CWR received its very first Sandhill Crane last month. To the best of our knowledge the bird was shot near the South Carolina Border. He is suffering from a fractured wing and leg and will need surgery to fly again. We are currently trying to work with the crane foundation to make sure the bird is getting the best care and the highest chance of release back into the wild.

Some information from the Crane Foundation; Sandhill Cranes are widely (though intermittently) distributed throughout North America. The three migratory subspecies (Lesser, Greater and Canadian) are distributed across a broad breeding range in the northern U.S. and Canada, with wintering grounds in the southern United States and northern Mexico. The three non-migratory subspecies (Mississippi, Cuban, and Florida) have restricted ranges in the southern United States and Cuba.

The expert we spoke to believes this is a Florida Sandhill Crane but the jury is still out on this interesting birds true identity!

Fun Fact: A Miocene crane fossil, thought to be about ten million years old, was found in Nebraska and is structurally identical to the modern Sandhill crane, making it the oldest known bird species still surviving!

Want to help this bird survive? We are collecting donations at this time to help pay for this birds surgeries. If you can help please visit the link for our donations page. Sandhill Donors of $100 or more will be invited to attend the birds release party.

Did you know we have received over 600 birds this year already? Interesting birds this month included Green Heron, Belted Kingfisher, Common Loon and of course the Sandhill Crane.

Oiled birds update:
Oiled birds underwent another round of washings last weekend. Some birds are clean and didn't require the additional washing while some will need one or two more. All the birds are doing great and we will be searching for a new release site for the birds soon. If you know of anyone with a pond who will allow these birds to be released please let us know.

We released the following notable birds last month:
2 adult Great Blue Herons returned home after fishing line injuries.
9 orphaned Wood Ducks displaced due to habitat destruction.
60 orphaned Mallards all brought in to us pretty much one at a time from all over the state. We have a over a 99% success rate with raising and returning mallard ducks back to the wild.

We have set a moving date of July 25 and 26th to move the rescue. We need someone who is handy that can help with installing some lights, installing a spigot for water and helping us build pens inside the barn.

Some clean up of the area is also needed, if you have a group of people who can assist with providing a clean up day around the new site please contact us. We must be sure there are no nails, screws or other metal objects around the area the cages will be built. This would be a great fun for someone with a metal detector and who knows you may find someone exciting!

We are also looking for people with pick ups and trailers that can help us move. If you know someone who has a moving van or who can donate gravel please let us know.

If you can help please email info@cwrescue.org or call us!

We are still short a few food lion card numbers to be able to participate. If you can collect numbers at your place of employment please see the link for a flyer you can print up and fill out. Kids who need community service hours can also collect numbers for volunteer credit.

CWR participates in the Food Lion Shop and Share program because this is a great way to help without costing you anything!! Just send us your name, phone number, and your shop and share number and we will do the rest.

**Please Note - be sure to get the complete number as shown on the photo.

Did you know that baby birds learn to fly on the ground?

Most baby birds on the ground are not orphans, sick nor injured. Well-feathered young birds that can move about, but are not yet able to fly are called "branchers" or "fledglings." It is normal for them to be on the ground and it's best to leave them alone so their parents can continue to care for them.

Every year thousands of baby birds are kidnapped by well meaning members of the public. Some babies need to be fed every 15 minutes! This a job best left to mom so put that baby bird back! If a baby bird appears injured or has been in a cats mouth it does need to see a rehabilitator.

Volunteers are needed to feed baby birds. If you are interested in learning, classes are forming now to start in two weeks. Please email me to be put on the list to receive information.

Good Search - What if CWR earned a donation every time you searched the Internet? Or how about if a percentage of every purchase you made online went to support our cause? Well, now it can!

GoodSearch.com is a new Yahoo-powered search engine that donates half its advertising revenue, about a penny per search, to the charities its users designate. Use it just as you would any search engine, get quality search results from Yahoo, and watch the donations add up!

GoodShop.com is a new online shopping mall which donates up to 37 percent of each purchase to your favorite cause! Hundreds of great stores including Amazon, Target, Gap, Best Buy, ebay, Macy's and Barnes & Noble have teamed up with GoodShop and every time you place an order, you’ll be supporting your favorite cause.

Just save this link in your favorites and it will designate CWR every time you search.

http://www.goodsearch.com/?charityid=810980


ADOPT A BIRD - Want to help care for an orphaned duckling or gosling but can't volunteer? Consider sponsoring one of our babies. With a suggested donation of $30 or more you will get an email with a picture of your adopted baby, along with a few progress reports. With a donation of $100 or more you can be part of the release of a duckling or gosling. Please email us for more details.

Although the name is Common Loon, there is nothing common about these majestic birds. Incredibly striking birds with a haunting call make them a very memorable bird for the rescues volunteers. CWR receives between 4-6 Loons each year.

Some Facts About Loons:
Loons breed in the Northern part of the United States. They migrate down south in late October to early November. Loons need close to a 1/4 of a mile water runway to gain flight. Many times loons land on a mirage or are tricked by wet roads. Once they are grounded they can not walk on land or get flight.

Many times the loons just need to be placed into a large body of water and they can get on their way. Loons are rarely kept in captivity successfully. So our goal is to return them to the wild as soon as possible. They are aggressive but secretive birds that stress very easily with handling.

CWR spent almost $60 dollars a day feeding one loon, FISH ARE EXPENSIVE! (another reason for a quick release!) Donations are welcome to help pay for the care of this loon.
 

It seems everywhere we look these days CWR is in the news. We have been busy! A few notable happenings this month.

Geese Traveling on Airplanes?
We got called by the National Guard to escort a family of geese off their airstrip. Kudos to the Guard for wanting to deal humanely with the geese! The geese were however tipped off to the abduction attempt and they slipped out of the area completely unnoticed. They are still on the run and evading attempts to locate them. That is just fine with us, they are out of harms way and no threat to public safety. FYI - we also assisted the airport with a humane pigeon deterrent program last year as well.

Abandoned Ducks
After Easter we are generally flooded with unwanted Easter pets. While the Easter influx was less that we anticipated the local schools picked up the slack. Several schools conducted hatching programs and agricultural events that kept us busy. We picked up abandoned baby ducks all over several counties that were discard at the end of the programs. If you have school age children please ask school staff to discourage these programs.

Some additional reasons why these programs are a bad idea:
* Non native ducks can quickly become a nuisance and domestic ducks rarely survive in the wild.
*Ducks and chicks carry salmonella, no screening is done for the eggs or chicks at schools. The CDC heavily discourages ducks and chicks programs in schools due to reported cases of salmonella poisoning.
*New York state banned duck programs in schools after the potential for the ducks to pass West Nile Virus to students was found.
*Animals are not cared for humanly and then discarded. Several of our counties have very high shelter euthanasia rates. Lets teach our children animals aren't disposable!

CWR was asked to assist Pineville with a Muscovy Overpopulation problem. Residents have been complaining of inhumane treatment of the ducks by other residents who are taking matters into their own hands. We decided to step in and help for several reasons. One is that Muscovy's are not native ducks and they can be invasive when left uncontrolled. In some areas Muscovy populations have gotten out hand to the point the United States Fish and Wildlife Service is attempting to make laws regulating their ownership. Muscovy's are native to Southern and Central America. They perch in trees to avoid predators and breed year round. When they find a safe habitat like a local pond with no predators their populations can go from 20-30 to several hundred in a relatively short period of time.

Ducks removed from the parks will be available in our domestic and exotic adoption program. If your interested in getting news on the adoption program please email us and we will add you to the list.

Volunteers are needed for the round up. If your not on the volunteer list and want to help please contact us.

We will be holding a special training session May 9th. The class will cover capture, restraint and handling techniques for adult and juvenile birds. The class will be hands on and we will be handling birds and getting wet! If your interested in attending the class please email us for details.

We offer several classes a year for necropsy, bird intake and stabilization and capture and restraint. You must be on our volunteer list to receive notifications for most classes.

CWR is an all volunteer group that receives no government funding. We are always looking for new volunteers.