Aware's Tails from the Wild

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Aware's Tails from the Wild AWARE’S TAILS FROM THE WILD The New Kids in Town: Living Peacefully with Foxes and Coyotes This spring, my destruction has forced foxes and coyotes family and our to become urban dwellers, so they inevi- Summer 2012 neighbors had the tably visit our neighborhoods from time good fortune to to time. Ample food sources, combined Inside this Issue witness the activity with adaptability and street smarts, have of several red fox allowed them to survive—in some cases families in our area even thrive—in metropolitan areas, in Tucker. One pair where they benefit the environment by of foxes even made keeping rodent and other prey species in a den and raised check. When people understand the nor- five kits in a front mal behaviors of foxes and coyotes and Sweet Sixteen p. 5 yard less than a half mile away from our do their part to keep them at a safe dis- In Each Issue home, and my family made several trips at tance, they have nothing to fear. Trap- dusk to watch the kits from a distance as they ping, an ineffective and inhumane prac- Director’s Reflections wrestled and played on the lawn. Seeing these tice, should be a last resort for dealing from the Wild p. 2 beautiful animals was a thrill, especially for with these animals. Instead, let our en- Wing Beat: Ruby-Throated my two young children, and it made me counters with these animals be an excit- Hummingbirds p. 3 thankful that there is still enough space where ing reminder of the beauty and diversity we live to witness a diversity of wildlife in of the wildlife around us. Spotlight on Georgia’s Wildlife: our very own neighborhood. I was also thank- Are foxes and coyotes dangerous to ful that our neighbors, who also have small humans and pets? Peregrine Falcons p. 6 children, were forbearing enough to share Foxes and coyotes have an instinctive their yard with a family of foxes for the spring fear of humans and typically will not Meet the Ambassador: Koko until they moved out of the den. come within thirty feet of a person. While the Red-Tailed Hawk p. 7 Many people wouldn’t be so tolerant of a urban foxes and coyotes tend to be noc- family of predators living in their front yard. turnal (in order to avoid encounters with Rehab 911! In fact, AWARE gets hundreds of calls each people), seeing a fox or a coyote during Squirrels in the Attic p. 7 year from callers who are concerned or fright- the daytime isn’t uncommon, especially ened because they’ve seen a fox or a coyote in in spring and summer when they have AWARE’s Mission, Hours, their neighborhood, and we often take in these young to feed. The diet of both of these Wish List & More p. 8 animals after they have been injured or or- (Continued on page 4) Senior Writer and Editor: phaned as a result of trapping. Sadly, habitat Melanie Furr [email protected] A Quick Visitor Recently, AWARE received a call from a could give him a concerned citizen about a juvenile “hawk” health check and that had taken up residence on a busy parking contact the proper www.AWAREwildlife.org deck in Sandy Springs. Worried for the bird’s authorities. safety, AWARE sent me to investigate the Once the bird situation. When I arrived at the parking deck was deemed in (empty because it was after-hours), I found good health, we not a hawk, but a juvenile peregrine falcon! contacted wildlife This particular falcon had leg bands and, hav- biologist Greg ing been banded only a week prior, must have Greer of Greg fledged only recently. I carefully captured Juvenile Peregrine Falcon Greer Enterprises, him and brought him back to the center so who had originally banded the bird, to that AWARE’s professional rehabilitators (Continued on page 6) Tails from the Wild, Summer 2012 Page 2 Director’s Reflections from the Wild Board of Directors It’s an exciting time to be part of AWARE! in conservation. I Alex Hoffman There are many new changes on the horizon, also see the web- President, Secretary and we look forward to sharing them with site as a resource MCL Industries you as they happen. One important change is for more education that we have redesigned AWARE’s original about the role Linda Potter, Treasurer black and white logo. The new logo (see be- Georgia’s native Retired low) is a colorful, interpretative logo that we species play in the believe reflects what we do and whom we do environment. Kelly Jordan it for. The creative team at Yellobee Studio In addition to Point Center Corporation presented us with several creative choices our exciting new Hallie Leiberman from which to choose. The current choice logo, AWARE has KMS Technology stood out clearly among the other logo op- also introduced a tions and immediately became the frontrun- new program called WHO—Wildlife Hotline Melinda Matla ner. I appreciate the enthusiasm and energy of Operators—a program that trains volunteers KPMG Yellobee Studio in capturing the essence of to answer wildlife questions from the public. Founder and Director Michael Ellis’ original Although still in its infancy, the WHO pro- Tammi Scarbro vision for AWARE while at the same time gram is AWARE’s effort to improve our re- Entrepreneur moving us forward. sponse to the numerous daily phone calls Albert Vita We look forward to using the new logo as a from the public. What I like about the pro- Deloitte Consulting springboard for development of a new web- gram is that it offers an opportunity to volun- site. We are still very much in the preliminary teer for AWARE from the comfort of your Lindsay Wallace stages of site design and content, but I hope home or office. As always, these new pro- Newfields the new website will provide clear informa- grams are created with AWARE’s mission in tion to the public about the wildlife rehabilita- mind. Please stay tuned! I hope you like what Kristi Warren tion process and the role the public can play we’re doing. SITA Management Team AWARE’s New Logo Thanks to YelloBee! Dr. Tarah Hadley, DVM Director We are excited to introduce AWARE’s new logo. Alison Scheel and her staff at Yellobee Studio (www.yellobee.com) donated their design services to create the new logo. They Linda Potter were a joy to work with, and we couldn’t be happier with the result. We hope that you Assistant Director like it as well. Marjan Ghadrdan Wildlife Care Supervisor Tammi Scarbro Wildlife Care Supervisor Bird photos from page three, left to right: white-eyed vireo indigo bunting yellow-billed cuckoo blue grosbeak Tails from the Wild, Summer 2012 Page 3 Wing Beat Enjoying Georgia’s Birds Ruby-Throated small size, but only the male has the ruby-red throat for which Hummingbirds the species is named. Since the red feathers are iridescent, they Georgia is a great place may appear black in different lighting conditions. Female adults for birding. An enthusias- and juveniles have a white throat, but an immature ruby male tic birder may see more shows a speckled throat. All ruby-throated hummingbirds have than 300 different species green backs and whitish-gray underparts. of birds in Georgia during Hummingbirds use their tubular tongues to sip nectar out of the course of a year, both long-necked flowers, preferring red and orange colors. They also year-round residents as take spiders and insects and rob sap from sapsucker holes. Be- well as a large number of cause of their high metabolism and extremely rapid wing beats, migrant species. Some they need to feed nearly all day, typically coming to a home species migrate here in the spring to nest and raise their young feeder every 15—20 minutes. At night, to save energy, they may during the summer, while others arrive in the fall to escape the fall into a deep torpor similar to, but not the same as, hiberna- cold northern winters. Still others just pass through on their way tion. Female humming- north in the spring or south in the fall, many of them making a birds make a tiny nest non-stop flight across the Gulf of Mexico. One of these trans- and feed their young by Gulf migrants is the ruby-throated hummingbird, which is typi- regurgitation, sticking cally the only hummingbird species seen in the Eastern United their long bills down into States during the summer. the chick's gullet. Hum- Crossing the Gulf is quite a trip for the tiny hummingbird, a mers are very possessive feat that requires 18—24 hours of non-stop flying! They build of their food sources, up their fat reserves, particularly around the keel (breastbone), which are critical for sur- As in the wild, hummingbirds in rehabilita- so that they will have enough energy to make the trip. Many tion require feedings every 15—20 minutes vival. At the feeder you throughout the day. don’t survive if unanticipated head winds become strong and will see them chasing slow their speed. Those that do make it to the Gulf coast are each other away and hear their squeaky, twittery chatter. exhausted and need time to rest and feed. Bird enthusiasts go to To attract these beautiful birds to your yard, fill a humming- places like Dolphin Island in Alabama to view hummingbirds bird feeder with four parts water to one part cane sugar. Boil (and other migrant species) up close while they recover and be- briefly if you want it to last longer.
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