Bidwell Wildlife Rehabilitation

17/04/2025

It’s Animal Control Appreciation week! We have so much appreciation for our local animal control officers, who keep an eye out for wildlife and domesticated animals!

Just yesterday, Chico Animal Control Officer Edith brought this little possum to BWR volunteer Shelly. She will stay in BWR’s care until she’s at least 7 inches long, then released to live a wildlife.

We love when groups can collaborate for the good of animals, and we are so grateful for all the help we receive from local animal control. Thank you Chico Animal Control and Butte County Animal Control! ❤️🦝🦨🐿️🐣🦆🦉❤️

15/04/2025

Possums are AWESOME

14/04/2025

How many times have you looked up at a raptor soaring overhead, to say ‘oh, it’s just a Red-tailed Hawk?’ Well Bryce Robinson and the Red-tailed Hawk Project are on a mission to prove that this species is anything but common. They may be the most abundant raptor in North America, but they’re also the result of incredible evolutionary dynamics that have woven a tapestry of 16 subspecies across the continent.

Click below to learn more about this wonderfully widespread yet mysterious species and the work the Red-tailed Hawk Project is doing to crack the code of their diversity.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/red-tailed-hawk-subspecies-america-widespread/

01/04/2025

We are in the process of making a barn located in Chico into our 2025 raptor aviary and raptor nursery
In need of anyone’s left over framing materials also need hardware cloth
Previous raptor guests.

05/03/2025

https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-feed-wildlife-babies?attribution_id=sl:15ae3695-1eff-4f1f-ae69-63894d9f232c&lang=en_US&utm_campaign=fp_sharesheet&utm_content=amp13_t1-amp14_t1&utm_medium=customer&utm_source=facebook

It’s almost spring, and wildlife babies are HERE! ❤️😳

And we need your support! Each year, we spent thousands of dollars (yes thousands) to buy mammal milk replacement formula for these babies. Each species has its own mixture – squirrels, possums, rabbits, raccoons, foxes, skunks, and fawns.

Purchasing this expensive but necessary formula gives these babies the best chance at life! Can you help us in our pursuit to keep the babies in our care happy and healthy? Check out our GoFundMe, posted here! We thank you, and so do the wildlife babies of our community. ❤️🐿️🐰🦨🐇🦝❤️

17/02/2025

The first squirrel babies of 2025 have come our way! 😭 These two babies, approximately three days old, are currently in the excellent care of BWR president Sandy. ❤️

If you find baby squirrels, here’s what to do: https://www.bidwellwildliferehab.org/i-found-a-baby-squirrel-what-do-i-do.html

We always want folks who find baby squirrels to think “how do I reunite this baby with its mama?” rather than, “how do I get this baby to a human rehabber?” Wildlife babies are always better off in the care of their mamas! But if the mamas can’t be found, we will be there. ❤️🐿️❤️

26/01/2025

It’s still winter, but baby wildlife season is on the way – fast! 😳

We want to remind everyone that if you find orphaned or injured wildlife that looks like it might be in need of some help, the BEST and FASTEST way to get ahold of us is by filling out an online intake form found at the top of our webpage, www.bidwellwildliferehab.org.

“What! I want to just make a phone call! How come I have to go online and fill out a form?”

In order to determine how best to help these babies, we need some very basic pieces of information to start the process – what kind of animal is it? How many are there? Is it injured? Where is it? Is it a baby or an adult? And believe it or not, sometimes getting this information during a phone call can be a little bit time consuming! Not to mention the inevitable phone tag that sometimes follows…

We get numerous requests for help every day, and if we can cut down on the amount of time that it takes to get this important information, then we are all for that!

But, what about people without Internet access? We are happy to report that in the instances where folks don’t have Internet access, they have been able to call a friend who can then fill out the form on their behalf.

If you see that someone on social media has found injured or orphaned wildlife and isn’t sure what to do, please refer them to this information! 🙏❤️🐿🦨🦝🐣❤️

24/01/2025

We are so excited to announce that for the first time, BWR is going to have an information table at the amazing Snow Goose Festival! The exhibition hall will be open from 10 AM until 3 PM this weekend, January 25 and 26th, at Patrick Ranch Museum.

Come chat with our volunteers about the wild world of wildlife rehabilitation! Learn what we do, how you can volunteer, and how to best care for wildlife in our communities. Baby season is almost here, and that means babies like the squirrel pictured will be on their way soon! 😳

A huge thank you to BWR volunteers Laurie and Kitty for spearheading this info table! ❤️🦨🦅🐣🐿️❤️

23/01/2025

What score will you get?

20/01/2025

Words to live by. 🦅🐿️🦨🐣

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