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HI all,
Been planning to write about petrels in response to this question but havent
had time to get on. If you arent interested in the minutae of petrel
rehabilitation, stop reading now :)
I have had lots of storm petrels come in, or receieved calls about them,
typically after high winds. As most of you know they are pelagic seabirds
and are not normally seen on the mainland. They have a unique nocturnal
feeding behaviour where they literally skip along the surface of the ocean
skimming bits of zooplankton etc.
When they ar grounded on land, its like they literally have no idea what to
do. You can toss them in the air 100 times and they will just flutter to the
ground. However, take them to a beach or wharf or cliff..and toss them and
they will rapidly fly away ( unless they have some other problem). When I
get them in, i check them to be sure there are no injuries and they arent
thin ( they are usually fine). Then the next dusk that comes, I drive them
to Pictou and release them over open water and they fly off like a bat out
of hell. Nice releases. I try to release them where I can intervene if
necessary. I have had a couple who did not fly so I went in after them with
a dip net and boots...kinda hard to do off of a cliff :(
Because of their feeding behaviour they do NOT recognize anything you might
offer them as food, so if they are kept for an extended period they will
rapidly get thin. I once had one for a week ( landed after hurricane Juan
and I had no electricity for 5 of those days ) with a leg injury..so I had
to feed it with a stomach tube, no mean feat on such a tiny bird. It was
successfully released.
Some petrel trivia
- must be released at dusk or gulls WILL eat them. I once took my boyfriend
( now my husband) on what I thought would be a cool release. Tossed the bird
in the air over Middle Cove in NL, it flew beautifully. As we watched with
binoculars, a great black backed gull swooped down and swallowed him without
breaking his flight pattern..ugh. I should have listened to the locals!
- they smell like oil. Must be what they eat but they have a distinct
petroluem/fishy kind of smell
- they should be released ASAP, or they will get weak and thin
- again..they wont eat anything you offer them, no matter how good you think
it looks
- being a pelagic seabird, they and all birds who spend the majority of
their time on the water should be handled wearing gloves. Even oils from
your hands can mess with their delicate waterproofing. Also, their bedding
should be changed frequently, oils from their feces can also harm the
waterproofing on their feathers.
- do not try to swim them in your tub/sink/basin etc...especially if you
have hard water..again...hard on the feathers.
- consider yourself lucky if you see one, not many people do and they are
beautiful delicate little birds.
Sorry for the ramble, can you tell I like them?
If anyone finds one and needs advice, call me at 893-0253. The email I have
in my signature can be unreliable but I check birdvet@hotmail.com several
times per day.
Thanks
Helene
Helene Van Doninck DVM
Cobequid Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre
RR#1 Brookfield Nova Scotia Canada B0N1C0
hvandoninck@eastlink.ca
www.cwrc.net
http://cwrcblog.blogspot.com/
1-902-893-0253
-----Original Message-----
From: naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca
[mailto:naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca]On Behalf Of Kathleen MacAulay
Sent: Thursday, October 29, 2009 5:36 PM
To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
Subject: Re: [NatureNS] wilson's storm petrel
I don't have much experience with petrels, but I was speaking with Helene
van Doninck moments ago about this, and she informed me that petrels will
not fly unless they are tossed over water, and must be released at night to
avoid being predated by gulls.
However, grounded birds often have problems, emaciation/starvation being
one of them. If your friend is not sure the bird is healthy, he should not
release it.
Helene also tells me that petrels will not eat on their own in captivity.
In addition, if a bird is weak from starvation, extremely careful
refeeding and special diets are necessary, because in the last stages of
starvation the energy it takes to digest food can actually drain the animal
past the point of no return and cause it to perish.
I suggest that the friend get in touch with Helene at the Cobequid
Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre for advice, and hopefully transportation can
be arranged to get it to her.
Helene says she will try and e-mail the list tonight with a more
comprehensive and expert reply than mine. :)
Helene can be reached by phone at at (902) 893-0253 or by e-mail at
hvandoninck@eastlink.ca.
Kathleen MacAulay
Milford Station
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
From: "bdigout@seaside.ns.ca" <bdigout@seaside.ns.ca>
To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
Sent: Thu, October 29, 2009 4:15:51 PM
Subject: [NatureNS] wilson's storm petrel
I'm looking for some advice to pass on. A man in the neighbourhood
picked up a petrel near his workplace in Point Tupper. He threw it up
into the air, but it only flew a feet feet and then fluttered to the
ground. He took it to me for identification. What should he do with
it? What will it eat? He is willing to feed it back to health if it is
just weak. Can it swim? If so, could he simply let it go on the
Atlantic side of the St. Peter's Canal? Does anyone have any
suggestions?
Billy
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<DIV><FONT face=3DArial color=3D#0000ff size=3D2><SPAN =
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all, </SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial color=3D#0000ff size=3D2><SPAN=20
class=3D046293719-04112009></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial color=3D#0000ff size=3D2><SPAN =
class=3D046293719-04112009>Been=20
planning to write about petrels in response to this question but havent =
had time=20
to get on. If you arent interested in the minutae of petrel =
rehabilitation, stop=20
reading now :)</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial color=3D#0000ff size=3D2><SPAN=20
class=3D046293719-04112009></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial color=3D#0000ff size=3D2><SPAN =
class=3D046293719-04112009>I have=20
had lots of storm petrels come in, or receieved calls