GROWLS

Song Birds...we love them! <3 We want to do everything that we can do in order to keep up the population of these wonderful and integral little beings in our world. In recent studies, it has been found that there is a decrease in the Pine Siskin population due to Salmonella. How are they getting this, you might ask? Bird Feeders! :o Many of us love to fill up our feeders with seed or suet so that the the sweet singing birdies will be within our eyesight...like in a big pictur...e window. Bird Vision! <3 Thing is, birds poop where they eat. That poop sits on the food and other birds end up ingesting it. Yikes! This causes the salmonella which ends up killing some of the more susceptible birds like the Pine Siskin, Common Redpoll, Purple Finch and American Goldfinch. These are some special birds and we need to take steps in order to insure their survival. Cleaning out your feeders often will help save the birds and it is so easy to do! Hooray for simple solutions. <3 Check out this informative page about this problem and what you can do as a bird lover to help the population of songbirds stay steady...maybe even grow. ;) http://www.cwhc-rcsf.ca//Avian_Salmonellosis_Fact_Sheet.pdf If you find a wild animal in distress please call GROWLS at 250-714-7101

Some beautiful shots from GROWLS Board Director Steve Struthers of our gorgeous female coming out of the cage and finding her first perch to orientate herself back on island time. :) <3 Last photo is of two amazingly fabulous people who happen to be pretty amazing eagle rescuers too...Iain and Carmel! <3

GROWLS is incredibly fortunate to have an amazing team consisting of many fabulous people who volunteer their time, love and services to protect, rescue and educate the community about our Gabriola Wildlife. Yesterday we released a gorgeous female back to her home. Here is a close up clip of her leaving the cage along with her amazing back story, written by GROWLS rescuer Iain Lawrence. Many thanks to Iain, Carmel, Thomas and Trish for another successful rescue. Go team! <3 ..."This was only the second time I'd been asked to rescue two eagles at once. The first time, I found a pair locked together on somebody's lawn, with feathers strewn everywhere. GROWLS asked one of the wildlife rehab centres for advice, and we were told to cover the birds with a blanket and leave them to sort things out. They would either let go of each other or kill each other. For a while they struggled under the blanket, and for a while they lay still. Then one emerged and flew away, and a moment later the other flew off in the opposite direction. This time there seemed no hope for a happy outcome. A property owner on Clarendon Road had seen the pair of eagles fighting in a tree, and he had watched them tumbling down together into a tangle of bushes. We found them there, each holding onto the other with both feet. We cut them loose and set them down on open ground. But already they were utterly exhausted, half dead and barely breathing. We were afraid that if we left them alone they would lie there till they died. But when Carmel and I tried to pry the birds apart they only grabbed on in different ways, until one had talons clamped around its belly, and the other had talons round its head, and a talon in its eye. We put them into Carmel's car still fused together and took them to the Twin Cedars veterinary clinic. Although it was a weekend, both Trish and Thomas came out to save the eagles. It took all four of us to pry them apart, one talon at a time. Trish and Thomas examined both eagles and decided that one could be released. Carmel and I took it back to Clarendon and watched it fly away. The veterinarians kept the other eagle. They treated her with antibiotics and prepared her for her trip to OWL, the Orphaned Wildlife Rehabilitation Society, in Delta. It was wonderful to see that eagle come home to Gabriola. The last time I'd seen her, she was standing in the big cage at Twin Cedars, with little hope that she'd live through the night. But she burst out of her cage as a strong and beautiful bird. It was enough to take one's breath away. Thank you to everyone who helped." Welcome home Eagle...fly free! <3

Another successful eagle release today! Here is a lovely video of the wonderful moment, created by Jack Bones. Thank you Jack! We are so grateful to all of our volunteers who together work as a team in order to save as many injured, distressed and lost animals as we can...from dispatch to rescue t o rehab to release! Yay team GROWLS!! ... The eagle released this morning was rescued back in July by Carmel and Iain. She was completely and gruesomely entangled with a male eagle. We are so thankful she is back home where she belongs. <3 https://youtu.be/XLtU-KGmAAo

Have you ever had the pleasure of meeting a Moon Snail? How much do you know about these amazing creatures? Here are a few fun facts and video on the beloved Moon Snail. <3 https://youtu.be/NGPR1tsQoy0

New profile photo by Gabriolan and GROWLS supporter Tina Kirschner. What a capture!! <3

New Cover photo by Gabriolan and GROWLS supporter Gary Badke