New location
Timing is Everything
I hate getting calls on injured raptors during nesting season. So when we received a call on an injured Great Horned Owl first thing this morning all I could think about was whether it had an active nest. If it was a female with a brood patch (an area on her lower abdomen where she…
Oh, Deer!
It was quite a morning for a Lake Forest homeowner who ended up with a full-sized White-tailed Deer in their house! An adult female White-tailed Deer fell into the window well of a Lake Forest home last week. Thick snow cover was hiding the window well and it gave way as the doe stepped onto…
On a Wire – A Story of Courage
Survival against extreme odds requires incredible courage and so we’ve named the Ring-billed Gull now safely in our care Courageous. Our participation in Courageous’ story only began Thursday morning, but Courageous’ fight for survival began sometime on Wednesday. We don’t know exactly when and we certainly don’t know how Courageous became suspended in mid-air just…
Late Winter Storm Damage
I cannot think of a single sound in the world (minus human or animal pain) that ellicits a more visceral reaction in me than the sound of a chain saw. So when two late winter storms with heavy snow caused a domino effect that started with the mid-trunk snapping of a 75’ oak and ended…
Funniest Bird Releases
In working on content for our new website, we found some release photos and video that I just had to share. No birds were injured in these releases – these are birds that were fully recovered from their injuries and ready for release but simply did unexpected things during their releases. I can only say…
Justice
Great Horned Owl
Justice, a male Great Horned Owl, was born at the Kane County Courthouse in 2007. On his maiden flight from the nest, he crashed into the window well at the courthouse and broke his wing. He was brought to Flint Creek Wildlife by Kane County Animal Control. Although repaired surgically, the wing break was severe and he lost some length and extension in the wing. He is non-flighted and, therefore, is non-releasable.
Junior
Great Horned Owl
Junior, a male Great Horned Owl, was brought to a wildlife rehabilitation center in Cincinnati in 2005. The staff of the rehabilitation center suspected that the person that brought the bird to the center had raised it illegally from a chick. They attempted to release the bird but it repeatedly returned – once injured and once emaciated. The rehabilitation center determined that the bird was habituated on humans and he is non-releasable.
Junior is fully-flighted and is used in educational flight programs.
Journey
Ferruginous Hawk
Journey, a male Ferruginous Hawk, was hit by a train in western Canada and was stuck in the train’s plow for an estimated 1,500+ miles before he was found in a Franklin Park, IL rail yard. His suffered from head trauma and a severely dislocated right elbow. His right wing is permanently injured due to the elbow dislocation and, as a result, he is non-flighted and non-releasable.
Fluff
American Kestrel
Fluff, a female American Kestrel, arrived at Flint Creek Wildlife as a nestling. (She was named Fluff by the lady that found her because she was just a little fluffball.) She suffered from West Nile Virus (WNV) and aspergillosis (a fungal infection that invades lungs and air sacs) plus she had a bacterial infection in her lungs. For months, Fluff’s neurological symptoms from West Nile Virus were so severe that she couldn’t stand or hold her head steady enough to take food from a pair of tweezers.
Fluff required intensive care for many months and, after being poked and prodded multiple times a day, she recovered from WNV. Due to the aspergillosis and bacterial infection, however, Fluff still suffers from diminished lung capacity that impacts her endurance during flight and causes breathing problems in cold weather. She could never suvive in the wild and, therefore, is non-releasable.
Darwin
American Kestrel
Darwin, a male American Kestrel, was found when he was about one week old and was raised illegally for about 4 weeks before being taken to the Minnesota Raptor Center in 1999. Because he was raised incorrectly, Darwin is imprinted on humans and is non-releasable.
Darwin is fully-flighted and flies in educational programs.
Chunky Monkey
Monk Parakeet
Chunky Monkey is a Monk Parakeet that arrived at Flint Creek Wildlife with an open fracture to the right wing. She was a wild Monk Parakeet from the large feral colonies that established in the Chicago area after they were originally introduced during the World’s Fair. Chunky’s fracture was an extremely bad fracture and we were unable to repair it well enough for her to be flight capable.
05-11
Red-tailed Hawk
05-11, a female Red-tailed Hawk, arrived into rehabilitation in 2005 after being found perched on a car parked at a forest preserve. She was emaciated and suffered from anemia, internal and external parasites. It appeared that she had been raised illegally and improperly and then released to fend for herself.
05-11 was deemed to be imprinted on humans and, therefore, is non-releasable. She has no physical injuries, is fully-flighted and flies in educational programs.
- « Previous
- 1
- 2