Ken White, Board President, California Wildlife Center

We are nearing the first day of Spring when, to mangle Tennyson’s lovely words, a young humaniac’s fancy turns lightly to thoughts of rescuing baby birds. Say what..?

Spring, the season of rebirth, and we’re already receiving calls from kind-intentioned people who’ve found baby birds, and baby squirrels, out of the nest but apparently unable to care for themselves. Yes, it makes sense to worry but, no, scooping babies up and rushing to our wildlife rehab center is not necessarily the best thing. In fact, potentially it’s “over rescuing.”

Hard as it is, sometimes (even often) the best thing for these babies is to be left alone.

Babies which are almost ready to fly (or squirrels to scurry) often flap and fall. That may place them at risk, but it is not necessarily The End. Often mothers will continue to protect and feed babies on the ground below nests, warding off potential predators (assuming they’re a type mom can handle) and encourage them to take those first flaps (or, for squirrels, first hops).

The cliché that mom will reject babies handled by smelly humans is untrue. If the nest is located where it’s safe to return the babies, do so. Mom will not object.

Common sense has to prevail, requiring your eyes and brain for each specific situation. If the area is heavily trafficked by noisy children, dogs or free roaming cats, then the odds shift radically. But if this is a quiet corner of the yard, and your cats are indoor-only animals (as they should be, please!), then hands-off is probably the best option. Uncertain? You can always call us (310-458-9453, select option 2) to help you make that assessment.

We are here to help. Injured and orphaned native wild animals can be brought to California Wildlife Center. Last year we helped 4,072 native wildlife. But we’re here to help mom, not replace her.

By Hospital Manager Denys Hemen

It was another great year inside of our baby bird nursery at California Wildlife Center.  We are the only wildlife rehabilitation center in Los Angeles County that takes in baby songbirds, baby crows, and baby ravens. Due to this fact, we have to dedicate lots of space to their care.  We added 128 square feet of indoor space to our existing 14 enclosures that are dedicated to baby songbirds, crows, and ravens.  It took our team a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to accomplish but it was well worth it.

We were able to release hundreds of birds back to the wild. There was a wide array of birds that traveled through our doors this summer. There are the most common species we care for and raised: northern mockingbirds, black phoebes, house wrens, western scrub jays, western kingbirds, cliff swallows, mourning doves, dark-eyed juncos, American robins, house finches, bushtits, acorn woodpeckers, California towhees, American crows, lesser goldfinches, and common ravens.

At the height of the season, we were ordering 60,000 mealworms, 1000 waxworms, and 2000 crickets per week to feed the songbirds and 50 pounds of dog food, protein, eggs, and produce per week for the crows and ravens!  Our dedicated team of staff, interns, and volunteers worked 13-hour days to feed all of the open and hungry mouths.

Baby bird season has just ended at CWC.  We put our last group of northern mockingbird babies out in the aviaries last week.  It was a tough summer! But before we even take a breath, 48 baby squirrels moved into the nursery!

By Development Coordinator, Heather Patrice Brown

“Squawk!” “Caw-caw!” The new exterior aviary, sponsored by the Wendy McCaw Foundation, is anything but a quiet, peaceful place.  This 8’ x 16’ enclosure currently houses both a murder of American crows and an unkindness of common ravens that arrived as orphaned babies.  The aviary provides multiple perches in both sun and shade. This aviary provides a little room for the rowdy birds to stretch their wings and perch in the sun or the shade while being hand fed. Once they eat on their own, they graduate to the large 25′ x 25′ x 12′ aviary!

Ravens and crows belong to a family of birds called Corvidae.  Members of the family, which also include jays and magpies, are referred to as a group as Corvids, and are often considered some of the smartest birds in the world.  California Wildlife Center staff and volunteers often give the ravens and crows toys or hide their food in puzzles as enrichment and to teach them valuable skills they will need in the wild.