24 » Friday, April 2, 2021
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A Few Stories From The Winter Season At Greenwood Wildlife Rehabilitation Center
By: Linda Tyler, Executive Director
swimming, snacking, and preening together. Finally, after witnessing the While spring and summer are the goose successfully fly using its imped busiest seasons at Greenwood, wildlife wing, the bird was approved for release needs our help year-round. Following are just a few of the animals we were able along with its pal. to care for during the winter months. On release day, volunteers trudged through the mud with two large bins, “Imping” Helped Save This Canada each containing a fully healed goose. Goose They made their way to the shoreline Ever hear of imping? It was a life and opened the lids. Both animals took changer for this unfortunate, and then a quick look around before shooting out fortunate, waterfowl! of the bins and flying out to the open It all started when passersby spotted a water. Together, they swam toward the Canada goose walking in the road last middle of the lake. They were spotted a December. They realized it needed help, few days later, foraging together on the since one of its wings was dragging on shoreline. Evidently, these two had the ground. Lacking a container, they formed a friendship! scurried to the nearest store to find a Cottontail Takes a Fall box. Hurrying back, they were happy to A caring Longmont resident brought a see it hadn't traveled far. They were able wounded eastern cottontail to Greento carefully collect it, then drive it to wood after he discovered her in a winGreenwood. dow well. Our rehabilitation team hyOur rehabilitation team assessed the goose and found it was in very poor con- pothesized that a predator had chased her to the well where she then fell five to dition. It had several wounds and six six feet. After evaluation, staff started to broken, essential flight feathers on one craft the rabbit’s recovery plan. Her wing. X-rays showed a small wing fracwounds would be treated with antibiture that was starting to heal. They began treatment with pain medication, an- otics to avoid infection. She also had spinal trauma that required anti-inflamtibiotics, calcium, and Vitamin D. matories and cage rest. Aside from reAfter several weeks of care, the goose's ceiving high-quality medical care, the health improved, and the bird was flight rabbit stayed warm and cozy in an intested. As anticipated, it could not get door enclosure fitted with a wooden lift, given the missing flight feathers. In nesting box made by a local Boy Scout order to release it sooner, our team troop. She ate scads of Timothy hay, apneeded to intervene. ple chunks, and lettuce. After this round Luckily, an ancient procedure called of treatment, her injuries were healing imping can repair this type of damage. and her hop had more pep. She spent a The process involves finding the perfect week in our outside caging, then was rereplacements for the broken feathers. In leased back into the wild. this case, staff used cadaver feathers. Speaking of rabbits, soon Greenwood They carefully implanted them with will be helping even more bunnies and bamboo dowels, hand-whittled to fit the their cousins. The sole rehabilitator of size of the goose’s feather shaft, and used the Colorado Wild Rabbit Foundation is an epoxy that sets quickly. planning to retire, leaving no one to care With an optimistic prognosis, staff for these animals in the area spanning placed the goose in an outdoor enclofrom north Denver to the Wyoming sure with another injured goose while it border. Thanks to two very generous healed. The two bonded after a month of
donors, we are constructing a new facility dedicated to rabbit care, which should be completed by early 2022. Belted Kingfisher Strikes a Window Greenwood gets hundreds of birds from window strikes each year. Recently, a woman found a belted kingfisher on her back patio, lying there stunned just as the sun was setting. She hoped he would recover with rest, so she kept him safe in a box in a dark and quiet place indoors. In the morning, he still couldn’t fly, so she brought him to Greenwood. As the rescuer told us this kingfisher’s story, she expressed her wish for the bird’s recovery. She had experienced the loss of her son and her dog just that month and hoped this animal wouldn’t have the same fate. Our rehabilitator examined the kingfisher for injuries. He checked his wings, legs, head, and toes while paying particular attention to signs of a neurological condition, common for window-strike victims. He administered anti-inflammatories, predicting that the animal was still
suffering from a hard knock to the head. The next day, the kingfisher was able to fly about in his enclosure. Our team was eager to share this great news with the caring rescuer who had experienced such heavy losses recently. The bird was released that day – taking off, free and wild again! Spring is Here – Please Help us Help the Babies The first babies of the season have arrived at Greenwood, and they really could use your support. Every spring and summer, hundreds of orphaned wild animals rely on us for lifesaving care. Please help these little ones to grow healthy and strong before they're released back into the wild. Visit greenwoodbabyshower.com for a list of needs as well as the link to our Amazon wish list. Supplies can be shipped directly from Amazon to Greenwood. Also, while on Amazon, please remember to select Greenwood as your charity of choice through Amazon Smile to donate a portion of your shopping dollars to us. Items can also be dropped off in person either at Greenwood (east of Lyons) from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. daily (please call first: 303-823-8455) or at our Thrift Shop & Consignment Gallery located at 3600 Arapahoe in Boulder from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday. Donations are tax-deductible. And, as always, we would appreciate any monetary contributions you can give toward the treatment of the wildlife that come through our doors. You can donate online or mail a check to P.O. Box 18987, Boulder, CO 80308. To learn about other ways you can support us, please visit our website at www.greenwoodwildlife.org.