Wild Care 's August E-News is here

AUGUST 2024

The Helping Hands That Make

Wild Care's Lifesaving Work Possible

Wild Care Friends:

The vibrant sound of an baby American Goldfinch fills our Clinic and Nursery. Our latest nesting birds of the season. Their sound is bittersweet. It signifies that summer is coming to an end. With the end of the season, some of our very own snowbirds head south - our volunteers! Our interns are also making their way back to their graduate school programs.

HELPING HANDS:

Wild Care receives over 1,700 animals per year. Last year, our volunteers contributed 5,294 hours of their time. This time is spent doing a myriad of necessities; cleaning dishes and crates, laundry, nursing baby squirrels, feeding baby birds, managing our website, tending to our wildlife garden, sending donor acknowledgements, tabling events, conducting Board Service... and so much more. We simply could not do our life saving work without all these helping hands.

INTERNS MAKE AN IMPACT

Additionally, Wild Care recruited six phenomenal Interns this season contributing over 2,000 hours of their time to animal care and husbandry, outreach and education. The critical hands-on skills they learned at Wild Care will help facilitate their education and career goals, and no doubt leave a long-lasting impression. They have certainly made an impression on us. These 6 women helped us to save countless lives. We are sad to see them go, but know they have incredible aspirations. They have made an impact at Wild Care.

Stephanie Ellis,

Executive Director

Photo includes staff, interns and volunteers at Wild Care's Volunteer Appreciation Night

Simone Marshal-Chafee

Sofia Cederholm

Robin Warner

Shining a Spotlight on our EXTRAORDINARY

SUMMER INTERNS

Summer is no vacation in the Wild Care clinic and nursery. It's our busist time of year with the large amount of animal patients coming through our doors. Thankfully we’ve had some incredible interns join our animal care team this summer!

Thank you to our AMAZING INTERNS: Ibeth Alvarracin, Emma Carlson, Sofia Cederholm, Bel Crosby, Simone Marshal-Chafee, and Robin Warner!!!

Wild Care’s 2024 Internship Program has been

generously funded by

The Cape Cod 5 Foundation,

and The Ballard Foundation.

Emma Carlson, top photo.

Ibeth Alvarracin, below

(Bel Crosby - Camera Shy)

Wild Care Volunteers Celebrated at Volunteer Appreciation Night Party

Wild Care volunteers are the best around, and to show our gratitude and celebrate their hard work and dedication we hosted a Volunteer Appreciation Night at the Elks Lodge in Eastham. In 2023 our volunteers put in an astounding 5,294 hours! We could absolutely not do what we do without them! Volunteer Coordinator Amy Sanders recognized the three volunteers who contributed the most hours in 2023 - Richard Collins (324 hours), Kristine Bebe (306 hours), and Lynda Morini (245 hours). Animal Care Coordinator Jennifer Taylor and Marketing Director Eva Carbonaro challenged volunteers to a game of “What’s That Wild Care Sound”, and volunteer Lynn Adams was the lucky winner of a bag full of goodies donated by the Bird Watcher's General Store. Guests enjoyed live music by The Cape Cod Ukulele Club.

Wild Care Animal Care Coordinator

Jennifer Taylor

Wild Care Executive Director Stephanie Ellis

Wild Care Volunteer Coordinator Amy Sanders

Donation Box Donations Really Add Up!

Thank you to Michael Brown, Andi Niewenhous and brothers Joel and Bob Bullard for all your help collecting donations from our Wild Care donation boxes located all around Cape Cod. These donations really add up, and brought in $8,848.00 in 2023!

If you have a business on Cape Cod and would like to help wildlife by hosting a donation box by your register please email Judy for more information.

BABIES! BABIES! BABIES!

Here are a few of the recent babies in our nursery...

Blue Jay

Virginia Opossum

(Young adult)

Fledgling Barn Swallows

Boston Globe article features an Interview

with Director Stephanie Ellis on Wild Care’s Work

With Osprey

The Boston Globe interviewed Director Stephanie Ellis about Wild Care’s work with Osprey on Cape Cod. Wild Care's dedicated team of animal rehabilitators are proud to work together with Eversource MA, and incredible community groups like The Osprey Project in Falmouth to keep these beautiful birds of summer thriving here on Cape Cod.

READ the Boston Globe article here

Juvenile Great Horned Owl

Wildlife Rehabilitator. Gionet Hasson

Photo Karen Eldridge

WATCH the release of this beautiful owl.

Juvenile Great Horned Owl

Trapped in Orleans Fireplace Treated and Released

Wild Care received a call about a Great Horned Owl trapped in a fireplace in Orleans. This was one lucky owl! Bill the Property Manager had been planning to take the day off, but had a feeling he should check on the property. When he entered, debris on the floor near the fireplace made him look up into the flue. When he opened it, the owl dropped down!

Wild Care Director Stephanie Ellis arrived to retrieve the young owl from the fireplace. It clearly had been in the chimney for a couple of days. It was active, but dehydrated, thin, and had abraded eyelids. This owl was also treated for possible rodenticide exposure. The bird responded well to treatment and was released in the location where its family and sibling was last heard.

The care and release of this stunning owl is in loving memory of Rich Cameron.

READ about Great Horned Owls

LEARN more about bird molting

Bald is Beautiful for

Molting Birds

Are you seeing bald Blue Jays and Northern Cardinals in your backyard? No need to fret. These birds might look unsightly, but they are just going through their end-of-summer molt. They lose many feathers at once on their head. By the end of summer, their feathers will look shiny and new.

Northern Cardinal Photo: @Joe Rossetti

Barnstable Osprey Release Sponsored

by Adobe

This stunning Osprey was hit by a car in Barnstable and suffered head trauma. After being cared for at Wild Care for more than a month we are happy to say that it has been successfully released! We couldn’t be happier, and love nothing more than watching it fly free again!

This Osprey’s care and release has been sponsored by Adobe. This generous gift helped this beautiful

bird to fly free again.

Hummingbird's Care and Release Sponsored in Loving Memory of John Balfe

This beautiful orphaned Ruby-throated Hummingbird was found on a deck, cold and dehydrated, and was brought to Wild Care. After several weeks of thoughtful care by our animal care staff, the bird spent a few days happily sipping nectar in our hummingbird aviary before it was released.

The release of this sweet

little bird was sponsored

by Sandra Balfe, in loving memory of her husband

John Balfe. Sandra rescued the hummingbird. This donation continued the circle of life for an animal in need.

Eversource MA Volunteers Make Squirrel and Owl

Boxes at Wild Care

As part of an Employee Volunteer Day Eversource MA employees volunteered at Wild Care working together to build squirrel, and owl boxes to be used as safe homes for the animals we release. The houses were designed to be predator proof by Animal Care Coordinator Jennifer Taylor who spent time giving building directions to the volunteers. We are so grateful for all of their efforts and hard work.

Photos - Eversource MA

Eastham Patrol Pals Meet Garv and Make Animal Rescue Boxes

Wild Care recently spent some time with the Eastham Police Department and Eastham Recreation and Beach Department Patrol Pals. Animal Ambassador turtle Garv joined Wild Care intern Ibeth Alvarracin as she talked about turtles, and what to do and what not to do if you find turtles or other wildlife that may need help. The Pals did an amazing job making Animal Rescue Boxes.

Thank you Eastham Police Department, Eastham Recreation & Beach Department, and Eastham Animal Control Officer Stephanie Sykes for inviting us!

Photo bottom - Eastham PD