Despite drought, winds, and heat, our local wildlife seek to survive in the Eastern Sierra landscape. Birds, mammals, and even reptiles choose this time of year to produce and raise young. For wildlife rehabilitators at Wildcare Eastern Sierra, it’s known as “baby season.”

Feeding a baby hummingbird

From hummingbirds to eagles, birds build nests, lay eggs and hatch their young. Our fellow mammals too answer the reproductive call. Chipmunks and squirrels, cottontails and jackrabbits, marmots, and pikas, as well as the predators: raccoons, fox, coyotes, bobcats.

But things can go wrong! Bird nests are blown down; sometimes cut down by trimmers. Parent birds may be injured or killed. Baby chipmunks are separated from their moms by a cat (or dog); a baby skunk is trapped in mud or stuck in a bucket. Numerous misadventures bring these and other youngsters to Wildcare for help.

Wildcare needs help, too. We need volunteers at the Center to help with our many patients and give us a hand with a variety of tasks.  

Swainson Hawk blown out of nest

Place formula in the gaping beaks of 3 Brewer’s blackbird orphans, change the nectar in a hummingbird’s cage, and feed a young Scrub Jay some wiggling mealworms.

Set 8 downy ducklings in their small “swimming pool;” catch a young Red-tailed Hawk and weigh him to see if he is eating enough. Rake and clean Razzle’s cage and Spirit and Bullitt’s cage right next door.

Put a load of dirty cage towels in the washing machine, wash a tub of food and water dishes, answer incoming emergency calls for help. Fold laundry, clean out carriers, hang tree limb perches for the 3 young Ravens. And more.

Want to help? Give us a call at 760-872-1487. Come for a visit to the Center and see just what goes on. If you are interested, sign up for a commitment of a 4-hour shift each week. With your help, hundreds of our patients will grow and heal and return to their wild lives.