photo by Ann Westling
Final Songbird Tweets for the 2017 Season
Kathleen Willis, IC Director reports that there were over 260 songbirds treated at the Intake Center this year.
- Finch from Truckee
Carrie Smith found a finch in Truckee needing care. She said she would bring it to the IC but the trip would need to be via motorcycle. Kathleen gave very specific instructions including nestling the bird in a paper bag zipped under her leather jacket. The bird arrived warm, calm, and ready for treatment. It was treated and then released back in Truckee with its fellows.
- Blind Jay at Intake Center
Toward the end of the season, a jay with eye issues was brought in. Dr. Jerry Chan was working at the IC that day and confirmed that it was totally blind. Unfortunately the bird had to be euthanized as it couldn’t survive in the wild. But it died well hydrated with a full tummy of meal worms.
- Janice Barbary, Songbird Rehabber recommends the following book to all bird lovers: The Genius of Birds by Jennifer Ackerman.
This New York Times Bestseller is packed full of interesting and amazing details about how birds think, remember, and interact – a very good book!
- Declining Songbirds – Klamath Bird Observatory Research – 2002-2013
See the following article discussing the population decline of some of our more common songbirds. These include Purple Finches, Yellow-rumped Warblers and Juncos. A 10-year study in The Condor: Ornithological Applications, a scientific journal, includes information from banding stations across northern California and southern Oregon. Songbird article on Yubanet