A small cadre of PWC staff and volunteers gained a new level of appreciation for bats this summer, when they were enlisted to care for a group of Mexican free-tailed bat pups brought to the clinic after falling to the ground from their overpass roost in the scorching Bakersfield heat wave. The pups had fallen […]
The multi-episode saga of RTHA 24-1516 had all the dangers and plot twists of a summer blockbuster. The nestling hawk gained avian celebrity status in SLO County when he was taken to a bald eagle nest by one of the adults, presumably as food for their two eaglets. Against all odds, the hawk survived. In […]
The story of Golden Eagle 24-1834 was a medical mystery full of clues, detective work, challenges, and one red herring. When Rescue/Transport volunteer Piper Barnard got the call about a golden eagle on the ground, she and a friend staying with her rushed to Santa Margarita. They found the eagle in a “kind of populated […]
“Charming” is not a word used in wildlife rehabilitation, but everyone was secretly charmed by American Badger 24-936. More precisely, everyone was charmed by just the idea of this badger, since few folks at the clinic except for staff ever caught a glimpse of him.
In the sweltering July heat, baby Mexican Free-tailed Bats dropped to the ground like unripe fruit. These tiny mammals need warmth but not temperatures well over 105 degrees. For days in Bakersfield, it reached 120. As the temperatures soared, biologist Brooke Stutz and bat biologist Erika Noel knew to search the ground under the bats’ […]
On Friday, July 26th a California Department of Fish and Wildlife Services biologist brought an endangered California Condor into PWC’s clinic. This was the first time an endangered Condor had come to us for treatment. The bird who arrived was a 3-year-old juvenile with an orange wing tag, number 87 (The actual number is #1087). […]
Such an innocuous thing – a piece of string, likely from a kite. Innocuous, maybe, to the human eye, but one that could have – probably would have – led to death for American Kestrel 24-1169 if it weren’t for a circuitous, obstacle-strewn relay of concerned folks – more evidence that it really does “take […]
The surge of baby birds at PWC every spring and summer – beginning with raptors, followed soon by songbirds – inspires renewed appreciation for the work of avian parents. A case in point: two clutches of baby owls brought into the clinic in late March and early April.
Spring is turning to summer, and the demands of the Baby Bird Program (BBP) are intensifying. At the hub of the activity is the Baby Bird Room (BBR), a “nursery” or “orphanage” for altricial birds, who grow quickly but hatch unfeathered, with closed eyes, and unable to self-feed. (Precocial birds, such as ducks and shorebirds, […]
In May 2023, rehabilitated Brown Pelican 23-757 became the first ever pelican to be fitted with a promising new tracking device, just before release back to the wild — and in doing so made quiet history.
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Our mission is to support San Luis Obispo County wildlife through rehabilitation and educational outreach.