April showers bring May flowers

The old saying, “April Showers Bring May Flowers” says much more than we may think! Not only do the showers come, but so do the high winds, hail, tornadoes and torrential downpours. If you live in an area that has seen or experienced the severe weather, then I think you’ll know exactly what I’m going to talk about.

Because of all the much needed rainfall, I have been receiving calls regarding displaced wildlife. As we know, with spring in the air, our season for birds, wildlife and domestic animals has arrived. Many of the young have been thrown from their nest or their dens have been flooded out. I’ve been receiving phone calls on what should be done if you find young birds or animals around your homes.

I would first like to suggest that after severe weather has hit your area and it’s safe to do so, walk out into your yard or property area. After high winds, many young birds will be thrown from the nest, wet and on the ground. If you find very young baby birds and can find their nest close, just replace them and let Mother Nature do her thing. If you have found fully feathered birds and it’s visible that they have no injuries – that they are just soaked and cold – place them in a box or in an area where they can rest and dry out. Then, when it’s safe, release them back to the wild.

Years ago when I lived in Mitchell County, we had a downpour of rain. The rain and high winds were devastating to everything in their path. After the storm, I went out to find my yard littered with fallen birds. I had everything from scissor tails, mockingbirds, doves and swallows to the common sparrow. I began picking these poor, soaked birds up and putting them in my coat pockets until it got to be so many that I had to resort to a large box. At the time, we had an enclosed workshop off the back of our garage, and that’s where I began to move all the birds that I was collecting. I carefully removed them from my pockets and from the box and placed them anywhere that I could in the shop that was safe. They did as birds do: They began to shake and fluffy themselves out, trying to dry themselves off. By now, it was nighttime and they were all safe and warm. I would check on them in the morning.

Morning came and I headed out to the shop. Much to my surprise, there came a flood of birds out of the door when I opened it! I guess I hadn’t realized just how many birds that I had picked up, but if you’ve ever seen any horror shows where there are hundreds of birds flying toward you, that was me. I had to duck to allow them a pathway out of the door, and it was a sight to see. I must have picked up over a hundred birds; that was evident from all the bird droppings.

Had I not rescued those wet, cold birds and brought them to safety, I still would have been picking them up in my yard to dispose of because they wouldn’t have survived the night. If you believe that you have found a bird from a protected species, please contact your local Texas Parks and Wildlife Game Warden for further information.

However, if you find a bird that is injured, please contact Texas Parks and Wildlife for a Bird Rehabilitator in your area. You can go to Texas Parks and Wildlife at https://tpwd.texas.gov or call them at (512) 389-4800. You can also look up Wildlife Rehabilitator by county on the TPWD website.

When finding displaced baby mammals like rabbits, raccoons, skunks, opossums, bobcats or deer, please do not handle them before first contacting your local Game Warden or Mammal Wildlife Rehabilitator in your area. State law provides regulations for many types of wild animals, protecting them from becoming someone’s pet and from individuals harboring them. If you are unable to reach someone in your area, contact South Plains Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Lubbock at (806) 799-2142 and they will get you in contact with someone.

Just this week alone, I have received phone calls on baby rabbits, baby raccoons, an injured momma bobcat with babies, and a turtle. Many wildlife mammals carry fleas and ticks and other zoonotic diseases that are harmful to humans. Research shows 13 animalto-human diseases that kill 2.2 million people each year. In most counties it is illegal to transport wildlife over county lines unless you are a Game Warden or licensed wildlife rehabilitator. This prevents the spread of diseases to other areas and to other species of wildlife in other counties. So, I caution you about handling or allowing your children around any baby wildlife no matter how cute and cuddly they may be. Contact the proper authorities for your area.

For our domestic animals, we are getting calls more on baby kittens than anything. If you can located where the mother has her litter, place the kitten back. In some cases the mother has moved her litter and it’s impossible to locate her or her babies. Then you must step up and become the foster parent until an alternate arrangement can be made. Try to locate a nursing momma that will take in an orphaned baby, or locate a rescue center that has room to take on another mouth to feed.

Our next goal would be to try to spay and neuter the ferals in your neighborhood along with your personal animals. We have so many more options for low-cost spay and neuters than we had even two years ago. Go check them out.

• Tnrtexas.com – this is a program out of Abilene (325) 725-9222.

• Critter Shack in San Angelo (325) 450-7117

• Hands of Mercy Cat Sanctuary in San Angelo (see their Facebook page)

• Humane Society of West Texas (Lubbock and surrounding areas – see their Facebook page)

• Tech Feral Cat Coalition (ttu.campuslabs.com/engage/organization/tech-feral-cat-coalition)

• Pet Vet Relief (petvetrelief.com)

• Fix West Texas (fixwesttexas.com)

Please don’t LITTER, spay and neuter.

Melanie Gambrell is a local pet care specialist and can be reached through email at R4thepets@aol.com.