Below is "Holding One", where most of the indoor birds are kept. there is another bigger area, "Holding Two" for major bird events like oil spills. None of the birds are open to viewing in order to lower stress, or in the case of baby birds, to prevent imprinting.
Holding One, looking the other direction.
Jeanine, Tina, and I had a Great Blue Heron as one of our assignments today. I brought it up from Santa Cruz on Thursday, along with a loon, and a duckling. Here Jeanine is holding it's foot.
I am drawing blood from a vein - often tricky to find. I asked Monica, our intern from Norway, to take a picture. She proceeded to take a bunch. Blood information is essential for making decisions such as washing, release, first night out, etc.
Since the heron was somewhat dehydrated, finding the vein was even more difficult. Jeanine, in the middle, is an interpreter for the deaf, and Tina was a CHP officer until injuring her back. We're a diverse group of volunteers, which makes it all the more fun.
Blood, at last! From here, the little crit tubes go into a centrifuge, and then are read.
Checking the head. This heron had some head injuries. He was found in a mall on Soquel Ave. in Santa Cruz - definitely not a healthy sign.
Jeanine checks the pupils for reaction to light.
A look in the mouth to check for dehydration and parasites.
Then outdoors for the first time to "Spa 5". Here I'm giving him a vitamin.
Then a little tubing of water to help hydration. This is a real test of dexterity, as you have to make sure you get the tube past the glottis (trachea), hold the tube on the syringe so it doesn't pop off, press the plunger with your chest, all while being bitten. With wild birds, there is an infinite number of ways to screw up.
Finally, the heron gets to hide in his new outdoor enclosure. Can you spot him in the middle of the picture? They are masters of hiding in plain sight.
Next, I did a little repair job on this Surf Scoter's pool door. Self releases are an embarrassment to staff, and usually not good for the patient.
Indoors, we have these 3 baby Green Herons - and a lot of other birds.
This is a baby Great Blue Heron in the ICU, where he can be kept toasty warm. Well, that wraps it up for today.
Jeanine, Tina, and I had a Great Blue Heron as one of our assignments today. I brought it up from Santa Cruz on Thursday, along with a loon, and a duckling. Here Jeanine is holding it's foot.
I am drawing blood from a vein - often tricky to find. I asked Monica, our intern from Norway, to take a picture. She proceeded to take a bunch. Blood information is essential for making decisions such as washing, release, first night out, etc.
Since the heron was somewhat dehydrated, finding the vein was even more difficult. Jeanine, in the middle, is an interpreter for the deaf, and Tina was a CHP officer until injuring her back. We're a diverse group of volunteers, which makes it all the more fun.
Blood, at last! From here, the little crit tubes go into a centrifuge, and then are read.
Checking the head. This heron had some head injuries. He was found in a mall on Soquel Ave. in Santa Cruz - definitely not a healthy sign.
Jeanine checks the pupils for reaction to light.
A look in the mouth to check for dehydration and parasites.
Then outdoors for the first time to "Spa 5". Here I'm giving him a vitamin.
Then a little tubing of water to help hydration. This is a real test of dexterity, as you have to make sure you get the tube past the glottis (trachea), hold the tube on the syringe so it doesn't pop off, press the plunger with your chest, all while being bitten. With wild birds, there is an infinite number of ways to screw up.
Finally, the heron gets to hide in his new outdoor enclosure. Can you spot him in the middle of the picture? They are masters of hiding in plain sight.
Next, I did a little repair job on this Surf Scoter's pool door. Self releases are an embarrassment to staff, and usually not good for the patient.
Indoors, we have these 3 baby Green Herons - and a lot of other birds.
This is a baby Great Blue Heron in the ICU, where he can be kept toasty warm. Well, that wraps it up for today. 
1 comment:
Very cool!! You have the skillz!
Will you be transporting birds regularly for that small rescue place in Santa Cruz, or did you just happen to be down there visiting Nick anyway?
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