One thing I know:
the only ones among you who will be really happy
are those who will have sought and found
how to serve.
Albert Schweitzer
Category: New Species
Jon was treated to a whirlwind of goodwill at the bustling, dynamic, constantly updating bird rescue at IBRRC. He was put immediately to work under the direction of their head “handyman” who is a retired refinery worker married to one of the regular volunteers. Together they built cages, fences, ramps and perches for some 700 complaining and pecky rescued birds (more were delivered by the Coast Guard).
Both days he was there volunteers filled the place, some drop ins and locals who just wanted to help. Yesterday a maintenance crew from nearby 6-Flags amusement park was “loaned” for the effort, and since they were used to building tanks for dolphins, they were naturals at building tanks for scoters and murres.
Jon came home smiling and exhausted both days, and promptly sent a volunteer alert to his fellow employees at the powerplant, who in turn want to help out anyway that they can. If you’re interested in offering a few hours of help, contact the good folk at IBRRC or just drop in. Monetary Donations are needed also. IBRRC will tell you what they need and show you what to do. Don’t know anything about birds or which end of a hammer to hold? How about laundry? Food service? Clean-up? Think of something you can do, because they most likely need it and will be appreciative. You’ll feel great after and bouyed with a spirit that knows that there are good people doing grand things in the world. I promise. 
IBRRC brought back 100 birds last night, only 3 died in transport. Now they’re down to the grueling (and pecky!) work of washing and hydrating each one. Latest Update Here. Cheryl was there to help and took this picture. And guess who else was there? Penny and John Weigand who did the Comeback Kids book on the Martinez Beavers. They are doing a similar book on IBRRC, and just happened to be visiting that day. What a lucky coincidence for them! And for all those birds who got rescued and will be given free health care.
Speaking of which, have you seen this? It is a remarkable example of the kind of politics I aspire to, charming, courageous, sneaky and impossible to ignore
There’s a massive algae bloom off the Oregon and Washington coast. No one knows why, but it means that the oceans are covered with a thick foam. The foam washes away the protective oils on the water birds, leaving them without the ability to repel water and stay warm. Thousands of birds are washing up on shore, many dead or too weak to survive. The rescue center seen above had stepped boldly up to take care of scoters, grebes, loons, murres, and other shore birds from washington, but now is overwhelmed by its own birds as the effects of the bloom move south. They were overwhelmed and sent some birds north to a sister facility. Now they need help from California.
Enter IBRRC. (International Bird Rescue & Research Center). They are experts at dealing with these kinds of situations, but this is different. It’s like the effect of an oil spill without the oil.. They dispatched a volunteer friday night to go to Oregon and rent a truck that could bring some 200 birds back to their head quarters in suisun in animal carriers. They are starting with the loons which are the most time sensitive. In anticipation of the arrival they put out a massive volunteer call which is how I heard about it. Our own Cheryl Reynolds, will be there monday and probably many days after to help.
A red-throated Loon, covered in foam, lies in the sand near the Klipsan beach approach on the northern end of the Long Beach Peninsula. The bird was still alive when this photo was taken.
If you can help IBRRC or the Wildlife Center in Astoria, please do. The frontline folk have been struggling to keep up and IBRRC has only dealt with this kind of bloom once before. No one knows why it happens. Sometimes its entirely natural, and sometimes its triggered by the actions of man. What would a sea be like with no shore birds? Help if you can.
Wow what a rainy rainy rainy day yesterday was. The dams were relieved of their wood by 10:00 am and by evening downtown Martinez had received 2.88 inches. The paper talked about what a relief it was that this didn’t happen when we were already saturated. They bemoaned traffic, hillsides, and school children but didn’t once stop to mention beavers!
The flow device is still there, although that was some massive water pressure. Honestly all of Martinez will be lost or destroyed one day and that pipe and cage will still be standing. We checked this morning and the structure of the main dam and neighbor dam was still defined, but most of the wood on top had been washed clean. No beavers in sight, but we don’t always see them right away after a storm. They wait a while to make sure its worth fixing.
If it stays dry today you might try popping by tonight. Sometimes the big rains bring out the grown ups, and it would be nice to see mom and dad at work again.
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On a entirely different note, you might check out the website of our new friend “the skunk whisperer” who has been chatting with Cheryl on twitter. Ned Bruha’s “Total Wildlife Control” relies on humane management in Oklahoma and has been doing some amazing work in that part of the woods. His recent rescue of a skunk with his head in a peanut butter jar made lots of local newscasts this week.
I think his pragmatic “hands-on” advocacy is invaluable in our new political climate where caring about the environment has become a code word for “Bolshevik” (See Green is the new Red!) I thought the Humane Society might enjoy connecting with him and broadening their “crazy-librul-bunny-lover image” by adding a voice from this middle america sportsman to the mix. I wrote John Hadidian (the director of urban wildlife for HSUS) and he said they were aware of him and had connected in the past. I realized how little I understood about Oklahoma’s wildlife attitudes when I read about him and saw A) the woman who stood there protecting the trapped skunk and B) the news media who ran the story and C) all the locals who watched this story. Sometimes people surprise you, (and not in a beaver-killing way).
It’s good to know that there are friends of wildlife in Oaklahoma. Worth A Dam will make sure to refer questions his way, and if he wants help hooking up with the top flow-device minds in the country, we’ll be happy to assisst!
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