RAPTOR RESCUES
Owl near Hopland, Osprey near Fort Bragg
Two raptors that had been struck by vehicles on Mendocino County roadways this week were rescued by concerned citizens who delivered the birds to a small group of volunteers dedicated to the care of local wildlife
The first bird of prey was a Great Horned Owl that a local woman saw get hit by a vehicle on Highway 101 just north of Hopland Tuesday night.
“She was very kind, and stopped to help the bird out of the road and managed to get it into her car,” said Erin Holzhauer, one of the volunteers with Mendocino Wildlife Association, which operates a hotline that people can call when they find wildlife in need of assistance.
However, given that the owl rescuer did not have gloves or other equipment to protect herself, Holzhauer said the birds talons “pierced one of her hands, so I actually met her that night at the Emergency Room at Adventist Health Ukiah Valley.”
After seeing the owl get hit, the woman (who asked to be identified only as a Ukiah resident), said she “rushed to check on the bird,” knowing to be careful of its beak and talons, but “the bird was looking unconscious when I approached it. I didn't have a towel or throw to cover it before picking it up, (and) it gripped my right hand with its talons. With my other hand I managed to get a good grip on its wings and put it back on the ground to see if it would release my hand from the grip of its talons, and within 30 seconds it managed to release my hand.”
At this point, the woman whose vehicle hit the bird came back “to check on us and see what hit her car. She luckily had a spare cardigan and she very sweetly decided to give it to us when I told her that we needed to take the bird to a rescue center and didn't have anything to cover it with.”
While she got the owl into her car and headed to the ER, she said her husband was reaching out to birders on Facebook to try and find somewhere to take the bird, which is how they got in touch with Erin, whom she said “got to us in 20 minutes and took the owl from us with much care and love. I knew the owl would be in good hands.”
“The owl is doing great,” continued Holzhauer, who used gloves and a blanket to pick up the bird, which she said is best
done “from behind and above,” while covering the bird's head.
Since most wild animals can injure humans who try to help them, Holzhauer urges people who find wildlife they are concerned about to call volunteers like her (hotline 707-984-6363), but if the animal really needs to be moved, she advised using gloves or as much protective clothing/blankets as you can.
After securing the bird in a carrier, Holzhauer took the owl to her home in Redwood Valley, where she has much equipment for taking care of animals. However, neither she nor any of the other members of Mendocino Wildlife, which includes Cathy Ortiz and Olivia Grupp, are licensed to operate a facility that can rehabilitate wildlife, so they take birds that need further care before being released to Santa Rosa Bird Rescue.
“And sometimes we have to put a call out on Facebook for people who can transport them, but Matt, Erin's husband, was able to drive the owl down to Santa Rosa the next morning,” said Ortiz, explaining that just before the owl taxi was heading south, she got a call about an osprey that had been hit by a truck near Fort Bragg.
“So I told him, hang on, we've got another one!” said Ortiz, noting that she gets calls “from all points in the country, at all hours, about all kinds of wildlife,” even elks.
And while she used to be licensed as a rehabilitation center, Ortiz said the role of Mendocino Wildlife “is now really education,” she said, explaining that for many of the calls, human intervention is not needed, and will actually do more harm than good, such as when a fawn or a fledgling bird just need to be left where their mother can find them again.
But Ortiz said volunteers will intervene, however, if “it is certain that the mother is dead, for instance.”
Other than rescues, Ortiz said the most common calls she gets are for either skunks under the house, or raccoons in the attic. When asked some strategies for preventing that, Ortiz noted that one of the best ways is to make sure you are not feeding animals, including pets, outside your home.
“And if you do feed them outside, pick up the food as soon as possible,” she said.
For more information on the group and how to help their efforts, visit their Facebook page ( https://www.facebook.com/MendoWildlife) or their website (https://www.mendowildlife.com).
Holzhauer said the group had a board meeting scheduled for Saturday, April 13, during which the group expected to schedule a volunteer training day, so she advised people who want to help to check their Facebook page for updates on volunteering opportunities.