Guess what I got to do?!

For the first time since I have been volunteering, I got to catch seals for weighing!! And yes, by starting out like this I am hoping to blithely gloss over the fact that I haven't posted for a month. I was out of commission for 2 weeks and didn't volunteer during that time, but that really doesn't excuse the fact that I have been back volunteering for 3 weeks and nary a posting in sight. Sorry about that folks!

Now, catching seals has always looked fun, if not more than a bit difficult, but I finally got the chance a couple of weeks ago! I think our five remaining seals must have felt more than a bit sorry for me, as it wasn't that difficult at all. My main worry was that I would get SO engulfed in trying to net then that I would step off the center platform, but nope, it went very smoothly!

I don't know if it's because they have never seen me on the platform before, but all the seals were VERY interested in me. That's Medusa on the left and Tsunami on the right. And, after they have been through the weighing trauma, well, they realize their turn is over and will even haul their little butts onto the platform with you. This is Tsunami taking a quick breather.

Look how big she is! She was going to be one of two seals we released this past Saturday, but the weather was really bad, so they will be released tomorrow. With only five seals left, the end of "seal season" is in sight.

The otters are still doing great and still eating like there's no tomorrow. Having not fed them in awhile, I forgot the unspoken rule that one should always give them their fish first and THEN go put their dry food in the drawer.

I was so worried they were going to squeeze out of the drawer if I opened it any further, which they have been known to do in the past, that I stopped and went and fed them their much anticipated fish.

They will be leaving us within the month, as the "this is my territory" season should be up by then.

Now, as a side note, although I am sure this comes as no surprise, there are all sorts of cool things floating around the Wolf Hollow property and if it catches my eye, I am taking a picture of it. Well, this past Saturday it was very foggy. In fact, I don't think it's ever been this foggy on a day that I volunteered.

So of course everything had all these dew drops over it, including the spider webs!

Yep, spiders and bats....I love them both!

Remember the two baby grey squirrels we got in? Well they are full grown now and are making themselves right at home in the Mammal Cage. Here is one of the squirrels peeking out of the nest box we have in there.

These squirrels will soon be sent back off island and released, as they are doing just fine.

We got another Red-tailed hawk in. Speaking of Red-tailed hawks, I forgot to mention that we released the one that had gotten run over! WOOHOO! This guy was found on the ground outside of a house. We think it hit a window of the house or it was hit by a car.

He was initially sent to another rehab place where upon examination he kept listing to one side and fell down quite a bit. He was then given steroids for a few days to help alleviate any swelling he might have, as it's obvious from his head being cocked to one side that he has neurological damage. We are keeping our fingers crossed as the tilting has lessened a bit and he has no problems standing now. Also, that being said, his injury, whatever it may be, has not had a negative effect on his appetite!

We also got in a Merlin. When found, his left wing was drooping yet none of the long wing bones were found to be broken. This usually means that either his "shoulder" bone or "collar" bone is probably fractured. This would amount to us breaking our scapula or clavicle.

The smaller hawks tend to get VERY stressed out in situations like this, so instead of wrapping the wing to the body, like we would for other birds, we taped the flight feathers of the drooping wing to his tail feathers. This way it's not as constricting for him.

Look at this Rock Dove. Isn't it cute?

He can stand and grip but his legs can't hold his weight for very long. He is believed to be a late season baby and didn't get the nutrition he needed for healthy bone growth. He has metabolic bone disease, or, in human terms, rickets. To combat this, we give extra vitamins and calcium in his food.

That's it from my end. Tucker the turkey is set to be released, weather permitting, sometime this week. I will be sure to post that update when it happens. Til next time...