October 9, 2020
Glass Fire Update

Thanks to the combined efforts of staff and volunteers, our birds - both patients and residents alike - are safe and sound back home!

With the significant progress being made in containing the Glass Fire and the red flag warnings behind us, it was time to bring our birds back to Chanate. There was an enormous amount of cleaning, reorganizing and prep work to be done, but as of Tuesday, I am happy to report we are back to 'normal'.
It's good to be back!
Despite her stern look, resident Great-horned Owl Vihar is delighted to be back home!
We are so grateful to our sister organizations for immediately offering their support. Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue, Native Songbird Care and Conservation, and WildCare of Marin provided wonderful 'staycations' for our birds!

We are fortunate to be part of such a supportive and interconnected network that benefits the wild animals of our community.

Meet Marsh

One Ambassador returning home is our newest - Marsh, the Barred Owl.

BRC has officially welcomed a new raptor to our education program – a beautiful, first-year Barred Owl. Marsh was a transfer to our Ambassador Program from our Rehab Hospital, and we are delighted with this newest addition to the family!
A Bit of History:
The owlet was found on the ground in Gualala as an orphaned nestling and brought to BRC for care during our first week of Baby Bird Season. Upon admittance, it was a little dehydrated and underweight, but otherwise seemed healthy. Under new Federal Fish & Wildlife laws, Barred Owls can no longer be released within the state of California because they are invading the habitats of Spotted Owls, so we kept this little owl in hopes of placing it into an education program.

Once the bird was of age, we transitioned the youngster to our resident program for training and socialization. It quickly became apparent that he/she had captured the hearts of BRC staff and volunteers alike, so the decision was made to apply for the proper approvals needed to keep the bird for our very own Ambassador Program.

We took various measurements of beak, wings, legs and feet to see if we could determine sex, but as it is still growing and in transition from juvenile to adult, a determination of gender could not be reached.

Our education team is diligently working on training so Marsh will be ready for an official debut when we are once again able to have visitors.
An internal vote decided the name for this newest Ambassador: Marsh. It honors the memory of our former Raptor Release Coordinator, Brad Marsh, who recently passed away. In addition to being an integral and well-loved BRC volunteer, Brad also led the investigation into training techniques for this particular bird.
The name seems especially fitting because Barred Owls prefer forested habitats that are near water, like swamps and, yes, marshes.
Weathering Request
Our beloved raptor residents require care, attention and continuous handling to maintain their health and well-being.

Critically important is spending time outside in protected weathering areas to break up the monotony of time spent alone in their own aviaries.

Today, we are in need of one additional 10'×10'×6'h weathering cage in order to increase our volunteers' handling efficiency in rotating weathering time for our resident birds.
Through creativity and our skilled volunteers, we can keep the cost of this new weathering station to just $1000 by purchasing a basic poultry pen, then altering it with avian netting and sunshade material for a roof.

A new weathering station, similar to the one at BRC pictured above, will assure more outside time for our birds, enhancing their mental health and overall well-being.
If you are able, please help us create this new weathering station for our resident birds - it's truly important to their well-being.
The Bird Rescue Center | 707/ 523-2473 | Email