But as I sat there learning about osprey, I thought…what the heck else would I rather be doing?  This is 7 hours of talking about animals.  Better yet, local wildlife that I may have to deal with in the future.  At that very moment I fell in love with the whole day.

My ultimate goal is to have a wildlife rescue facility in about 2 years.  I would rather be building cages right now than typing this if I had the resources.  I walked out of that class ready to go.  And because I am HUGE on educating people about critters - so that maybe you will know what to do in their presence - I will now spout off some interesting facts I learned.  Prepare to be wowed.

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This is something that I have to do.  I thought I had found my niche in being a veterinarian’s technician.  Holding a Great Horned Owl as it is being force fed mice….to hear him hoot in your face…my passion, my need is to help local wildlife that is injured to return back.  You may think you appreciate hearing an owl at dusk ~ hold one in your hands and you will have a whole new perspective.

 So what,  you see squirrels everyday….feed one who’s eyes are still closed and be there the first day it opens them.  A raccoon is a raccoon is a raccoon right?  i have met 4 raccoons in my life so far, and every single one had the same curious attitudes, the same Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, but very different personalities.  Two wonderful and two very clever and mischievous ones.  Nothing in the world is better than being that close to nature.

Gerda was telling me about a vulture named Lloyd.  She said that Lloyd taught the volunteers that they are beautiful birds and are full of life for death seekers.  Lloyd was known to follow you until you tossed him a piece of food.  He would steal your cans of soda and drink them himself.  He left after he healed his aches, but returned for free meals every so often; occasionally freaking out the new volunteers who hadn’t meet him yet.  I imagine having a bird with a 6-8 foot wingspan land and follow you relentlessly could be quite scary.  Especially given the bad rap they have been given.  (more…)

I am not a cold weather person. If it is below 70 out, I need a sweater. But my drive and determination to earn the respect of Gerda and other volunteers at Wildlife Rescue out weighs frostbitten fingers and a runny nose. Having been there once before I knew what needed to be done and was more than ready to get moving.

The duck, goose, rabbit, pigeon and chicken area outside seems to be where I will start my days here. Frozen water hose and a trash bag in hand I pass the porcupine and wave as I enter the mini aviary/ rabbit house. (more…)

Look, I’m not a hippie, but holy hell, I loved being out there wrist deep in bird shit-cleaning out ponds in sleet! My new best friend in the bird pen is Matilda - a huge gray goose…who bites.

There is a porcupine next to the birds. He is laid back and quite handsome…and begs for handouts.

I was taken out to the “big guys” on the farm. This included “big mama” the llama…who was weary of me, a crapload of goats, rams, sheep, alpacas, llamas and a pot belly pig. Oh yea…and the aggressive donkey who wasn’t mean to me…but was drawn to my crotch and boobs. Try having a semi-intelligent conversation with a donkey in your ass.

I also was privileged to meet the only 2 fawns they have right now. One male isn’t growing. At one point I had a fawn licking my nose and a fawn behind me chewing my hair. Look, I used to not care about deer hunting so much. I mean we need to keep the population down…but after being with those 2 I can’t understand why someone would want to kill something so gentle? Like..whoa dude, you’re tough..shooting that man eating deer! You’re lucky he didn’t kill you out in the field man.

Plus I learned an interesting fact. Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources will kill a fawn on site if you have it illegally on your property as a pet or rescue and you don’t have a permit. They also require the rescue centers to tag the deer prior to release. Hunting is a huge income for Maryland…tagging them is like a big bullseye on their backs…they want all the deer in the woods for killing to make that money. I hate you.

I didn’t meet the bald eagles. I saw multiple owls, red tails, red shoulders, and vultures. There are also 9 coons outside in kennels to be released in spring. Oh, there was a bunny there…a thin little black and white, who was missing the tops of his ears due to frostbite. He was tossed in a Dumpster.

One of those 2 coons is Smokey. She was in a chimney with mom and some brothers and sisters when the homeowners decided to “get them out” by starting a fire. All but Smokey died. The people felt bad after they had the fire going and no one was really dying right away…so then they called rescue.

I helped build a raptor cage yesterday. We had it up in less than an hour. It was hard work, but awesome of course.

Plus Gerda makes the best damned apple pancakes i have ever had in my life. I would volunteer everyday for her cooking.

Seriously kids…if anyone comes across wildlife get a hold of me somehow. While I was there they got a call in for an injured baby owl, but the number was busy every time they tried to call back. Another buttbag called and said he had a rabid bunny in the back of his pick up. Gerda (she runs the rescue) told the person on the phone straight up they were foolish! A rabid rabbit. Sure buddy…we all know how evil those guys are. IDIOT.