FRIDAYEXTRA !
The Daily Astorian
Friday, August 21, 2015
Weekend Edition
BALD EAGLE
DOUBLE-CRESTED
CORMORANT
S
D
R
I
B EST
R
AT
RHINOCEROS
AUKLET
COMMON
LOON
Photos by Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: A juvenile bald eagle in its flight cage . A month-old double-crested cormorant at the Wildlife Center of the North Coast. The young bird wound up at the center after
being attacked by an eagle. Grandpa, a r hinoceros a uklet and permanent member of the Wildlife Center of the North Coast , is used as an education bird . A common loon sits on a water pillow .
Rehabilitation center nurses animals back to health
By McKINLEY SMITH
The Daily Astorian
‘You have to
be willing to
get dirty. You
get bit and
scratched all
day long.’
M
any of the birds that
wind up at the Wild-
life Center of the
North Coast have been hit by
Fars tanJled in ¿ shinJ line or
have swallowed plastic.
Others are simply hungry.
“Right now, the oceans are
really warm, so everything is
starving to death,” said Josh Sa-
ranpaa, the assistant director of
the non pro¿ t, volunteer-driven
group that helps native birds and
other wildlife .
The animals might look cute
and cuddly but they are not pets.
They’re wild.
“You have to be willing to
get dirty,” he said. “You get bit
and scratched all day long.”
One volunteer keeps track of
the number of species she has
seen at the center by adding stars
in her guide book on the corre-
sponding species page. She’s
reached 99.
H ere are 10 birds you might
meet at the center.
Double-crested
cormorant
The center has several of
these birds, some of which can
be released, and others that will
have to remain at the center. One
young cormorant wound up at
the center after an eagle attacked
him and dropped him in a tree. A
taxi cab driver climbed the tree
and brought the cormorant to the
center, where he was treated for
puncture wounds. Now, the little
bird is receiving care for a respi-
ratory infection. The bird, which
is about a month old, may not be
released due to developmental
issues with its wings .
Bald eagle
The center gets between six
to 12 eagles a year . One juvenile
bald eagle occupies a 100-foot
— Josh Saranpaa
assistant director of the Wildlife
Center of the North Coast,
talking about taking care of
native birds and other wildlife
in “Alice in Wonderland.” At
¿ rst, she’s afraid of the duck-
lings, but they grow on her. “I
really like her,” Saranpaa said.
“These birds all have individual
personality.”
Common murre
WESTERN GULLS
Western g ull chicks in their cage .
À ight cage, space to À ex his
wings and practice his À ying
skills before he graduates to
open skies and unlimited vistas.
Saranpaa and his wife caught
the eagle, which was starving,
at Cape Disappointment. But
there’s one more test for the
growing predator before his
release. “We like to know they
can catch live prey before we let
them loose,” Saranpaa said.
Common loon
As a water bird, the com-
mon loon has very particular
needs the center must strive
to meet. The center uses water
pillows to accommodate the
bird’s heavy body; its legs just
aren’t meant to support its bulk
on land, and can often look
broken, Saranpaa said. The
common loon the center has
is about 3 pounds. Dark black
feathers spotted with white dis-
tinguish them visibly . They’re
also very vocal and, according
to Saranpaa, who would know,
they poop a lot.
Northern saw-whet owl
The center has two northern
saw-whet owls, petite, nocturnal
birds that blend into their habi-
tat, sticking to the shade on hot
days. One of their owls won’t
be released; it was hit by a car,
blinding it in one eye. Now,
he’s on an education permit,
although he’s not glove trained,
so he doesn’t go out much. But
his companion, a À edgling, has
a chance for release once he’s
proved he can catch his own
prey.
Western gull
Western gull chicks are
À uffy, camouÀ aged gray speck-
led with darker patches of feath-
ers. They’re vulnerable looking,
unlike the almost haughty adults
they’ll become. Adult western
gulls are white with gray wings
and a yellow beak.
Brown pelican
Brown pelicans employ a
survival mechanism that makes
them poor dinner guests. When
they’re startled, they’ll regurgi-
tate whatever they’ve eaten to
lighten the load and help them
escape faster. Handling the pel-
icans presents a challenge be-
cause any interaction leads to
the birds losing their lunch …
or whatever meal staff or vol-
unteers have provided, Saran-
paa said, so they feed them after
they’ve taken care of all their
other needs.
American wigeon
When ducklings come to the
center in need of a mother ¿ g-
ure, the center relies on a surro-
gate mother to raise them. That
mother is an American wigeon.
She couldn’t be released, so she
took on a job. The duck reminds
Saranpaa of the anxious rabbit
Last year, the center received
about 700 of these birds, and Sa-
ranpaa thinks they’ll get at least
as many this year. The common
murre is a black, white-bellied
bird in the same family as auks
and puf¿ ns.
Surf scoter
Another water bird, the surf
scoter the center is rehabilitat-
ing came in starving and devel-
oped a keel sore. Males have a
distinctive head, with pale blue
eyes and a red, orange-and-
white beak, while the females
are plainer. Surf scoters are a
variety of duck.
Rhinoceros auklet
Grandpa is a permanent res-
ident of the center. He’s blind in
his right eye. With his little tufts
of eyebrow and cheek feathers,
he reminds Saranpaa of an old
man. The rhinoceros auklet is a
close relative of puf¿ ns. “They
feel like a little potato,” Saran-
paa said of holding the small
birds.