Sacramento wildlife group mends animals so they can have ‘second chance at life’
Christine Glover, wearing large and heavy leather gloves, pulled out a fluffy full-grown owl from a wire cage at the Wildlife Care Association facility on Patrol Road at McClellan Park. The owl, while not happy to have its daytime sleep disturbed, remained unflappable despite a deep tear on its wing.
“We think it may have gotten entangled in some barbed wire while swooping down on some small prey,” said Glover, the WCA’s lead triage technician.
The WCA takes in about 7,000 injured or orphaned “patients” a year, including a variety of wild birds, from owls and hawks to magpies and mockingbirds. There’s even a shoebox-sized cage for hummingbirds. As the population around the city grows, wildlife gets squeezed into smaller spaces, and accidents happen more often.
On a recent day, the owls were in the clinic cages, which are about the size of the wire crates that hold large dogs. The working area is small, but smartly designed, with stainless steel tables kept hospital-clean.
None of the patients at the center are given names. The wildlife – avian, mammal or reptile – do not become pets. According to Sandra Foreman, the animal care manager, the WCA focuses on rescue, rehabilitation and release.
The owls and other birds of prey can easily sleep in the large cages indoors, but ,to heal, they need to go to a special flight cage for exercise and evaluation before being released to the wild. Currently, the WCA has just one, which is 40 feet long.
That‘s not big enough. A red-tailed hawk takes only seconds to traverse its length, getting about as much exercise as most office workers get walking from their desk to the coffee machine.
Adding a 60-footer is WCA’s goal, and managers there are hoping readers will contribute to the Book of Dreams Fund at the Sacramento Region Community Foundation — The Sacramento Bee’s annual charity effort — to help make that possible.
Cover food costs
An additional cage would also allow more rehab time for hawks and owls, which can’t use the cage at the same time.
“More cages would help them get on their way more quickly,” Foreman said.
Currently WCA’s budget has no spare money for anything but food, which can be pricey, especially for the avian guests.
“The birds require special feed and live mealworms,” said volunteer Laura Nickerson. “Herons and egrets that fall out of their nests need fish. The owls and hawks are fed mice and they consume quite a lot.”
A sign on the aviary where a red-shouldered hawk was recovering from severely swollen eyes instructed that it be fed 10 mice per day, and Foreman said that was about average for a bird its size. Unlike domestic birds and animals, the chow must be fresh, because that’s what WCA’s patients eat in the wild.
The group is seeking a contribution of $10,000, which would cover food costs for a year and free up enough money to build the new flight cage.
More than wings and prayers
Spring and summer are the busiest times at the facility, Glover said, although there is plenty to do in the late fall getting the injured animals healed and prepared to face the coming winter.
Glover said she enjoys working at the WCA. “Everyone here works as a team to make it happen: staff, volunteers and interns,” she said.
The team is focused on caring for animals that could have just been left alone to die.
“We give them a second chance at life,” Foreman said. “And in doing so, we are restoring our ecosystem – that’s so rewarding. My job has new challenges every day, it’s fast paced, and the needs are high. I can’t imagine doing anything else.”
People who find injured birds or other wildlife can call the WCA hotline at (916) 965-9453 and make arrangements to bring them to the intake facility at 5211 Patrol Road between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. daily. More rescue instructions are on the group’s website, wildlifecareassociation.com. The group does not receive mail at the Patrol Road address.
WCA was Incorporated in 1978, aided by prominent naturalists in the Sacramento area, including Effie Yeaw and William B. Pond.
Book of Dreams
The request: The Wildlife Care Association needs funds to cover food costs for a year and enable the group to build a 60-foot-long flight cage for hawks and owls
The cost: $10,000