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North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre is a non-profit facility that cares for ill, injured and orphaned wildlife, and educates the public about wildlife and environmental issues. Visitors can see non-releasable Vancouver Island wildlife in peaceful and rustic surroundings. Hours Open Daily 9:00 AM - 4:30 PM Admission Adult $15+tax Children 4–16 $6+tax Children 3 & under FREE Veterans and Military FREE Location 1240 Leffler Road, Errington, BC Locate Us on Google Maps Join Our Team Volunteer They Need Us. We Need You! Donate Now Stay Connected Latest on Facebook Photos on Instagram Tripadvisor reviews Watch us on Youtube Get our newsletter Adopt an Animal View Adoption Animals in Shop

We Need a New Building for Our Songbirds! Each year, we admit hundreds of ill, injured or orphaned birds. Although our current building has served us for many years, it had become dilapidated and must be torn down and replaced. With only a few months until the busy baby bird season, we must build soon. WE NEED YOUR HELP to build a new centre with improvements that will enable us to care for our little birds from nestling to fledgling to release. Help us make sure every little bird gets the expert care it needs from rescue to release. Songbird Rehabilitation Centre Fundraiser Ways to Help Build Our New Songbird Rehabilitation Centre Bid on This Painting Click above image to enlarge Guardian of Time is a Gallery Wrapped Canvas Long time NIWRA supporter and international artist, Michael Schutte, donated a special painting for our fundraiser. Michael spent years developing his style of Romantic Realism by studying famous Dutch artists. We are accepting donation bids on this painting until Tuesday, December 15th at 12:00 noon. Painting can be viewed at Bear Den Gift Shop at NIWRA (open daily 9am - 4:30pm) Value: $2500.00 Starting Bid: $1000.00 Bidding Increments: $500 Email Joyce: wildlife@niwra.org to place your bid. Check our Homepage for current highest bid. The winning donor will be notified and arrangements for payment and pickup can be made once bidding ends. "Guardian of Time" | Depicts an owl and Medieval Dutch Sun Clock (Zonnewijzer) Rich, warm palette | 24" wide by 36" high Guardian Painting Other Ways to Donate * All Donations Welcome * All Donors of $500 or more will have their name engraved on our Songbird Rehabilitation Centre plaque In Person You can come to the Gift Shop desk at NIWRA and make your donation in person. Let us know it is for the songbirds. Online You can make an online donation directly to NIWRA at CanadaHelps. Donate at CanadaHelps Over the Phone If you prefer not to make payments online, we will happily take donations over the phone by credit card. 250-248-8534 ext 3. Please let staff know your donation is for the songbirds. By Mail Or you could send a cheque to: NIWRA Box 364 1240 Leffler Rd. Errington, BC V0R 1V0 Please write 'Songbird' on bottom of the cheque.

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~wildlife education~ Photo credit: istock.com/FRANKHILDEBRAND Baby deer season is just around the corner, and the more you know about the habits of deer, the better the chances baby deer will remain where they belong - with their mothers. Baby deer (known as fawns) are born from April through July. A female deer (or doe) can have one to three fawns; twins are quite common. Until the babies are strong enough to keep up with their mom as she forages, she will hide them and may leave them alone for long periods of time. Because fawns have no scent, the doe can leave her baby alone while she browses.  Her scent will attract predators away from the fawn. Also, the spots and colouring of fawns help to camouflage them from predators as they lay motionless in tall grass or in the forest.  Well-meaning members of the public have brought fawns to North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre (NIWRA) in the past, thinking they were orphaned.  Walking through the woods, people would find a fawn nestled in tall grass and, thinking it abandoned, bring it to NIWRA.  They did not understand that mother deer leave their fawns alone for a reason.    It’s a natural emotional response to want to pick up and feed a baby deer if we find one alone.  What should you do instead if you find a fawn and see no mother deer in sight?  Please leave it alone unless you can verify the doe is dead or that the fawn has suffered a life-threatening injury.   Did your children bring a baby deer home? Please take it back to where it was found.  The mother will return.  Even if a fawn has been taken from its mother for several hours, they can be successfully reunited.  If you find a fawn laying out flat on the side or in the middle of the road, stop and gently guide it off into the bush or ditch.  This will save it from other motorists.  The mother and fawn have become separated while crossing the road and she is probably watching you.  Fawns tend to lay flat instinctively, hoping you and other scares will go away.  If the doe is dead nearby and the fawn must be brought to NIWRA, do not try to feed it.  Please leave that to the professionals. You can help the wildlife in care at NIWRA by making a financial contribution on our secure website . Thank you so much for caring about wildlife!

~wildlife education~ Deer have microbes in their stomachs that help them digest coarse food such as lichen.  If rich foods like alfalfa or apples are introduced to these microbes, it can cause bloat and may lead to the death of the animal.  It’s best not to feed wild deer in the winter unless you have small amounts of local hay to offer. istock.com/GarysFRP Anna’s Hummingbirds don’t migrate in the winter; they become dormant daily to conserve energy, entering a state of torpor on cold nights. Their body temperature lowers, and their heart rate slows. Hummingbird feeders should be cleaned weekly and stocked with sugar water made of four parts water and one-part white sugar. Hummingbirds depend on this for energy when their usual food sources are unavailable. Bats are natural pest controllers. All BC bats feed exclusively on insects and are vital for maintaining healthy and balanced ecosystems. Our local bats eat night-flying insects including mosquitoes, beetles and moths. A nursing female bat can consume up to 600 insects an hour and 100% of her body weight in a night! Owls have very large eyes in relation to the size of their bodies. Their eyes gather and concentrate much more light than ours do. Owls have forward-looking eyes, giving them binocular vision and excellent depth perception, which is an advantage in hunting. They can focus on both near and distant objects at the same time, a special adaptation allowing them to accurately gauge distance when they are pursuing prey. Turkey vultures are often called “Nature’s garbage collectors”. While it’s believed they will eat anything dead, they prefer their ‘meals’ to be no more than three days old. Turkey vultures have keen eyesight and a razor-sharp sense of smell. A large nasal cavity in their beak helps them detect a carcass from great distances. The vulture can put its featherless head into a rotting carcass without soiling or damaging its feathers. It is thought that their strong digestive juices counteract most harmful bacteria. They defecate on their legs to disinfect them. The American bullfrog, the largest frog in North America, is an invasive species due to its voracious appetite and the large number of eggs it produces. Frogs eat any animal that can be captured and swallowed, including all kinds of vertebrates and invertebrates. Bullfrog adults eat insects, snakes, small mammals, birds, and smaller native frogs. You can help the wildlife in care at NIWRA by making a financial contribution on our secure website . Thank you so much for caring about wildlife!

~wildlife education~ The mission of the North Island Wildlife Recovery Association (NIWRA) and Centre in Errington is to care for ill, injured and orphaned wildlife, and to educate the public on wildlife and environmental issues. Approximately 800 animals are admitted to NIWRA each year, and we do our best to reintroduce as many as possible back to the wild. But there must continue to be untouched wild areas where we can release animals safely, and where various species can thrive, that’s why we are adding our voice to the chorus calling for the protection of the Hamilton Marsh Wetlands and Forest. [Photo credit: Claire Summers] Biodiversity-rich natural areas like the 360-hectare Hamilton Marsh Wetlands & Forest are so important to preserve – for wildlife, yes, but also for humans. As development continues at a rapid pace, areas that hold water are fewer and farther between. Drought continues to be a problem for Vancouver Island during warmer summers, and flooding is an issue during the wet season. Humans, wildlife and nature all rely on ground water, but the water table continues to lower.  Water retention areas like Hamilton Marsh are crucial for wells, for drinking water, and for feeding our rivers. Birds and other animals need places like Hamilton Marsh to be safe preserved spaces where they can thrive. The Hamilton Marsh complex is a treasure trove of biodiversity and includes a very wide range of habitats & species. Hamilton Marsh is the largest body of water in the French Creek Watershed, and it also contributes to the Little Qualicum Watershed. Marshes and other wetlands play an important role in nature, support biodiversity, and provide water for us and for many other creatures. Water retention is increasingly important due to development and climate change.  Preserving the Hamilton Wetlands & Forest is important for animals, plants, climate change mitigation, and for two watersheds. Now that the Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) and Mosaic Forest Management have announced a conditional Contract of Purchase and Sale (CPS) for approximately 360 hectares (ha) of land known as Hamilton Marsh, a precious area could be preserved, but funding support is needed. We think it is a worthy cause. Visit https://hamiltonwetlands.com/ for more information on Hamilton Marsh and why it is important to save, and how you can help. NIWRA, a non-profit organization, is situated in Errington, B.C. We are open to the public daily for viewing of non-releasable animals. You can help the wildlife in care at NIWRA by making a financial contribution on our secure website . Thank you so much for caring about wildlife!