Sandy Pines Wildlife Centre

July 17:

A call came in from Wolfe Island, where a bird had been found and seemed to need help. It had webbed feet and was four times the size of a seagull. I assumed it was a Black-backed Gull, although the caller indicated it might be an albatross. He was right! It was a Yellow-nosed Albatross with a small body weighing only 1500g, but with a huge wing span and a dangerous looking beak. The bird was weak, anaemic, and very thin - his ideal adult weight should have been 3kg. We began to rehydrate the bird by giving subcutaneous fluids and tubing electrolyte solutions. He offered no resistance, just a quick snap of the bill.

Gradually the albatross has regained some strength, and his weight is now up a few hundred grams. He is being hand-fed whole fish. Our next challenge is to find a suitable location where he can be nursed back to full health. We are hoping to get the albatross to a salt water facility on the East coast, and are working with the Canadian Wildlife Services for permission to transport the bird. Albatrosses originate from the Southern Hemisphere and fly between South America and Africa. This is the first time one has ventured into Ontario; how he arrived here is a mystery. He was seen over the last two weeks flying low over the downtown Kingston area. Speculations are that he was blown north in a storm, or that his navigational system was malfunctioning from unknown causes. Once in Southern Ontario, he began to starve.

July 22:

The albatross has gained weight over the last two days, and is getting a bit feisty and resisting treatment! Watch out for that bill! We are hand feeding him still, with occasional tube feeding to increase his intake. X-rays reveal no lead and no trauma. Our volunteer veterinarian will confirm whether there is any evidence of Aspergilla, a fungal growth caused by stressful situations such as malnutrition. Aspergilla is present in the soil and is not a problem unless a bird is debilitated, and then it becomes an opportunistic disease. We are treating the albatross for this just in case.

July 24:

The albatross's condition has improved. The anaemia is resolving and the bird is gaining weight. His beak is getting a bit stronger, and he is now eating squid (thanks to a donation from Loblaws in Kingston) and fish every four hours.

Our volunteer veterinarian Dr. Deanna Daneshmond was in today and gave the bird a good physical check-up. The lungs were clear and the bird appears to be uninjured.

July 27:

After a brief setback with an injury that affected his foot, the albatross is gaining weight and his haemoglobin has risen to almost normal levels. His waterproofing is not perfect, but we are spraying him with salt water and adding salt to the pool. Our volunteer vet checked him over and he was given a clean bill of health; clear lungs and no injuries. We are giving him medication to prevent Aspergillosis, a fungal lung infection that water birds are prone to get in captivity.

We have talked to scientists, veterinarians and biologists. Most recommend that the albatross be sent back to the Southern hemisphere to rehabilitate. We aren’t sure if this is possible but we are working with Canadian Wildlife Services as permits will be required.

The exciting news that came today is that Shellin Pools of Napanee has donated a saltwater pool with all the trimmings for the albatross. We hope to have it up and running soon. We have also had donations of seafood and donations of cash for those fish. He is eating six fish four times a day.

August 3:

We are very excited by the progress of the new Waterbird Aviary/Semi-Aquatic Mammal Enclosure! The very generous pool donation by Shelin Pools of Napanee has inspired a whole new waterbird aviary. Thanks to Greg Moore (our volunteer cage builder extraordinaire; we have the isolation room to prove it!) who called Paul Gooding (Journeyman Carpenter) of Shasta & Associates Inc. for some friendly advice about building an aviary. Paul agreed to take the project on and enlisted the help of Gord Colbourne, P.Eng (Designs by SunlifeVillage.com) who is currently working on the plans!

Meanwhile, The Pool Doctor of Belleville has offered to put the pool together. So we are one step closer to having Alby in a much better enclosure.

In the meantime Sue is working hard to secure the proper paperwork to send Alby to Dr. Florina Tseng at Tufts U in Massachusetts, USA. Dr. Tseng has worked with albatrosses before and is more than willing to take on the next leg of the journey for Alby. They will also have more clout to get him right back to the mid-Atlantic Ocean!

Last word she had from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services was 30 days for the permit. We are looking into possible flights out of Ottawa directly to Boston. We were hoping to drive him, but there are only certain entry points you can bring a bird through to the US from Canada. So it would be safer and faster to fly him out of Ottawa.

In the meantime he is maintaining a healthy weight and his demeanor is quite spry. He is preening himself and is a lot more vocal than he was during his first two weeks with us. We are hopeful for him, but always keep a guarded prognosis as his is a long, tough battle before he is released back home in the Southern Hemisphere.

He has sure brought lots of attention to SPWC and the amazing work accomplished by a hard working team of incredibly compassionate people. We were on CBC Radio 1 yesterday and today, and they are very keen to keep in touch with this compelling story.

August 11:
It looks like Alby will be taking a trip to the USA. We have a booking courtesy of Air Canada, leaving early Thursday morning. The bird is going to Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, in Grafton Massachusetts, under the care of Dr. Flo. Tseng. We are still holding our breath as we haven’t got the permit to transport yet, but hopefully all will fall into place by Thursday. Alby is doing well gaining weight and enjoying the pool. We hope that the bird will eventually be returned to the Southern Hemisphere.

August 13:

It was a real cliff hange

r as the Canadian Wildlife Service permit only came 12 hours before Alby left here on August 12th, courtesy of Air Canada who were very helpful. He has arrived safely and they are "working him up". Hopefully all the tests will be fine, and once he has regained full waterproofing, Dr Flo. Tseng (his vet at Tufts University) will try again to get the bird to South Africa. They refused to take in the last albatross she had and unfortunately he didn't last in the North Atlantic for more than a month.

Re-nesting an Osprey chick

July 2010

A juvenile osprey was brought to the Sandy Pines Wildlife Centre after a storm blew through a trailer park in the Norwood area. One bird was killed in the incident, probably the mother. The other parent was in the nest and feeding a young one still there. The nest was very high up at the top of a tree, of which the base of the tree was on a slope into a gulley, making the nest unreachable. The chick was brought to the Centre and assessed.

There were no injuries and the bird was in good health. Friends of the Osprey were contacted and plans made to re-nest the osprey chick into a nest where there was only one other chick. One of our volunteer drivers offered to take the bird back to the area it came from to meet up with Friends of the Osprey. The video link above shows you what happened next!

Peregrine Falcon Update

Good news from Downtown Kingston! Another exciting update came the last week of July from Chris Grooms of the Kingston Field Naturalists...

The Peregrine Falcon, rescued by Connie Black from a high-rise in Kingston and released by SPWC this Spring has fledged two young peregrines in downtown Kingston this summer. These birds are still endangered but making a comeback in Southern Ontario.

Caring for injured and orphaned wildlife since 1994 in Napanee, Ontario

Centre Updates