Late Spring at Greenwood

On my last visit to Greenwood I got to meet more squirrels, song birds, geese and racoons!  As of early May, Greenwood had about 30 squirrels. While some were still being hand fed, many were beginning to eat leaves and sticks.  I never realized that in addition to all the birdseed that squirrels eat from our feeders, squirrels eat leaves!   They seemed to love the tender shoots from an elm tree and now I know why they love our front yard. A few of the squirrels had transitioned to the outdoor enclosures, but I visited on a cool day so they were hiding in their nests.  Below is a picture one of the indoor enclosures for the squirrels -- it isn't only human teenagers that make a mess of their rooms! (Click on pictures to enlarge).

Next I got to visit the song birds.  On this day Greenwood was caring for at least 25 birds -- most of them babies.  Caring for young birds is intense since they require feeding every 40 minutes!  Luckily they don't eat during the night, but during the day they give new meaning to the phrase "eat like a bird".  Young birds make sure that they are both seen and heard and that their pleas for food are clear. These pictures show 4 baby finches and 2 baby starlings letting their wishes be known.

Next up were the ducklings.  Ducks (and geese) are tricky to rehabilitate since the young can imprint on anyone or anything.  For this reason, ducklings are kept fairly isolated and feed themselves. Can you see the specks of food all over them?  Caretakers keep very quiet in the nursery and blankets cover their "nests".  I just took a quick peak for a photo and hoped that they would not follow a photographer around when they get older!

Mallard Ducklings

Then the racoons.  I kept my distance since I am not pre-vaccinated for rabies. On this day Greenwood was caring for about 15 baby racoons and I learned that they make irresistible cooing/purring sounds when they are hungry and are eating.  Next time I hope to watch a feeding session.

I hope you enjoyed my latest blog and thank you for all of your support to Greenwood Wildlife Rehabilitation Center.  Just before my visit, Greenwood had received bunnies, raccoons and more squirrels so the spring season is in full swing.  Volunteers were also working tirelessly to arrange transport for songbird who had recently spent some time in a cat's mouth. Just another example of how the volunteers at Greenwood go to great lengths to make sure that every animal gets a another chance.  'Til next time!