WindStar Wildlife Garden Weekly
Connecting People
To Nature Through
Education June 18, 2007
Official
Publication of WindStar Wildlife
Institute
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What You Catch Can Be Bigger
Problem! ONCE IN A WHILE, we may have problems
with some wildlife--especially when it comes to garden
raiding. The culprits are usually rabbits, groundhogs
and deer, but occasionally a raccoon or bear will drop in for
things like sweet corn and berries. Inexpensive
solutions include using scarecrows, hanging metal cans and
spraying peppery liquids on plants. But they will adjust to
these tactics. Many home gardeners also place fences around
their gardens. But if animals climb over or dig under a
fence, you may have to consider setting a cage trap like a
Havahart to apprehend your raider. These traps are ideal for
residential areas because if you catch the neighbor's pet by
mistake, all you have to do is open the door to release the
dog or cat from the trap. However, anyone who sets one of
these traps must recognize it has the potential to also catch
a
skunk.
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Wildlife
Rehab Center Overwhelmed With
Animals
 By Chris Robinson
FOR THE
FIRST time since opening in 1995, Second Chance
Wildlife Center near Gaithersburg, MD was so
overburdened with animals needing care it was forced to
deny new arrivals late last month. The
respite allowed the center to release about 120 animals
back to the wild and reopen a week later. Second Chance
Executive Director Christine Montuori
(pictured treating baby bird) is
optimistic they won't have to close again this
summer.However, she warns that the
closure reflects a broader dilemma created by increased
development, a particularly active spring and a decline
in wildlife rehabilitators. ''Whenever a rehabilitator
gives it up, the slack has to be taken up some place,"
Montuori said. There are 70 licensed
wildlife rehabilitators in Maryland and Second Chance is
one... More
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A Walk On the Wild
Side
 By Elizabeth Havey
DES MOINES, IA--In 1997, we
moved from Chicago to Des Moines. We were excited about
the deck and our many oak trees. We got into the habit
of opening our windows to the night air and falling
asleep to the sounds of the woods--the chirps of
crickets, the hum of insect mandibles chewing. Ah, the
country, a little bit of heaven. Think
again. One night I was awakened by a piercing screech so
intense I couldn't sleep. I knew it would keep up until
the owl had killed its prey or the neighbor's cat could
free itself from the local fox. Tooth and claw, the
survival of the fittest, was alive and functioning just
beyond my fence. But the point was I had a fence. I had
my territory, and they had theirs, and we could just
keep it that way.Then my neighbors
explained to me that the reason my hosta plants had
morphed into razor-edged sticks was something called
browsing--a word that meant the deer were... More
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Mad Bluebird Garden Flags
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He appears like he is looking directly
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"Bluebird of Happiness" but here he appears ruffled and
disgusted with the onset of colder weather in this
reproduction of the photograph by Michael L. Smith.
These flags are true works of art and will bring the
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Find more nature products in
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Wildlife Photo of the
Week
Sandhill Cranes by
Arthur Morris
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Backyard
Pond Losing
Fish?
Great
Blue Heron hunts for fish in this pond. Photo by Cathy
& Gordon Illg
By Scott
Shalway
IF YOU HAVE a fish pond
in the backyard, sooner or later you will have a
problem. Your fish will disappear and you will be
upset.
The culprits could be Raccoons,
mink or Snapping Turtles, but more likely fish-eating
birds are to blame. Great Blue Herons, Green Herons and
Belted Kingfishers raid even small, hand-dug backyard
water features that are the pride and joy of many
homeowners. Eventually, it becomes clear that a pond
without protection is simply a sushi bar for
birds...
Protecting small ponds from
piscivorous birds is relatively easy. One solution is to
place netting over the pond to physically exclude the
birds. A better and simpler option is to provide
underwater cover for the fish. Add a few eight-inch
concrete blocks or several lengths of six-inch PVC pipe.
When danger threatens, the fish can quickly retreat
inside these structures.
On the other
hand... More
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| Twine Tangles and Hurts
Wildlife |
 Ospreys like this one are especially
vulnerable. Photo by Arthur Morris
By
Whitney Royster
JACKSON,
WY--Baling twine is causing severe
injuries and deaths to some wildlife, and
officials are asking people to make sure twine is
disposed of properly.
Erin
Smith, information and education specialist for
the Lander regional office of the Wyoming Game and
Fish Department, said baling twine has always been
a problem, but this year, people are seeing more
of its ill effects.
"Baling
twine is about as common in Wyoming as cowboy
boots," she said. "It seems like there's more
instances recently and more public outcry. We've
seen an awful lot of it this
spring."
Osprey are particularly
vulnerable to baling twine--usually orange and
used to wrap hay bales. Osprey use baling twine to
build nests.
Andrea Cerovski,
nongame bird biologist with Game and Fish, said
Osprey fly over trees with the twine--still
usually tied together in loops--and those loops
catch on trees and can result in...
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That's it for this
week! 
Be sure and sign up for the American Wildlife Blog for the latest
commentary and please feel free to add comments of your
own. Have An EXCELLENT Day in your WILDLIFE
HABITAT!
Tom Patrick
President
Name this Bird & Win A Prize
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Myersville, MD
21773
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