New Naturalists' first animal rescue

We have two new naturalists, Kevin and Jacob. On one of their first bike hikes, a snake was in the road and was accidentally hit by a bike. Kevin, who loves reptiles, jumped off his bike and caught the snake, who turned out to be a rough green snake, usually found in trees and not on the ground. Kevin carried the little guy while riding his bike, for the rest of the tour, which was about an hour. We cleaned the snake's wounds, which weren't too bad, and put some antibiotic cream on them. The next day the snake looked good and was ready to be released, so they released him around where they found him.

Here is Jacob holding the snake, which is a big feat because he has a fear of snakes! He thought it'd be good to start small with this little guy and then move up to our resident corn and eastern kingsnake.

Cedar Waxwing rescue

The other day a property owner came by with a bird that she saw hopping around in the road. She was worried that it was a baby and needed food right away. Turns out it was not a baby, but a mature Cedar Waxwing. These are beautiful birds that are usually found in large flocks eating berries off trees. We let him sit in a carrier for awhile, and he got real antsy, hopping around and even flapping his wings a little, so we decided to try and release him.

He hopped around a little, but did not even attempt to fly. So, we took him into BEAKS, a nearby bird rescue. He's been eating well, but still not flying. As soon as they figure out what's wrong, they'll do their best to fix it and get him back to the wild where he belongs.

Bald Eagle Baby

Just up the road from us, a pair of bald eagles have a nest. The other day, one of the babies fell from the nest. It hopped across the busy road, and then climbed up about 15-20 feet into a tree. It was too high up for us to reach with our net, so we enlisted the help of a few firemen, as the station was right across the street. Thier ladders were too heavy, but they did help us try to get him to come down to where we could get him. The eagle had other plans...he jumped down from the tree, almost hit the ground, then swooped back up and flew into another tree, even higher up. So, we had to leave the firemen with a large carrier and the net, to wait for it to come down on it's own where we can reach it. The main concern is the eagle being too young to hunt on its own. So, cross your fingers!! Note that it doesn't have it's white head or tail yet, and won't for another 3-5 years!

Hokey Pokey Pokes Around

On a nice warm day, Hokey Pokey got to go out and enjoy the weather! She did what armadillos do best! Pokey had a blast walking around searching for her favorite treats hidden under the leaves. We are designing a "playpen" at the moment where she can spend hours doing this without mommy's supervision. Come see Hokey Pokey at the Nature Center!