Tagged: “bird of prey”

We Need a New Set of Wheels!

We Need a New Set of Wheels!

Nature’s Edge Wildlife and Reptile Rescue is in desperate need of a new vehicle. To say we put a vehicle through it’s paces is an understatement. The Suburban we have now is a 2005 and has over 230,000 miles on it. The repairs are beyond starting to exceed the value, and will cost too much to make it pass Texas vehicle inspection this month. We use 4 wheel drive on a regular basis, haul stuff (including a trailer), travel to education and adoption events, picking up supplies and animals, and let’s not forget the occasional use as an emergency ladder to get birds out of trees.

Last year we drove more than 13,000 miles picking up animals, supplies, traveling to education programs, reptile expos, etc. About 10,000 miles consisted of transporting animals, over 2,000 miles were driven traveling to education programs and almost 700 miles driven to reptile expos. And that doesn’t even count all the miles driven to and from our vet’s office and that is a 67 mile trip.

We made three trips down to the coast after Hurricane Harvey in August 2017 to pick up wildlife and deliver needed supplies to wildlife rehabilitators. We have driven as far away as New Mexico to pick up animals in need. We drove to Tyler one afternoon just to pick up a western ratsnake that had swallowed three ceramic eggs. We also drove to Kansas one year to meet a college professor that adopted several reptiles for use as education animals.

A reliable vehicle is necessary to help us continue caring for animals in need. Please consider helping us purchase a new used vehicle.

As always, we truly thank each and every one of you for your continued support!

https://www.gofundme.com/wildlife-rescue-needs-a-new-set-of-wheels?fbclid=IwAR3ntD4WGCNQE0db5wLCv0xZIoNgCddhqVTG6BycnLftjymPXi-8xjC2Kfs

The Truth about Wildlife Rehab

Okay I can not believe I even need to talk about this, but, due to recent phone calls and conversations I feel I must.
First off, rehabbing animals is NOT our job. Let me explain. Helping animals is what we do, but nobody pays us to do this. We actually pay for the privilege to help animals. We pay for the permits, food, medical supplies, heating, electricity, water, etc… Saying it’s a job would mean that somebody pays us to do this. There is no reimbursement from the state or feds for what we do. In fact, most rehabbers work a regular job besides rehabbing so that they can continue to rehab animals.
Second, we operate out of our home. Most rehabbers do. We can not afford a big rehab center. Wish we could. Most places that do have had said centers donated to them to operate out of. Operating out of ones home when it comes to caring for sick, injured, and orphaned wildlife has it’s own unique set of challenges.
So to summarize, we operate off of our own back pockets, in kind donations, and sometimes we find small grants and other small projects such as education events to help offset costs.
So next time you call a rehabber and demand they come out to save an animal because “it’s their job”, please remember it’s not a job. It’s a passion to help animals in need due to human interactions. Don’t get mad at the rehabber and start yelling at them about how horrible of a person they are because they can not stop either working a job, helping somebody else with an injured animal, or caring for the animals already in their possession, to come and pick up an injured animal right in front of you.

Red-tailed Hawk Release

Was a happy release this morning. Got to return this adult male red-tailed hawk back where he came from. The homeowners found this guy in their yard and brought him to us on December 8th. He had an injured wing and was thin. The homeowners have been watching this guy and his mate for a few years. At the end of the video you can see the tree he heads to. After we stopped recording, we noticed the female was already in the tree he landed in. A happy reunion!

https://youtu.be/LD3fSL6RgX8

Great Horned Owl Release

A quick video on the release of a great-horned owl that came in December 30th, very thin and dehydrated.

https://youtu.be/Be8MEoPziLY

Red-tailed Hawk Illegally Shot

Red-tailed Hawk Illegally Shot

*WARNING*
Graphic blood photos

Took in a female red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) that somebody shot in Hunt county. It is illegal to shoot migratory birds, except those with a hunting season during said season. This bird was shot in somebody’s yard, while their children were outside playing in the yard. Shooter pulled over and shot this bird with a rifle from the inside of their vehicle. Vehicle involved was identified but unfortunately no license plate information available. Information has been turned over to US Fish and Game, local Game Warden, and Sheriff’s office. 

A HUGE thank you goes out to the home owners and the Hunt County Scanner Facebook page and it’s owners for arranging to get this bird to us. It was an interesting night in the rain. Bird has been to our rehab vet and x-rays were done. We are optimistic this bird will make a full recovery and can be returned to the wild.

EDIT: For those wondering, the bird has a hood on its head to help keep it calm while we are examining it. Hoods are traditionally used for falconry birds, which is a cultural heritage that has been around more than 4,000 years, for that same reason. We have a wide variety of sizes, and these hoods are made a millimeter apart in size.