From the Crow’s Nest
Volume 5 – Winter 2013
To Our Readers:
Our annual newsletter is just a small token of
thanks to all of our supporters. We hope
through these pages you will enjoy reliving
our year with us. From all of us at Maynard,
including our feathered friends, Thank-you
and enjoy! Wishing you a happy 2014!
WHO ARE WE?
Maynard Avian Rehabilitation Centre
is a non-profit group that helps several hundred birds
return to the wild each year.
The birds that come to us are sick, starving, orphaned
or injured and in order to survive they require
specialized medical care. We provide this. Our
on-site wildlife custodian, Joanne Siddall is certified
by the International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council
and is licensed by the Ministry of Natural Resources.
The facility itself is inspected and monitored by the
MNR.
**ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING**
May 31st, 2014, 2:30 – 4:30p.m.
Chatham Kent Public Library – 120 Queen St., Chatham ON
We normally have our Annual General Meeting in January or February, but as the weather is often
unpredictable that time of year we feel it would be safer and we might get a better turn out if we
changed our meeting to May instead. If you feel you might need a reminder or would like to receive
our newsletter via email please email us at [email protected].
Please join us at the Chatham Public Library Meeting Room for our Annual General Meeting. There
will be snacks and refreshments, a power-point presentation with Q&A period, followed by a meet and
greet with the people behind ‘Maynard’. Everyone is welcome. Hope to see you there!
WHAT TO DO IF YOU FIND A BIRD IN DISTRESS
If you find an injured / orphaned bird place it in a warm, dark and quiet place such as a cardboard box.
Do not put it in a birdcage. Do not give it food or water. The stress of handling is very traumatic and
often fatal for wild birds, so keep children and pets away. For large birds such as Cormorants, Blue
Herons, Hawks and Owls do not attempt to handle them yourself. Contact your local OSPCA or
Wildlife Rehabilitator if you run into either of these situations.
WISHLIST – 2014
MEMBERSHIPS
Wild Bird Seed
Cracked Corn
Science Diet - Adult Cat (baby birds)
Polysporin / Antibiotic Ointment
Insulin Syringes
Syringes (1ml/cc)
Heating pads (baby birds)
Puppy / Adult pee pads (cage liners)
True Flex Elastic Bandage (at TSC)
To become a member or renew you membership please
send us a short note with your personal information, and
your payment of $20, to the address below. We are
grateful for your support and look forward to keeping
your name on our list as a loyal supporter of our cause.
Thank-you in advance!
Self-adhering flexible bandage (PetSmart)
Canadian Tire Money
Superbucks Coupons
Maynard Avian Rehabilitation Centre
23846 Baldoon Road, RR#7 Chatham, ON,
N7M 5J7
(519) 354-7114
www.maynardrehab.com
This summer a ruby throated hummingbird came into our care. This is a bird we rarely see come into
the clinic and due to their extremely small size they are often difficult to treat. He had hit a window
and was unable to fly. His balance was off and he was found laying flat on his back in really rough
shape. At first I thought he had a broken wing and that was the reason he couldn’t fly or get his
balance, but that was not the case. Not finding any obvious injuries, we just kept on giving him
supportive care hoping for improvement. His food was put in hummingbird feeder and he was able to
drink on his own.
It should be noted, that in the wild, a hummingbird eats small insects as well as drinking from flowers
and available feeders. That said, we either needed to start a large scale fruit fly farm immediately or
find an existing company that made protein enriched hummingbird food. Although fruit flies would
normally work, in this case it was not an option because of the birds inability to fly or gain balance, so
we found a company out of Montreal that makes a food specific to captive hummingbirds.
After about a week he started to look better and was able to move about without falling over. He
continued to improve until one day I took off the lid to the enclosure to check on him and he flew right
out. He flew all around the clinic effortlessly. We knew then that it was time to set him free. The day
of the release he circled around our heads for a bit and then flew off. A happy ending for sure!
Story by Joanne Siddall
Interesting Facts about Ruby Throated Hummingbirds
A ruby throated hummingbird can weigh between 2 - 6 grams. In comparison, a nickel weighs 4.5g.
Despite their small size, hummingbirds are one of the most aggressive bird species and will regularly
attack jays, crows and hawks that infringe on their territory.
The ‘hum’ of a hummingbird is made by the bird’s rapid wing beats, up to 53 beats per second in the
ruby throated variety.
The male ruby-throated hummingbird's throat normally appears black but when the light strikes it at
the right angle, it changes to a brilliant red color. The reason for this is that a hummingbird’s throat
color is not caused by feather pigmentation, but rather by iridescence in the arrangement of the feathers
affected by light and other factors. This is apparent in the pictures of the same bird above.
Ruby-throated hummingbirds winter in Mexico and Central America. To get there from their North
American breeding grounds some birds embark on a marathon, nonstop flight across the Gulf of
Mexico. They may double their weight in preparation for this grueling journey.
(Information from the National Geographic and Smithsonian National Zoological Park web pages)
This situation started out with a phone call about a sick or injured duck. This was not unusual for us,
we get many ducks throughout the year, but what followed was very unusual. I asked the caller if they
were able to transport the duck to us. The caller assured me that he could do that and went on to tell me
that the duck had been found at the Wallaceburg ‘McDonalds’. This didn’t surprise me. I assumed it
had been found in the parking lot until he told me it had been found inside the restaurant. ‘This is
different”, I am thinking. What came next was a shock. The caller had found it inside the men’s
washroom sitting in the toilet!
The duck turned out to be a canvasback that had suffered some unknown mishap. We think he was
probably hit by a car near the restaurant and whoever found him must have thought it would be a good
idea to place him in the toilet at McDonald’s?? It all worked out for the best though and after a few
weeks of treatment and rest the duck was able to be released. I’m pretty sure this ‘McDuck’ will avoid
McDonald’s in the future.
Story by Rick Siddall
Interesting facts about Canvasback ducks
In the air, Canvasbacks are capable of speeds of more than 100 km/hr, and can dive to depths exceeding
9 metres. On land, their movements are clumsy due to their large size, short legs, and webbed feet. They
seldom stray too far from the water’s edge They obtain most of their food by diving, scouring the
muddy marsh or lake bottom for succulent roots and tubers of aquatic plants. They also eat wild celery,
pondweeds, water lilies, sedges, mollusks, small crustaceans, clams, small fish and insects. Sadly,
because they strain seeds with their bills out of bottom mud, they sometimes ingest lead shot by
accident and are affected by lead poisoning which can be fatal.
Male and female canvasbacks form mating pairs before they reach their breeding grounds, but they do
not mate for life. The female leads her mate to a nest site, usually near where she was reared. She lays
7-10 olive-green eggs in a nest of reeds and grass lined with down. The floating nest is constructed
using vegetation and consists of a platform of interwoven plant material often in dense vegetation. Once
mating is over, males desert their mates and gather in large flocks on lakes and larger sloughs to moult,
or shed old feathers. For two weeks, the males are unable to fly to escape predators due to loss of their
flight feathers. Their plumage changes colour to look like that of the females, which is more effective
camouflage, while they wait for new flight feathers to grow in.
(Information obtained from the following webpages: Hinterlands Who’s Who, Ducks Unlimited
Canada, National Geographic, What Bird, and NHPTV - Nature works)
THANKSGIVING GOOSE
One morning a few weeks before Thanksgiving our phone rang with a call from Brampton, Ontario. I
had some difficulty understanding the woman as she was very upset and had a rather heavy accent. As
her story unfolded it turned out she had found an orphaned Canada goose gosling, and being a
compassionate person she took it home and raised it to adulthood.
As with many people new to our province, she was not familiar with the Ontario Fish and Game Act
regarding wildlife. It states that “a person shall not keep live game wildlife or live specially protected
wildlife in captivity except under the authority of a licence and in accordance with the regulations”.
Canadian geese fall under this category. It should be noted that hand raising geese results in an
imprinted goose. That is, one that thinks that it is a human being rather than a wild goose. This makes
it extremely difficult, if not impossible to release them.
Local animal control became involved and told her, in no uncertain terms, that if she did not surrender
her goose to a proper facility they would charge her, confiscate the goose and put it to sleep. The poor
woman was beside herself, grieving over the loss of her goose and fearing being charged with a crime.
I tried to calm her fears as best I could and I started on making arrangements for the goose to go to
Jack Miner Migratory Bird Foundation in Kingsville. The wonderful people that work there were very
helpful and agreed to take the goose. Jack Miner’s has a year round open water pond, provide food
year round, and has lots of other geese (wild and imprinted) around. Jack Miner’s has helped us with
many geese over the years and was the perfect place for this goose.
The lady drove all the way from Brampton to Kingsville the following morning with the goose. I
didn’t really think much more about it until Joanne and I received a call on Thanksgiving day from the
woman saying she wanted to thank us on Thanksgiving day for the help we had offered her. This really
made our holiday special because so often, when we give advice or make referrals to other
organizations, we don’t hear any more about it. It was heart warming to have someone from another
culture express their thanks in such a thoughtful way.
Story by Rick Siddall
BABY PEANUTS
Two baby blue jays, approximately 2 weeks old, were
brought to us as orphans. They were voracious eaters and
required feeding every hour.
Slowly, they started eating on their own and became less
dependant on me as their food source. It was time to put
them out into our large songbird aviary where they would
learn how to fly and forage for food.
Before long, the two jays became adept at flying and
catching bugs and were ready to go. We opened up the
doors and they flew off beautifully into the nearest of trees.
Both of them have stayed in the area and we see them
everyday for their snack of wild bird seed and peanuts (their
favourite treat - which is why nearly all of our blue jays end
up being called ‘Peanut’ while they are here). Come next
spring, we hope they will find mates and return to nest in
our backyard. Now, that would be a success story!
Story by Joanne Siddall