Veterinarian shares raptor knowledge
Humans are the reason behind 90 per cent of birds requiring rehabilitation
Yarmouth veterinarian Dr. Kathleen MacAulay’s passion is palpable when she talks about interacting with raptors.
On Jan. 28, she had an attentive audience at the Yarmouth County Museum for her behind-the-scenes look at what goes on in a raptor rehabilitation centre. The event was organized by the southwest chapter of the Nova Scotia Bird Society.
MacAulay worked as a volunteer and summer student at the Cobequid Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre (CWRC) in Colchester County for eight years before graduating from veterinarian school. She then completed a two-year veterinarian internship in raptor and avian medicine at the world-renowned raptor centre at the University of Minnesota.
She now practises in Yarmouth, continuing to volunteer her services to CWRC and other wildlife rehabilitation centres as well as working on various avian conservation-related projects.
She says that typically, raptor rescue begins with a phone call and that cell phones have become a great boon for those in the field. They enable rescuers to quickly search for assistance online and to snap a photo of injuries to send to wildlife specialists.
If professional assistance isn’t available, it’s often up to the finder to capture the raptor to transport it to medical assistance.
The bare essentials for catching a wounded raptor are a cardboard box, thick towel/blanket and thick gloves. Those sharp talons, beak and strong wings can inflict significant damage.
“Just don’t put a woodpecker in a cardboard box, as we learned last winter,” said Dr. MacAulay to a chuckling audience.
Small animal carriers are also recommended for confining during transport.
People were told the University of Minnesota receives about 1,000 raptors annually needing help. Ninety per cent of the time it’s because of something to do with people that these birds come in needing care.
Lead poisoning is a topic that brings great heartache to raptor rehabilitators.
Lead bullets fragment into hundreds of tiny pieces in the body of a shot animal. If pieces of the carcass are left behind after dressing, raptors can end up eating the lead. One typically-sized lead bullet has enough lead in it to kill more than 100 eagles.
“It takes very little. They are very sensitive to it,” said MacAulay.
Washing oiled raptors is a labour-intensive process. Birds are first examined to see if they are stable enough to be washed, as it is very stressful experience for them.
Dawn soap in very hot water is used and a minimum of three people are required for the job – one to hold the feet, another the head and the other to wash.
The rehabilitating birds move through different levels of housing, starting off with smaller cages, kept dark to reduce anxiety and the potential for more injury. As they become stronger, they move to flight rooms and eventually larger flight pens.
There are many challenges with rehabilitating raptors, including broken and/or bent feathers, wrist wounds and bumblefoot – a condition caused by excessive pressure on the bottom of the feet. Various treatments and repairs are used to address these.
Although there are many heartaches involved with rehabilitating raptors, those that emerge healthy and strong after the care they received are good reasons for joy.
“It’s the best part,” said MacAulay, as she flicked through fascinating photos of owls and eagles being released to fly free once again.