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Tips to Protect Local Biodiversity on World Habitat Day

Today is World Habitat Day, started by the United Nations in 1985 to reflect on the state of our towns and cities, and on the basic right of all to adequate shelter.

Balancing wildlife’s needs for habitat and human’s right to adequate shelter can be a delicate one. This year’s theme, Housing For All: A Better Urban Future, reflects this balance, as we must consider environmental factors while creating housing for all.

Preparing Your Yard for Fall Friends

Your yard provides a rich resource of food and shelter to wildlife all year round. In the fall it can be more so as food and a safe place to live become harder to find. While you might want to tidy up your yard before the winter months, here are a few reasons why it is good to hold off.

If you leave your plants to go to seed, you will be providing a food source for wintering birds. If you leave the plants after they go to seed, the old plant stems can provide shelter to a variety of wintering insects including bees. The dead stalks can be used as building materials for birds building their nests in the spring.
If you leave your lawn long, you provide shelter for wintering insects which in turn will feed newly hatched birds in the spring.
If you leave a few little leaf piles, these can provide a safe place for animals like frogs to hibernate. Rock piles can provide this as well, especially near water.
If you have brush piles, they can provide protection for small mammals such as marmots, chipmunks and hares.
If you have a pond that ices over in the winter, keep a hole in the ice so animals are able to access the water. You can make a hole in the ice without cracking it by placing a container of hot water on the ice to melt it. This method ensures that the animals can access the water without the danger of them falling through the ice.

Your yard is a precious resource for so many species of wildlife, thank you for taking care of it.

If you see a bird that has exposed bone or blood, bugs or insects covering it, no feathers, or a bird that is sleeping, human intervention is required. Please contact our Support Centre for assistance.

If you would like to help with the many efforts of the Wildlife Rescue Association, please click here to learn more.

Wildlife and Wildfires

The wildfires, north and south of Vancouver have, at times, made it hard to breathe and have given us a sense of “unease”. Even though we live in urban settings and the wildfires are hundreds of kilometers away, we still feel the impact of the fires. Wildlfe Rescue provides care to hundreds of birds at this time of year, some displaced by wildfires and many, many injured in window and car impacts.

Protecting Your Local Wildlife

Every year, approximately five billion pounds of pesticides are used to control pest populations – harming local wildlife on the ground, sea, and sky. Chemical pest control solutions are a common part of our lives – whether it is a golf course, restaurant, or our own home. These different chemicals have a fatal effect on our wildlife – even threatening some wildlife populations. Each chemical may have a different impact on wildlife some fatal, others may bioaccumulate and others may pose no harm.

Sora waterbird with a Candy-Corn Bill Survives Cat Attack

The Sora is a small waterbird of the family Rallidae, sometimes referred to as the sora rail or sora crake. This small chicken-like bird is chubby with uniquely long toes that help it to tackle floating vegetation when searching for food. Soras are grayish-brown with white-edged feathers, a dark throat patch with vertical white lines, a black mask from the bill to the eye and a white patch under the tail. The bill is bright yellow which might make you think of Hallowe’en candy corns.

The Ultimate Quick Guide to Hummingbird Feeders

Ideally, all hummingbird feeders should be taken down in September of each year before migration begins. Leaving feeders up will not discourage migration, as hummingbirds that migrate are instinctually driven to do so, however; it can alter their behaviors. In some cases, these feeders are left up unknowingly and without proper care, which can ultimately lead to the fungal infections, starvation and death of the hummingbirds which have become dependent on them for survival.

Oil-Based Pollution Continues to Harm Wildlife

Patients who fall victim to contamination due to oil pollution arrive at Wildlife Rescue hospital in critical condition and have a hard time regulating their body temperature efficiently. They have poor and weakened feather structure that is critical for waterproofing. Once the oil has touched the bird’s plumage the bird tries to compensate for the loss of body heat by using its fat stores. This process of compensation is extremely exhausting for the bird and causing weakness and health complications if not treated immediately.

Tender Care for Eurasian Collared-Dove

Over the last 10 years, the Eurasian Collared-Dove who often is mistaken for a pigeon has become a frequent visitor and resident on the west coast of Canada. Their history originates from Asia to the Bahamas in the 70’s and slowly into the United States where they were found in Florida and moving further into other parts of North America. These exotic birds are still scarce, but the numbers are increasing as bird watchers are noticing their presence throughout the lower mainland, Fraser Valley, Okanagan, and along the coast.

Unfortunate Outcome for Rare Pelagic Cormorant

Recently, one juvenile Pelagic Cormorant was found on Granville street bridge where a Good Samaritan rescued him just before he was hit by a car. Unfortunately, incidents like these are a common occurrence – many birds nest on the bridge trestles (under the bridge on the structure/framework), making them more at-risk to car accidents, human disturbances and predatorial challenges.

Fighting Chance for Red Crossbill Pair

Recently, two nestlings were in critical need of supportive care after they were found abandoned in Stanley Park. The kind-hearted Samaritan monitored the surroundings for a few hours in hope of parents to return but without any luck, it was evident the nestlings wouldn’t survive much longer without nutrition, hydration and potential predator attack at their vulnerable stage.

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