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it? What will it eat? He is willing to feed it back to hea
> Thanks to Ian, Helene, and yourself for the information on petrels. My
friend was able to force-feed it some "sea fleas" he picked up under
kelp at the shore. The next evening, he released it near St. Peter's
Canal and he said it flew off, apparently with no ill effects into the
wild blue/black yonder.
Billy
.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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