Today we had a neighbour knock on our door to tell us there was an injured bird by the corner of the garage. She had also said there was a black and white cat roaming the front yard. The cat was the suspected culprit, but a hawk was seen in the area yesterday for a few hours.
I had noticed the bird on the front lawn all day yesterday under our oak tree. We have noticed mourning doves sleeping under many of the trees we planted so I thought nothing about this bird. I have even had birds land on the moon roof of my car and watch me while I worked in the garage.
I approached the bird and noticed he was injured, so I put on a glove and put him into a box. My wife contacted Salthaven, as they are wildlife rehabilitators, and we made plans to transport the bird we called “Ella” to medical care.
Upon meeting with Brian Salt of Salthaven, Ella turned out to be a male – ELVIS was the needed name change. The bird injuries were from a hawk – the cat was innocent.
It turned out that ELVIS was in bad shape, he had a few injuries from different dates, maybe dating back a week and gangrene had set in.
ELVIS would be put down humanely – better than what a cat would do.
We made a donation in ELVIS’s honour.
If you are an animal lover, please check out Salthaven - http://www.salthaven.org. They have many tips for what to do if you find orphaned or injured wildlife.
Salthaven Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Centre is an organization dedicated to helping sick, injured, orphaned and otherwise displaced wildlife. Salthaven endeavours to educate people and provide inspiration which will improve the environment that we share with native wildlife. We all depend on the same ecosystem; when we help wildlife, we help ourselves.
Wish List
You can help Salthaven by donating the following items:High Priority Items
postage stamps
Raw whole fish. The eagles prefer salmon or trout.
Examination gloves, size XS to XL
HP printer ink (74 and 75)
Nuts: for over wintered squirrels
Scrub brushes
Kleenex and paper towels
Heavy duty hammer staple gunOther Items
Canadian Tire Money
Autoclave
Dove seed & bird seed
Spray-9 multi-purpose cleaner
Heavy duty plastic or metal shelving
Gas cards
Fluorescent light bulbs
Heavy duty scissors or kitchen shears
Gift cards (Home Depot, Staples, Rona, Canadian Tire)
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