Bidwell Wildlife Rehabilitation

05/01/2025

Spring is on the way! And with it, lots of wildlife babies of all species!

If you have trees that need to be trimmed, the best time to do it is in November, December, or very early January – aka, NOW! 🍃

The earliest wildlife babies that come our way are squirrels, which we will start seeing in mid-February. 😳 That means that squirrel mamas, bird mamas, and all tree-dwelling animals will be busy making their nests soon.

If your trees need to be trimmed, please, do it now! Or, wait until late fall. Every year, we take in dozens of wildlife babies that are orphaned when their nest came crashing down during tree trimming. 💔

Please be good neighbors to our wildlife friends - be mindful of keeping their homes safe and intact during baby season. ❤️

04/01/2025

Happy New Year, everyone! 🎉🎉🎉Today, we got one of our favorite types of emails to get – a donation! In fact, a very generous donation from Greenfield Pet Photography. ❤️

Jonathan Greenfield let us know that every year, he donates a portion of the proceeds from his business to a local nonprofit, and we were the lucky recipient this year! Thank you so much, Jonathan, and thank you to everyone who donates to us! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️Pictured is a video from our most recent release – a little eastern Fox squirrel found with her eyes still closed in late October in Willows.

Because these types of squirrels are not native to the valley and we didn’t have any others in our care, on New Year’s Day, this little cutie was transferred to our amazing friends at Gold Country Wildlife Rescue. They’ll release her with other squirrels of her type, and they’ll go on to live a happy wild life. ❤️🐿️

We appreciate our donors and all of our supporters so much! If you’d like to donate to help us with our crazy, amazing mission, info is here: https://www.bidwellwildliferehab.org/donate.html. Help us keep the 2025 squirrels supplied with avocados, which they love! 🥑❤️

29/12/2024

ESA! ESA! ESA!

Happy Anniversary! On this day in 1973, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) was signed into law. This historic piece of legislation has proven to be effective in stabilizing species populations, preventing species extinction and conserving the habitats upon which they depend.

There’s still work to do and challenges ahead for the ESA. Species recovery and conservation take strong partnerships and communities willing to lend a hand. Join us in the celebration and support of the ESA!

Photo of a biologist holding a freshly banded western snowy plover chick at Salinas River National Wildlife Refuge by Bradley Dunbaugh (sharetheexperience)

23/12/2024

08/10/2024

05/09/2024

UPDATE
LITTLE STINKER SELF RELEASED LAST NIGHT obviously my enclosure is NOT fox proof
So, since spring there has been a fox in my neighborhood. Can hear him as he makes his rounds with his fox screams. They are not pack animals and have a territory of approx 2-5 miles.
Have not heard or seen “my” fox for about a week now. Was wondering about him. Wondering when he would be back through
Yesterday I got a call from our vet that Animal Control took an injured fox in. Said he was ready to go so picked him up after work. Injured leg but with food and meds for a few days, will be good to release. Reading his paperwork, I was shocked to see where he came from. Just down the street from me. This is MY neighborhood fox!
What a miracle

26/07/2024

Like everyone else in Butte and Tehama counties, we are sick with grief and despair over the Park Fire. It’s overwhelming to think what this is doing to our wildlife friends and their habitat. 💔💔💔

So far, we’ve gotten only one animal from the fire area; this sweet little bunny, pictured. A Cal Fire personnel found this baby in the middle of the road by itself in the evacuation area and took it to our friends at the Chico Animal Shelter, who brought it to us. Baby bunnies are difficult under the best of circumstances, so please send good thoughts to this cute little cutie!

Many of our volunteers and supporters have been affected by this fire. Some of our volunteers are under mandatory evacuation, and others are under an evacuation warning or on the perimeter. BWR volunteers, our thoughts and love are with you!!!

We want to let the public know that even though some of our volunteers had to evacuate, all of the BWR animals in our care are safe and out of harm’s way at the moment. Please everyone, send good thoughts that this fire can get contained quickly, and the suffering out there can be kept to a minimum. 💔🌎

22/07/2024

Oh wow. Supporters, we are....speechless and overwhelmed with gratitude. As of Sunday night, this fundraiser has raised over $1,600 for raptor food and supplies. THANK YOU! Wow!!!

HUGE thank you's to everyone who donated!!! Sandie, Heather, Francesca, Andrea, Melanie, Cyndie, Alexandra, Frank, Laurie, Susan, Shelly, and the anonymous donors...we see your awesome generosity and we appreciate you so much!

To everyone who shared our fundraiser, you helped immensely. 75 shares? That's something amazing! Thank you all!

We may have to ask again before raptor season is over, but we are feeling much much more secure and confident about our raptors' health and safety while they are in our care. From all BWR volunteers and animals....THANK YOU. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

P.S. Still wanna donate? We'd love it!!! Those raptors are hungry critters!

19/07/2024

Hello awesome community!

Once again, we are posting to ask for your help. 🙏🙏 This summer has been the busiest in decades when it comes to birds needing our help! Our aviaries are currently FULL with raptors, including hawks and owls, and we are running low on food and supplies for them. 💔

Can you donate to help? All donations will go directly to helping these beauties get healthy and old enough to be released and live a wild life. ❤️🦉❤️

We can’t say how much we appreciate support from all of you. Rehabbing wildlife is not only a labor of love for Bidwell Wildlife Rehab, but for all who love animals. If you can’t donate, please let other folks know about our need. Thank you all! We couldn’t do this without you. 🐣

10/07/2024

This heat wave is catastrophic. Every living thing is suffering in this heat, and it is sadly impacting birds in a BIG way. As a result, BWR is getting more requests for assistance with injured and/or orphaned birds than ever before. Because of this, we are asking for your help!

We're looking for people in Butte County who HAVE EXPERIENCE rehabbing and raising birds. It can be birds of any type, but we especially need help with songbirds! Maybe rehabbing birds has been a hobby of yours, or you used to volunteer with a wildlife organization elsewhere. Maybe you used to volunteer with BWR but are taking a break!

Does this describe you? If so, the birds need your help! We'd love for you to come on board as a BWR volunteer, even if temporarily! BWR will provide all the needed supplies. You can let us know what bird species you're comfortable working with, and let us know how many birds you're able to take in. Bonus points if you have your own aviary or other similar housing for birds!

Folks, our bird volunteers are beyond overwhelmed. They're tired and burned out, and still doing their best to help the birds. But, WE CAN'T DO THIS WITHOUT SOME IMMEDIATE EXTRA HELP. Keeping wildlife healthy is a job that will take the whole community. Can you help? If so, please go to our volunteer information page, found at https://www.bidwellwildliferehab.org/volunteer.html, or you can go right to our online volunteer intake form, found here: https://www.jotform.com/form/201050961690147.

Maybe you want to volunteer, but don't have any experience. Go ahead and fill out that volunteer form, and we'd love to meet you! But, at the moment due to these ridiculously hot circumstances, we need new volunteers who are ready to hit the ground running and take in birds right away.

Can you help us with birds right away? We need you!! If you can't, please help us spread the word. Thank you all for your support!

08/07/2024

Our squirrel friends have a favor to ask of everyone today today. 🙏🙏🙏

Will you put some water out in your yard for the wildlife? It is so so hot, and wildlife is suffering. If you can put out a pan or container of clean water, change it daily, and maybe even keep it cool by dropping some ice cubes in, you may be saving wild lives!

Pictured are two squirrels living the good soft-release life in one of our volunteer’s backyards. If you brought a baby squirrel to us in spring 2024, this may be one of your critters! 🐿️❤️

06/07/2024

Hello awesome BWR supporters! Please share this post if you can!

We need your help today! We got a request for help from someone who found this turtle, a red eared slider, in the street on the 900 block of E. 8th St. (a very very busy street!!). Because it is an invasive, non-native species, this person took the turtle home and is hoping to find its owner!

Is anyone missing a pet red eared slider near this area? She is also going to post it on Cody Alert and make a found pet report with our local animal shelter.

We are so appreciative of this person for picking up this turtle. As anyone who is familiar with local wildlife knows, red eared sliders can be a very destructive presence to local native turtles. Thank you to everyone who goes the extra mile to do the right thing for animals! ❤️🐢

if anyone can point us in the direction of this turtle’s owner, please email us at [email protected] and we will connect you with the finder. 🤞🤞🤞

04/07/2024

There’s so much we could say about the Fourth of July 2024. 🇺🇸

It’s a day for get togethers, celebrating our country, and pool parties! Here in Northern California, we are also dealing with long-term record-breaking heat and uncontained fires. 💔

We are dealing with unprecedented levels of requests for help, especially involving birds. Our resources are being pushed to their limits (and by resources we mean our most valuable commodity, our volunteers!).

If you put in a request for help regarding a bird, please be assured that we will get to your request as soon as humanly possible. It may seem like you’re waiting a long time for help, and that may be true in some cases. Our intake volunteers are doing their absolute best, even on this holiday.

Many of the requests for help we are getting are regarding fledglings, which are essentially teenage birds that are pushed out of their nest by their parents who are urging them to be on their own. Fledglings can stay where they are! If they’re in a dangerous situation, such as a nearby cat, pick them up and put them into a nearby tree or bush.

We appreciate everyone’s understanding, especially those of you who know that keeping wildlife in our community healthy is not just the job of BWR, it belongs to all of us!
❤️🐣🦨🐿️🦉❤️

30/06/2024

Yikes! The Fourth of July is approaching fast, which means scary, scary times for wildlife, domestic pets, and some people. Please be aware of what is legal and what is not in your local jurisdiction.

And, just as importantly, please keep in mind that fireworks are loud, scary, and can cause wildlife to be separated from their babies and other consequences just as dire. Please be safe if using fireworks (better yet - go to a community fireworks show and DON’T light them off yourself!!!!) and remember your neighbors, both human and animal. 💔💔💔

Fireworks go on sale today, June 28, in the North State. See the news release to find out where fireworks are allowed in Butte County.

29/06/2024

Every year after Fourth of July celebrations, Bidwell Wildlife Rehab receives an abundance of requests for help regarding abandoned fawns - but are they really abandoned? 💔

It’s very common for a mother deer to leave their fawn somewhere they think is fairly safe. It could be in a grassy area, a woodsy area, and it might even be in your backyard!

Fireworks can startle a mother deer and her baby fawn. She could leave it someplace she feels it’s safe or they could possibly be separated. The fawn will bed down in a place it feels safe until mother comes back.

If you see a fawn by itself, wildlife rehabbers urge you - please leave it alone! Momma will come looking for the baby she was separated from.

If you come across a baby and have any concerns, please DO NOT pick up the fawn – leave it where it is! Instead, pick up the phone and call the BWR Fawn Line immediately at 530-864-Fawn (3269). You can speak to one of our volunteers who can assess the situation and tell you the best way to proceed. Leave the fawns with their moms! ❤️🦌

28/06/2024

We are so grateful for community members who know that wildlife rehabilitation is not just the job of our organization, it takes all of us! ❤️❤️

This tiny little girl squirrel, pictured, was brought to us on Tuesday by some awesome people who transported her from Oroville to Chico, and also brought some homemade goodies and a donation (our favorite!)! ❤️❤️

Also pictured is a sweet little jackrabbit who came our way yesterday. She was brought to us by two lovely people from Stonyford, who dropped everything to drive her an hour and a half to Chico with no complaints. They also made a donation!

Thank you! And thank you to everyone who supports us, whether it’s financially or otherwise. ❤️🐿️🦨🐣🦅🦉🐇❤️

09/06/2024

Weekend yard work? This is a reminder to WALK FIRST!

Walking the area you're going to cut, whether it be your lawn or pasture, BEFORE you mow can save lives!