And the Babies continue to hatch...

Amanda came back Friday June 12th from a Fishing tour to look into the "incubator tank" and to her surprise found 3 Carolina Wren babies peeping back at her! The baby wrens were only about 1 inch long and completely featherless. The nest was brought to the Nature Center by maintenance only a week before and we were not sure if the eggs would hatch! She was SO excited, she couldn't wait to spread the word. After feeding the hungry babies, they finally hushed and waited for "mommy" to leave for more food. A few hours later, Amanda and April were showing a few guests these newest Nature Center family members and a 4th baby bird hatched out of the egg crying for its first meal. The guests were very appreciative to witness this amazing miracle. April took the babies home for the night and I received a message on the 13th from April saying a 5th and last baby wren hatched. We are now proud parents of MANY tiny new babies!

Who wants a Smokey and the Bandit kitty burrito?

On Friday June 12th the Nature Center received two 3 week old kittens from Marche. These are the second batch of kittens we have received so far this summer and expect many more to come. The Nature Center works with local vets on the island to reduce the spread of diseases by neutering/spaying the cats as well as dispersing rabies and distemper shots. By reducing the number of kittens born, we can keep cat sicknesses down to a minimum. Although Smokey and Bandit are absolutly adorable, we would rather stray cats not have kittens at all to insure no diseases are spread. Right now, Smokey and Bandit are learning to be bottle fed and are loving their new playful life. They have just opened their eyes and are starting to explore their amazing new world!

Pixie, I loooove you!

I couldn't resist posting this. Buster is a very loving cat. And Pixie is a very tolerant cat.

Meet the new intern!

This is April, our intern for the summer. She's from Texas A&M, studying recreation, park and tourism sciences. What better intern duty than to clean out the freezer? She was not scared away by the frozen mice used to feed the snakes, which is a good thing. She even humored me by rubbing oil on the sides after it was clean, so it's easier to get the ice out next time (or so I read in an email, so it must be true...) Welcome, April!!

Pixie and Buster update

Pixie and Buster are still at the nature center (see posts from March and December for their stories). Pixie went home with a family member of an AIP employee but she could not keep her. So now she's back, and Buster has let her have the run of the office with him. They are actually buddies, sharing the window and watching the squirrels and birds on the back porch.

Buster still has quite the purr-sonality. He's always doing something to make us laugh. Pixie usually prefers to sit back and watch his antics, she is too sophisticated to participate in such silliness. She loves to get pets when Buster lets her have some of the attention - although usually we have to have one person pet him so the other can get to her. As we are approaching our busy season, we need to find them homes where they will get some attention. We also need to free up room so we can accommodate the animal rescues that come in. If you have room in your home or know someone who does...give us a call! Either cat, or both, would be great additions to the family!