Bidwell Wildlife Rehabilitation

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

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! 🐿️❤️