Photo Archives | Pacific Wildlife Care

By Marcelle Bakula Reprinted from the Cambrian I am a volunteer at Pacific Wildlife Care along with many other Cambria residents. PWC is SLO County’s only licensed wildlife rehabilitation organization. There are two important things I wanted our community to be aware of at this time. First, there is an ongoing problem throughout California with…

This is the first White Pelican the Center has seen. It is a protected bird in California, yet this did not stop someone from shooting it twice. A good Samaritan spotted the bird hitting a tree and falling to the ground, and called PWC to come get it. The shots were reported to California Department…

How do you tell the difference between a Clark’s Grebe and a Western Grebe? Well, pictured below, the Western grebe has a straight, yellow-green bill. Right around the eyes, the plumage is black. When they are young, their downy is grey. The Clark’s Grebe, below, has a bright yellow, slightly upturned beak. Right around the…

If you are ever crossing the parking lot of an Albertsons and you hear a voice asking “Have YOU heard of PWC,” it is most likely coming out of a very tiny person named Rosemary. She draws in the crowd and educates while David mans the booth, pulls out the handouts, and thanks the donators…

This is Misty. She is a full grown Western Screech Owl that came into the center in March after being hit by a car on Old Creek Rd. A very compassionate woman (named Misty) brought her in and still checks up on her to this day. After a visit to the vet, we learned that…

An awesome message from Richard Grise on Friday, August 24th: TODAY AUG 24 @ 5pm something inspirational happened. With close supporters Craig & Kris, Alex and I released 3 Brown Pelicans and 2 Western Gull juveniles. WHO CARES: Well a MONTH ago two pelicans could have/should have been dead; entangled beyond movement and with significant…

Before the large pools were brought in, the birds in flight 1 had a few baby pools. Then a generous trucking company decided to donate two large fiberglass tomato bins for the center to use as peli pools. So the construction began. We had to make a wooden support structure to hold the large bins…

My name is Kathleen Dillon. I am a center volunteer and north county transporter, going on 2+ years. Recently retired from the corporate world, I’ve moved to a little house with my Henry & Junebug; we’re planning a new garden, fig & peach orchard… and hopefully a flight cage for home rehab! My motto..one step at a time, you can…

This is a Great Horned Owl (with a seemingly disapproving look). One of our volunteers is holding this owl while one of our supervisors feeds it. It came in to the center on Friday after getting caught in barbed wire. This is something that happens more often than people realize. If you see an owl, or any…

This is Buddy. He is a beautiful Red Tailed Hawk that came into the center when he was very young. When he came into the center, he was in very poor shape. Though we don’t know for sure what happened to Buddy, it is possible that he was hit by a car, or maybe even…

Pacific Wildlife Care

2 days ago

Raising kids is hard work! Happy Mother’s Day to all the human and wildlife moms out there. The best care a wild animal baby will get is with its parents. You can help ensure these wildlife moms get the chance to raise their young by keeping your cats indoors, not trimming trees until fall, and calling a licensed wildlife rehabber for any concerns with wildlife.

Pictured is an American Coot mom feeding her young.

Photo by: Donald Quintana

#happymothersday #wildlife #americancoot #moms #wildliferehabilitation ... See MoreSee Less

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Pacific Wildlife Care

3 days ago

It’s #WorldMigratoryBirdDay! Did you know that Arctic Terns have one of the longest migrations of any bird? Some will migrate an astounding 56,000 miles annually! Celebrate World Migratory Bird Day by following these tips about sustainable travel from the Arctic Tern. 🙂

#arctictern #wildlife #sustainable #greenhumour #bethechange #migratorybirds #migratorybirdday ... See MoreSee Less

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Pacific Wildlife Care

3 days ago

Freedom Friday! An oldie but a goodie- a release from the end of last year. This juvenile Brown Pelican was found on the beach tangled in fishing line with hooks embedded in his wings and pouch. Fishing line and hooks can cause severe injuries, but this bird was lucky and made it to the wildlife clinic where he could be properly treated. Discarded fishing tackle is a hazard for many species of wildlife especially those that live near water and eat fish. Please pick up any hooks or line you find and dispose of it properly in a designated receptacle. Birds often raid regular trash cans so they are not a good option. If receptacles can’t be found, take it home to be cut up and discarded safely away from wildlife. If you find wildlife with line or hooks on them, call your local wildlife rehabilitation center. They will x-ray the animal to be sure there are no swallowed hooks in addition to treating injuries which may not be apparent without a careful examination. Thank you!

#freedomfriday #homesweethome #wildliferelease #brownpelican #fishing #fishinglineinjury #wildlife #pacificwildlifecare ... See MoreSee Less

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Pacific Wildlife Care

6 days ago

Spring is in full bloom and that means lots of wild animals are having babies. What does that mean for PWC?— lots of young wildlife are finding themselves in need of help. The most common cause of admissions during spring is cat attacks (34% of admissions), orphaned or kidnapped (22%), mowing/landscaping/tree trimming conflicts (10%), dog attacks (9%), vehicle collisions (5%), and window strikes (3%). Pictured are some of the animals we have received so far this season. We have included each animal’s story with its photo plus we added some tips for prevention of harm.
If you find that you have a few extra dollars in your pocket you'd like to share, your donation will go a long way to help us provide these animals with the medical treatment, surgery, and rehabilitative care they so desperately need to get back to their wild home. Without the support of the public, our doors would be closed. Any little bit helps. Thank you...and Happy Spring!

#wildlife #wildliferehab #wildliferelease #keepthemwild #notapet #cottontail #brushrabbit #greathornedowl #westerngraysquirrel #mourningdove #babybirds #opossum #fawn ... See MoreSee Less

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Praying caring and sharing❤

Shared with love, hope, and prayers!!!

Pacific Wildlife Care

2 weeks ago

Freedom Friday and a special wildlife release and story by one of our volunteers...

Hanging Out for the Winter at PWC

Say you’re a youngster born into a traveling circus family. Your troupe spends spring and summer in one area, then pulls up stakes to journey south for fall and winter. You’ve barely got a toehold in life when disaster strikes: you are seriously injured. Fortunately, some kindly folks at a local hospital take you in and treat your injuries. You recover. But by then winter has arrived, and your circus family left long ago for the south, not to return to the area until spring.

This is basically the case of three young migratory birds who overwintered at PWC, two Hooded Orioles and a Black-headed Grosbeak: a nestling, a fledgling, and a juvenile. One had been caught by a cat and another by a dog. Both had puncture wounds, and one required sutures. The third had fallen from the nest and had serious issues with feather condition.

One of the Orioles, found in Santa Barbara, was eventually brought to PWC’s Morro Bay clinic to be with the other, a “conspecific,” one of his own.

Although the Grosbeak wasn’t their conspecific, in the wildthe two species tend to “occupy the same areas and migration patterns,” Rehabilitation Technician Kelley Boland says. So in time, after healing from their injuries, all three became roommates for the winter in Aviary 2 because “birds always do better when they have other birds around, not people.” By early spring all were fully feathered, in good health, and flying like champs.

But these are migratory birds who depend on a flock for survival. They needed their “traveling circus troupe.”

On April 1, good news came of a flock of Hooded Orioles in Atascadero, back from Central America for the spring. And by “great coincidence,” Boland says, a few Black-headed Grosbeaks were seen nearby, in the next yard. Rescue-Transport Team members Kathy S. and Morgan N. were dispatched with the gratifying task of releasing them. They set down the carrier and opened it. Within seconds, the three birds returned to the wild, to the seasonal rhythm of the troupe.

Story by: Pam H.
Video by: Kathy S. and Morgan N.

#wildliferehab #freedomfriday #homesweethome #hoodedoriole #blackheadedgrosbeak #wildlife #wildliferelease #backtothewild ... See MoreSee Less

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I remember when they were posted. This is so hopeful and fulfilling💚! Thank you PWC!

I am the one who found the Black-headed Grosbeak at my apartment complex. I came out to my car to run errands and saw the 2 neighborhood cats (notorious for countless mice, bird and lizard fatalities), and sensed they were up to no good when suddenly I heard a bird chirp coming from the neighbors carport garage. I walked inside and didn't see anything, then I heard a single chirp again. I looked under the car in the carport and didn't see anything. I stood up and heard a chip one more time and thought, "where are you? let me find you" when I walked around to the front of the car, I saw it lying on its back on the floor, a little blood around the neck and several bent up feathers. I carefully and quickly scooped up the little bird and immediately put it into a transport carrier and zoomed off to the PWC center in Morro Bay. I checked in periodically on the birds progress and just saw last week that it had been released. Made my day, my whole week, my whole month! Thank you Pacific Wildlife Care for tending to the bird's need for 208 days until it was time to continue living with it's own!

Great story, Pam!! And thank you, Kathy and Morgan, for releasing them!!

Yay! Congrats!

Wonderful story

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Be on the Lookout for Infected Band-tailed Pigeons

White Pelican

Grebes

Rosemary & David Slater

Misty the Screech Owl

Pelicans Matter!

Building Flight 1

Volunteer Highlight: Kathleen

The Great Horned Owl

Buddy the Red Tailed Hawk Ambassador