Rehabilitation efforts take flight at center
This is also a very good news that I found from the net.
(I got it from: http://www.pentictonwesternnews.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=102&cat=23&id=745421&more=)
Oct 08 2006
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Twittering and chirping quietly, Houdini does something rare for Great Horned owls.
At the age of seven, he does the owl’s equivalent of a cat’s purring – something reserved for mother figures.
His “mom” is Sherri Klein, who holds him tethered to her hand while he leans in close to her.
Houdini has been with Klein at the South Okanagan Rehabilitation Centre for Owls for nearly eight years, when he was handed over after sustaining a broken hip, eye damage and slight brain damage after a fall from a tree.
Houdini had been kept for a time by the person that found him – this caused him to be imprinted, a term meaning the owl is accustomed to humans.
When a wild animal is imprinted it’s hard to release them into the wild due to their exposure to human ways. Because of this, and due to his injuries, Houdini has spent his life at SORCO as an educational tool and resident owl.
He was named for Harry Houdini, the escape artist, as he managed to break free from all the bandages SORCO volunteers wrapped him in to help set his broken bones.
Klein, who has spent a majority of her lifetime in the South Okanagan, started the rehabilitation centre after recognizing a need in the province.
“(The Ministry of Environment) very clearly explained that they didn’t have the housing, the food, the cages, the manpower, nor the funding to rehabilitate wildlife,” Klein said.
“So they managed it, and that usually meant putting it down.”
At the time, Klein was reading A Dowry of Owls, a book about Katherine McKeever’s work rehabilitating owls in Ontario.
“I went back to this book and thought if Katherine can do this, why can’t I do this?” said Klein.
“How long do we have to wait and have every single bird in the country disappear before someone says ‘why didn’t someone take care of these?’”
She decided she would be the one to take care of the owls and used McKeever’s story to help her create SORCO.
“To me it was a guide how to do things right,” said Klein. “It’s like a bible.”
After creating a society to run SORCO, Klein went on a mission to get help from the community.
In her hatchback car, she visited area hardware stores to tell them what she was doing and hoped they would be interested in helping her out in the future.
“Every business I went to gave me stuff on the spot. I came home loaded down with lumber, wire and nails – the car was just about scraping bottom.”
She and her husband built a temporary clinic and cages on their property located near Vaseux Lake for any birds that may come their way – it’s still in use today, 19 years later.
SORCO’s has dealt with more than 800 birds of prey.
“The number might appear small,” she said.
“But we take in only birds of prey.”
Also, their success rate is about 50 per cent, which is high for any rehabilitation program.
The average release rate, she said, is between 20 and 30 per cent because of birds’ fine bones and reaction to stress.
Owls, hawks, eagles, vultures, falcons and osprey are all types of birds SORCO focuses on rehabilitating but they’ve dealt with others.
One case that stands out in Klein’s mind was that of a burrowing owl found in the Cherry Lane parking lot.
It happened about 15 years ago when there were extensive studies of the owl, named for its nesting underground.
“Any bird in any program or dealt with is banded by the Ministry of Environment or the Canadian Wildlife Society – this bird had no bands.”
That meant this was a truly wild burrowing owl that had evaded known nesting sites and was not captive bred.
It was good to know the type of bird was still doing well in the wild without the assistance of man, she said.
After they are captured, injured birds spend time in the cage facility at SORCO where they are fed and slowly rehabilitated through walks with handlers.
“When birds come into our facility this is the ultimate bed and breakfast for them. They just have to sit there and food arrives. It’s like they’re a baby again – that’s why they do so well.”
Young birds learn how to respond to movement when they reach the age when they prefer to hunt food over having it served to them.
At this stage in the bird’s life, SORCO volunteers lay grain on the bottom of the cages. During the night mice will enter the cage to eat the grain and the birds have a chance to test their budding instincts.
Some may think birds of prey will only eat something they’ve killed themselves – a misconception, said Klein.
“Live food is never brought to the nest. If it’s alive and that little fluffy chick is there and defenceless, it can kill the chick or run away.”
Instead, the parents will puncture vital organs and snip the spinal column with their beaks.
This way the prey is rendered paralyzed and the chicks can be left alone with the food without worry.
Despite the high success rate of SORCO’s guest birds, volunteers are needed to keep the organization going.
“We’re always looking for dedicated volunteers who are willing to commit themselves long-term.”
Whether it’s bird handling or building, Klein said the more hands the better.
In addition to volunteer work, financial donations are also what keep SORCO afloat.
Three years ago Klein’s husband succumbed to cancer after a five-year battle. Before his death the two discussed where Klein would go because of their debt – the reality of closing the facility was there as she had to consider moving.
“I knew The Land Conservancy was buying up land and looking for good land.”
She brought forward an offer to TLC’s board and they were very interested in keeping the rehab facility open. They purchased the land and gave SORCO a 99-year lease on it. Klein lives rent-free on the property and has an income as land manager for TLC.
Looking back, Klein recognizes she started with nothing and just grew from there and couldn’t have done it without help from the community.
“I established this, it’s been my dream and I’ve been very fortuante to have great volunteers to work with me. Wonderful people come my way to help support the society.”