greensboro. Space is limited and registration is required.

Bird-watching, or “birding,” is a hobby that has been growing rapidly over the past two years. It can be a fun group activity with family and friends or a solitary activity in which an individual can have some quality alone time. Birding can be done from a cozy window at home or deep in lush green woodlands. As an outdoor activity, it can submerge a person in the sights and sounds of nature.

There are a lot of birds around us. Becoming a birder can be daunting with so many of these creatures of different sizes, colors, songs, and habitat preferences. In this workshop we will try to streamline the effort to learn about birds. We will begin with an outdoor classroom session in some shade to learn how to find birds and clues to help identify the birds we see or hear.

We will remain outdoors for the second part of the workshop. We will walk around the park grounds where we will practice developing our skills in locating birds, looking for field marks, and beginning to learn to identify birds by their sounds. We will have some experienced birders at hand as resource people to help. We intend to break down into smaller groups led by our experienced birders for our practice session.

The workshop leader will be Dennis Burnette. A retired college professor, he is a past president of T. Gilbert Pearson Audubon Society and Piedmont Bird Club and continues to be active in both groups. He has looked for birds, butterflies and other wildlife in 11 countries. In retirement he spends much of his time doing nature education.

It isn’t necessary to have binoculars and a field guide for this workshop, but if you have them, bring them because they will help make the workshop more meaningful and fun. We’ll have a few extras to loan. Dress for the weather, wear comfortable walking shoes, and bring water to drink. Well-behaved children are welcome but must be accompanied by responsible adults at all times. No pets, please.

There is no charge for this workshop but REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. The number of participants is limited to 24 so that everyone will be able to hear the discussions. To register, send an email to Dennis Burnette, [email protected].

23/05/2022

This is about to be a very vulnerable post for me.. and it's going to be long, but I implore you to read it all the way through.

So. There has been many studies done by wildlife rescues and conservations around the United States to document the affects outdoor cats have on our native wildlife population.

The results per the (multiple year) study provided by the Journal of Wildlife management are as follows:

- 84 different species of animal were brought to the center after an encounter with a cat.
21 species of mammals, 62 bird species.
- Over 73 percent of small all mammal admissions to the center were due to known cat-related injuries
- And about 64 percent of all bird admissions to the center were due to cat attacks.

Despite high-quality veterinary care:
-70 percent of those small mammals ultimately end up dying from the severity of wounds or had to be euthanized.
- And 80 percent of the birds also died from the attacks.
Read that again.
And understand that you, as the owner of your outdoor- going cat, are the number 1 contributer to the death of our native wildlife.

And I am honestly at my breaking point with it. Every day, all day, people call me to say "My cat brought me this animal."
And I can't say anything to try to prevent it from happening again, because the moment I suggest keeping their cat indoors, I'm a monster!
I dread every single cat-related intake because I KNOW it's more than likely going to die.
And I'm the one who has to feel the burden. Every single time.
And God forbid someone is offended by my suggestion of their cat staying indoors.
And dont even get me started on the people who think releasing an invasive killing machine into an ecosystem it doesnt belong is considered "natural."

I'm literally at the point where I want to tell each one of the callers to bring it for euthanasia themselves, or just watch it suffer until it dies.
Because part of me thinks it would encourage them to keep their cats inside- Where they belong- If they had to first hand witness a once healthy animal die of a completely preventable injury.
Yes, I realize how terrible this sounds, and as a empath to ALL living things human and animal alike, I absolutely hate that I have such animosity towards these people.
But its never ending and NOBODY CARES.
But then theres the better part of me who literally cannot let a sweet innocent animal die without pain meds while in the custody of someone who doesn't give a s**t and wouldn't do a single thing to prevent it from happening again.
So what do I do?
I shut the hell up and say "I'll do my best 🙃" with a fake smile like I don't 100% already know the poor baby will be dead by morning.

I'm in a rock and a hard place trying to maintain professionalism while also trying to protect our planet.
And I reallyyy could use your help here guys.
Because myself and other rehabilitators around the states are losing our minds to this endless battle.
Compassion fatigue is real, and this is what causes it.
Help us.
If you cant do it for our planet, or for the lives of the 1.4 to 3.7 billion birds and 6.9 to 20.7 billion mammals that die yearly to cat attacks. Do it for the safety of YOUR own cat..

If you need information on catios, cat harnesses, or other safe ways to give your cat outdoor time, ask.
If you don't understand why cats don't belong outside, ask.
If your cat is constantly trying to escape and you need ideas on ways to prevent them from door stalking, ask.
If you think you can't provide adequate enrichment indoors for your cat, ask me how.

23/05/2022

21/05/2022

Transport needed to May Wildlife Rehabilitation Center Banner Elk