Eared Grebe

This is an Eared Grebe that was found at a park in Joshua Tree, CA. He’s just starting to come into his adult breeding plumage. He was migrating and must have thought he saw water and dove into what was actually a corrugated metal roof. He broke the tip of his bottom bill, but was able to catch fish after a few days of injury treatment. He was released at Roadrunner Golf Course lake in Twentynine Palms. Migratory birds must be released as soon as possible so that they can continue on their way. If this bird’s injuries were worse, we might have had to keep him longer. That would have caused problems in that he might have had to stay with us until the NEXT migration season!

American Krestel

This American Kestrel and it’s two siblings were found on the ground in a backyard. One of the siblings was already dead, leaving two to care for. All that these two needed was lots of food and rest…and hunting lessons! First, they got mealworms soaked in Baby Bird Formula. Then they learned to pick up live worms, and then dead mice. Eventually, the Kestrels learned how to catch live mice. They were released at a Park near the National Park here in Twentynine Palms, CA.

Round Tailed Mojave Ground Squirrel

Conni Chaffin works at Twentynine Palms Elementary School. During the week that most 5th graders went to Science Camp, Conni did a Rehab Presentation to the kids that were unable to go to Camp. The children learned that young squirrels get NurseAll Milk Replacement. In this picture, she is feeding this formula to a young Round Tailed Mojave Ground Squirrel through a 1cc syringe.Conni ended up getting a few more young squirrels. She put them all together to form a new family. After the squirrels learned to forage for food (fruit, veggies, mealworms) on their own, they were released up near the National Park in Twentynine Palms.