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~wildlife education~ Some foods that we humans think are nutritious and enjoyable to eat are actually poisonous to animals. Deer and rabbits require large amounts of cellulose and other fibrous plants for their fuel. Starches and sugars are literally poisons to animals such as these that eat~ grass, stems, leaves and/or bark. Onions and garlic can be damaging or even fatal when fed to animals such as wolves, wild cats, oxen, sheep, and apes. An unknown toxin in avocado has a negative effect on cattle, horses, goats, rabbits and birds (and pets). Birds that ingest avocado fruits and seeds experience respiratory distress. Methylxanthine toxicosis meaning “death by chocolate” has killed many dogs, cats, and birds, and also adversely affected rodents and reptiles. Overdoses of chocolate have an amphetamine-like affect that causes vomiting, diarrhea, hypertension, weakness, tremors, seizures, coma and sometimes death. Macadamia nuts are also toxic to many dogs. The leaves of parsley, parsnip, carrot and celery are quite nutritious in moderate amounts but they contain phototoxins that are activated by sunlight and cause harmful biochemical reactions in the body. Therefore the secret when feeding these is in small amounts. Soy is a common human food that is also in pet foods. Animals would not naturally consume soy. Raw soy is so toxic that it has anti-nutritive properties for animals. Diets high in soy fed to birds may result in decreased fertility, deformity, stunted or stillborn hatchlings and premature deaths. Necropsies on passerines, hummingbirds and doves that had a diet of soy show lumps of undigested food in their crops and guts, and poor muscle mass and abnormal feathering. Although legumes such as alfalfa are a natural source of food, feeding only alfalfa or large amounts of it to wildlife can be harmful or unhealthy. Most animals need a variety of whole, natural foods. What we think is healthy or tolerable to humans to ingest, could mean illness or death to an animal. To a small creature, caffeine can be fatal. Animals in the wild instinctively know what they should eat, but when they are in captivity, they are at the mercy of the keeper. The rule of thumb when feeding an animal or bird before being able to bring it to a wildlife centre like NIWRA is to find out what they eat in the wild. Deer do not drink cow’s milk and a robin does not eat seeds. If you have found an injured bird or animal, please curb your temptation to feed it. Call the experts at NIWRA first. Our animal care experts will assess the animal's needs upon admittance to the centre. Please 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~ Bats are nocturnal mammals that play an important role in the ecosystems of British Columbia. The 16 species of bats in BC are protected by the BC Wildlife Act. There are nine species of bats on Vancouver Island. Being natural pest controllers, bats are invaluable to the balance of nature and allies for farmers. 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! The possibility of being infected by rabies is small but you should take precautions if you find a bat. If bats get into your house, close the doors to other rooms, turn off the lights and open outside windows and doors. Using a pillowcase, carefully pick up a sleeping bat. Wear a leather glove if possible. Try to place the bat in a safe spot, out of the reach of cats. To prevent bats from entering the house, inspect and repair cracks under your eaves, around pipes, vents, doors and windows. If bats are roosting in a remote area of the house, you may want to leave them and provide them a home. But if having bats co-exist in your home does not appeal to you, building (or buying) a bat house is a good alternative. If you feel evicting the bats from your home is necessary, first listen for squeaks, inspect for brownish oil stains that rub off their coats, look for guano, and watch the suspected entrance at dusk. Close off the bat entrance only when you are certain they are gone. You can make a one-way escape valve from screening by installing it over the main exit or use polypropylene bird netting to make a large flap over the hole. It is illegal, ineffective and cruel to use pesticides to try to remove bats. Bats are active at dusk and dawn navigating in the dark using echolocation to find prey. They send out ultrasonic sound waves and listen for the echoes. Humans pose the biggest danger to bat populations. Harm can come to the bats if the colony is disturbed while they are hibernating. If a bat is wakened from hibernation, it uses up a lot of energy, and increases the possibility that the bat’s stored fat will be insufficient to keep it alive for the rest of the winter. Insects treated with toxic pesticides can kill bats that eat them. Deforestation is another human activity that can affect bats as logging reduces the availability of roosting places. Want to learn more about bats? Visit https://hat.bc.ca/bats Please 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~ Yes and no. Bears are not considered to be true hibernators because they maintain high body temperatures in winter; instead they are considered efficient hibernators. They will sleep for months without eating, drinking, urinating, or defecating. Orphaned baby bear cubs keeping warm at NIWRA Bears have an isolative pelt that helps keep their body temperature high while cutting their metabolic rate in half so they can survive the winter. This enables bears to react to danger faster, meaning they can be aroused from sleep and slumber more lightly. Biologists have redefined mammalian hibernation as simply a specialized, seasonal lowering of metabolism when food is less available and atmospheric temperatures are low. Most B.C. black and brown bears den for four to six months every year, entering their dens in November or December, and re-emerging in March or April. Vancouver Island bears may hibernate for a much shorter time as the climate on the island tends to be milder. Researchers study bear hibernation to try to find ways to preserve human organs, to help with kidney disorders, and determine if human hibernation could be implemented for long-distance space travel. Female bears give birth to two or three cubs in January, each weighing less than a pound (200 g). The newborns have practically no hair at first. The cubs do not hibernate but instead suckle and sleep by their mother, which helps to keep them warm. At three months, when they reach a weight of four to eight pounds (1.49 - 2.98 kg.), they leave the den. Bears will visit urban communities if they detect the availability of food. Your home may also be in their traveling corridor. Become educated about bears and bear proof your community. Avoid bear interactions by storing garbage correctly, cleaning barbeques, picking berries and fruit as they ripen, removing outdoor freezers, feeding pets indoors, putting away all petroleum products, and sprinkling compost with lime. Be aware that a bear can get more calories from your garbage than by foraging. Bears are highly intelligent and will return for a good meal. Habituation of a bear cannot be changed and may result in their death by euthanasia. It is our responsibility to change our habits to help bears. You can learn more about black bears by visiting NIWRA. Please 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~ There are some harmful myths about human/bear conflict. One myth concerns the frequency of bear attacks. In fact, bears rarely attack humans in bear country. There are hundreds of human-bear encounters in Canada, and only a very few result in personal injury. There have been only two fatal black bear attacks in Algonquin Park in Ontario in the last 40+ years. And in all of North America, there have been less than 35 fatal black bear attacks since the year 2000, or approximately 1.5 per year. According to Parks Canada, bear attacks are rare occurrences, and fatal bear attacks are even less frequent. A bear is attracted to a bird feeder. (c) Sylvia Dolson It's a myth that mother bears attack to defend their cubs. A female black bear will rarely attack defensively. She will instead send her cubs up a tree and try to intimidate you by acting aggressively while waiting for the threat (you) to pass. Grizzlies are another story. As a general rule, it is best to stay away from all cubs even if they are by themselves. It's also a myth that a bear that stands on its rear legs is getting ready to attack. Usually they are trying to catch your scent or get a better look at you. If they are going to attack, they will do it on all fours. When hiking in bear country, come prepared with bear spray. Avoid wearing strong perfumes. Keep children close to you and keep pets on a leash at all times. If you see a bear, stay calm. Speak in a calm, firm voice and back away slowly but NEVER run. Watch for fresh bear signs and maintain a distance of at least 100 metres from a bear. Avoid wearing headphones while walking or jogging. Make noise, clap or sing, or wear a bear bell. Not all bears that wander through your yard are dangerous. Bears make daily excursions and may travel hundreds of kilometres in search of food. Bears require large amounts of food to prevent starvation during hibernation and to produce offspring. They are continually looking for food and that sometimes brings them into contact with humans. A bear’s sense of smell and hearing is far superior to humans. Hungry bears will enter a backyard or campground if they smell a barbecue or trash container. They are natural scavengers and have good memories. They will return to sites where they have found food before. Bears are strong and have been known to bend open car doors and pry open windshields in their search for food. A bear enjoying an apple. There are things we can do to prevent attracting a bear to our cottage, home or campsite. Don’t leave any type of food, garbage or pet food where a bear can get at it. Store them inside or in a bear-proof container. Take your garbage away immediately and put it out at the curb just in time for your regular collection time (not the night before). Cooking grease, bones and waste parts of meat should be stored in the freezer until your garbage day. Do not put any meat or fish in your back yard compost bin. Barbecues attract bears. Clean up cooking and eating areas promptly when finished and keep your grills clean and free from grease. Suet, birdseed and hummingbird mixes may attract bears. If you have fruit trees, pick fruit and windfalls every day when ripe. Enclose composts, fruit trees, vegetable gardens and beehives with chain link or electric fencing, and keep pets inside at night. Problem bears aren’t born, they are made that way. It is up to humans to change our behaviour to live in harmony with bears. One irresponsible neighbour can ruin it for a whole neighbourhood. You can learn more about black bears by visiting NIWRA. Please 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~ Many birds we have grown accustomed to seeing are actually species that visit us from the south for a brief appearance to breed. Seasonal migration presumably evolved as a means of increasing lifetime reproductive output. The extra daylight we enjoy in the spring and summer provide birds with more hours per day in which to gather food. Thrushes, like this little one, are long-distance migrants. It's nothing short of a miracle how birds fly long distances. They prepare for their long trek by accumulating fat to provide fuel for the prolonged flight. They can lose one-fourth to one-half of their body weight during overwater migration. Most long-distance migrants, especially smaller birds, fly at night. They may travel continuously or land daily around sunrise to rest and forage. When traveling over water or unsuitable habitats, birds that normally stop each day may fly without a break for longer periods. For example, Blackpoll Warblers migrate overland in spring, but autumn migrants travel non-stop over open ocean from south-eastern Canada and the north-eastern United States to their wintering grounds in northern South America. Migrants that move only relatively short distances within our region usually travel during the day, generally spending only a few hours of the morning in migration. Aerial foragers, such as swallows and swifts, do not stop but simply feed in flight as they are migrating. Preparing to migrate, hummingbirds eat lots of nectar and insects, and respond to hormonal changes that are triggered by the changing length of daylight. The Rufous Hummingbird generally winters in Mexico and possibly as far south as Panama. The process of migration has baffled humans for centuries and many theories have been developed. Is it the sun, stars or moon that helps to guide birds? Landmarks or the magnetic field of the earth have also been thought to be the answer. Migration is derived from the Latin word migrare, to go from one place to another. It is a regular movement and refers to the spring movements of birds from their wintering to their summering or nesting places, and the fall movements from their nesting grounds to their wintering places. They migrate because of the greater availability of food and longer days in which to gather food for nestlings. These factors enhance their chances of survival. It also means avoiding the physiological stress associated with cold weather. The migratory routes of birds are numerous, and while some of them are simple and easily traced, others are extremely complicated. Differences in distance traveled, in time of starting, in speed of flight, in geographical position, in the latitude of the breeding and wintering grounds, and in other factors all contribute to great diversity. No two species follow exactly the same path from beginning to end. The continued loss and degradation of stopover habitat is potentially a huge threat to the survival of bird species. As birds fly south, they may find fewer places to rest. As forests are being cleared and fragmented, it has a serious negative effect on migrating birds and other species. 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~ Owls inhabit all continents except Antarctica. They have adapted to a wide range of habitats from deserts, jungles, grasslands and forests, to the tundra of the high Arctic. There are over 250 species of owl in the world; there are 15 owl species in B.C. including the endangered Spotted Owl. We have seven species of owls resident at NIWRA (Great Horned, Great Grey, Barn, Barred, Western Screech, Long-eared and Snowy Owls). Spook, one of our resident Great Horned Owls All owls are raptors and catch live animals for their food. They will catch and eat just about any animal smaller than themselves; but most have a particular fondness for mice and rats. They will also eat smaller owls, other birds, snakes, voles, frogs, and even fish. Owls have special features that make them great hunters. Their eyes, ears, beak, talons, and feathers are special adaptations to help them hunt. Owls have very large eyes in relation to the size of their bodies. Their eyes gather and concentrate many times more light than ours do. Owls have forward-looking eyes, giving them binocular vision and excellent depth perception, which is an advantage in hunting. In fact, they can focus on both near and distant things at the same time, a special adaptation allowing them to properly gauge distance and avoid branches, etc., when they are pursuing prey. Owls have an extra eyelid that moves back and forth over their eyes like a windshield wiper. This is called a nictitating membrane (a Greek word meaning to wink). Instead of spherical, owl eyes are set deeply into their head. They cannot rotate or roll their eyes like we can, and in order to see around, they must turn their heads. Owls can turn their heads about 270 degrees. We can only look as far as our shoulders, or 180 degrees. Owls have extra neck vertebrae (14) to give them this mobility. Elsa, our resident Snowy Owl. All owls have extremely acute hearing. Some use their hearing more than sight for hunting, enabling them to hunt at night. Owl ears are offset top to bottom and back to front. This allows them to detect minute differences in sound direction to determine exactly where on the forest floor their prey might be, even if they can’t see it. All owls have circles of feathers surrounding their eyes which act as facial disks. As owls don’t have earlobes to direct sound waves to their ears, these facial disks work like satellite dishes, focusing sound towards their ears. Owls have a hooked beak, as do all raptors. This shape helps owls to kill their prey and tear the meat apart for swallowing. Owls’ mouths are large; in human terms, their mouths would extend all the way back to their ears. This allows them to swallow large pieces of food. Many are able to eat a fully-grown rat in one piece, generally headfirst. Owls, like other raptors, have sharp talons used to catch their prey, to hold onto their dinner while they eat, and to defend themselves from enemies. Owl feathers have colour patterns that act as protective camouflage, helping them to not be seen by their prey and their enemies. Owl feathers are like fine hairs, and some of them extend down over their feet. This allows them to fly silently. They are the ultimate stealth flyers. This means they have an advantage over many other birds whose more rigid feathers make a lot of noise when they are flying. Oliver, one of our resident Barred Owls. Injured owls are often found on or near roads, many of them hit by cars. The reason many owls hunt along roads and highways is the food waste we throw out of our cars; it attracts rodents who feed off the food wrappers, bread crusts, apple cores, etc. The rodents who feed on the roadside food waste attract owls and other raptors who prey on them and, unfortunately, they may be hit by passing vehicles, or fly into trees or fences when blinded by headlights. Please don't throw garbage out of your car; take it home and dispose of it responsibly, where it won’t harm our wildlife. Some of our resident owls have been partially blinded or sustained broken wings from these collisions, and though we can often successfully treat broken bones, the soft tissue may not heal, and these owls would be unable to fly properly and feed themselves. Because of this, we are unable to release them, so we look after them for the rest of their lives. The resident owls at NIWRA may live for more than 20 years -- longer than in the wild. They are well fed, have no enemies or stress, and have immediate veterinary care should they get sick or sustain an injury. Two of our Barred Owls – Quinn and Oliver – are glove-trained and spend some of their time with their handlers, meeting visitors around NIWRA’s grounds. They are an essential part of our educational program. 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~ Keeping bird feeders and bird baths clean is key to preventing and spreading diseases such as salmonella, trichomoniasis, aspergillosis, and avian pox among our feathered friends. This poor little guy is obviously sick. Once a month, take down your bird feeders and soak them in a 10% bleach solution. Rinse thoroughly and dry the feeders before refilling them. Discard old seed and remove seed from the ground. If you also treat our feathered friends to a birdbath, please keep it fresh by rinsing and scrubbing it with nine parts water, one part vinegar. And refill the water regularly to keep it from bugging up. Consider adding a solar-powered fountain for circulating water to discourage mosquitos from laying their eggs. Some diseases can be spread to humans, so protect yourself by wearing gloves while doing the cleaning. Heated birdbaths that are designed to keep the water from freezing are available so you can continue giving birds access to water in the colder months. If you see a bird with illness symptoms such as a lack of energy or movement, tremors, lack of coordination; swelling around the head, neck, and/or eyes, call NIWRA or your local wildlife rehabilitation centre for advice. You can help the wildlife in care at NIWRA and further our public education programs by making a financial contribution on our secure website. Thank you so much for caring about wildlife!

~Wildlife education~ Located adjacent to the Magical Field of Stones at NIWRA is Dan's Nook Wildlife Garden, a lovely oasis where you can see pollinators at work and enjoy lovingly tended plants. Dan's Nook Wildlife Garden The wildlife garden was the brainchild of long-time NIWRA volunteer, Dr. Lynne Brookes, who developed the concept and made it a reality in 2015, with the help of many volunteers. The garden showcases native plants as well as non-native plants that have been successfully introduced, with a special focus on providing a supportive habitat for pollinators (birds, bees, butterflies, etc.) and other micro wildlife. It also features a pond and bog area. The pond within the garden Come visit our garden and enjoy local wildlife in their natural habitat. In the summer in our mini-wetland, you may be able to spot tadpoles hatching; dragonfly nymphs emerging; pollinators busy at work; Marsh Marigolds blooming; or hummingbirds feeding. Volunteers water flowers and tend the garden, and in the Spring and Summer, they act as wildlife garden hosts, educating the public about the plants and the many benefits of the garden. A majority of the funding for the garden was provided by anonymous private donation for which we are very thankful. Each year, NIWRA grows and sells plants to raise funds to continue to maintain the wildlife garden. You can help the wildlife in care at NIWRA and further our public education programs by making a financial contribution on our secure website. Thank you so much for caring about wildlife!

~Wildlife education~ The American bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana), the largest frog in North America, is an invasive species due to its voracious appetite and the large number of eggs it produces. It has a negative effect on native amphibians and other fauna. Frogs eat any animal that can be captured and swallowed, including all kinds of vertebrates and invertebrates. Larvae eat suspended matter, organic debris, algae, plant tissue, and small aquatic invertebrates. Bullfrog adults eat insects, snakes, small mammals, birds, and smaller native frogs. An American bullfrog The bullfrog gets its name from the sound the male makes during the breeding season, which sounds similar to a bull bellowing. Amphibians like frogs, toads, newts, and salamanders live in the water but can survive on land. Many species of birds eat frogs, toads and salamanders. Long-legged wading birds like herons and egrets feast on these amphibians. The common merganser eats frogs and 5% of the belted kingfisher’s diet is frogs. Crows are also voracious eaters of frogs. The belted kingfisher consumes the large tadpoles of the bullfrog when it dives into the shallows of small ponds, but it does not eat enough tadpoles to make a difference in the invasive population. The bullfrog is a successful breeder and can live up to 15 years. They begin breeding at the age of 4, with females laying up to 20,000 eggs in a single spawn. These tadpoles grow to about 15 cm. over a two-year period before they turn into a frog. They breed in early May in permanent ponds and lakes in sub-urban, rural, disturbed and wooded habitats. Sometimes they move into stream habitats either as tadpoles or young frogs. The bullfrog is the largest frog in North America, growing 8-20 cm. long and weighing up to 600 grams. They are green to brownish green in colour, and the breeding males have yellow under their chins. They have a conspicuous skin fold around the ear membrane down to the shoulder. Native to North America from southern Quebec and Ontario to the Gulf of Mexico, bullfrogs have spread into western North American from southern British Columbia to California. To prevent their spread into new areas, please do not move frogs, tadpoles or frog eggs from one wetland to another. You can help the wildlife in care at NIWRA and further our public education programs by making a financial contribution on our secure website. Thank you so much for caring about wildlife!

~Wildlife education~ Rat poison works its way up the food chain. Rats and other rodents that ingest poisons become lethargic and are easy prey for larger predators. The predators become sick or die after eating the rodents. An owl with a rodent in its mouth. BC has banned the widespread sale and use of second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs), which risk the secondary poisoning of animals who consume poisoned rodents. The anticoagulants in the rodenticides thin the blood and prevent it from clotting, causing rodents to die from internal bleeding. They have the same lethal effect on other animals. Exposing animals to poisoned bait and prey is how rat poison is injuring and killing owls and other BC wildlife. If you have a rodent problem, use alternatives to poison such as “Catch & Release”. Or if you hire a pest control company to help you deal with the problem, please ask them to follow the BCSPCA's AnimalKind standards. You can help the wildlife in care at NIWRA and further our public education programs by making a financial contribution on our secure website. Thank you so much for caring about wildlife!

~Wildlife education~ Each year, NIWRA admits raptors that have been hit by vehicles while hunting for food beside the road. Think twice before tossing that apple core out the window. Roadside litter, even biodegradable items such as apple cores and banana peels, can have a devastating impact on wild animals. Food thrown from vehicles attracts rodents, which in turn attract hunting raptors and other animals to the side of the road where they are often hit by automobiles. If animals learn that roadways are a good source of food, they will often return or stay to search for a meal. An injured owl on a car bumper. Food and beverage containers can also be deadly. Many small animals crawl into discarded bottles or jars and get stuck and starve to death. If you have food waste, properly dispose of it in a waste or compost bin. Check on where there are local drop-off bins along your travel route, or take a container with you to keep your scraps and dispose of them later. By making sure that all waste and compost is properly disposed of, you can help prevent injury to wild animals, and keep our roads safe! Please share this message with your friends and family. 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~ Each year many bears and other wildlife are killed because of human decisions and behaviour. The North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre has been caring for orphaned bear cubs since 2005. All orphans who arrive at NIWRA have lost their mother due to various circumstances: vehicle collisions, industrial accidents or being a nuisance to humans. This bear can't resist the easy calories found in a bag of garbage. Sixty percent of nuisance bear calls are due to garbage as an attractant. Being opportunists, bears can receive more calories from garbage in ten minutes than from foraging in the forest all day. Help protect bears by following these basic rules: · Put your garbage out in the morning of pick-up, not the night before. · Consider taking down your bird feeders during the summer. · Feed your pets indoors. · If you have a backyard compost, maintain it properly. Do not add fish, meat, fat, oils, unrinsed eggshells, cereals/grains or any cooked food. · Clean barbeques by burning off the grill and cleaning out the grease trap. Store the barbecue indoors. · Keep feed for farm animal indoors. · Pick fruit as it ripens since ripe fruit has a high caloric value which is highly sought after by bears. · Be aware of other sources of smells that attract bears: beehives, berry patches and smokehouses. A bear is attracted to food remains on a BBQ. Photo (c) Sylvia Dolson The next time you visit NIWRA, come see Rae, our non-releasable permanent resident ambassador black bear. Orphaned black bear cubs at NIWRA are reared with minimal human contact to avoid habituation to better their chances of surviving in the wild when released. They may go for weeks or months without seeing anyone (except perhaps the occasional visit from the veterinarian for a check-up). NIWRA visitors can view them on closed circuit TV at the base of the eagle flight enclosure building. 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!

~Come check out our pond residents~ Now that the warmer weather is here, our ponds will no doubt be home to some special guests again this year. The ponds at NIWRA were created primarily for the rehabilitation of waterfowl but also for water conservation. Turtles enjoy basking in the sun. Recovering ducks, geese and swans have been placed in the ponds where they are fed regularly until they are able to leave and fend for themselves. Some ducks and geese are permanent residents of the ponds because of injuries. A momma duck with her ducklings. Wild ducks and geese often fly in and raise their families at the NIWRA ponds. We have been successful in integrating orphaned goslings and ducklings into these wild families. You’re likely to see turtles in our ponds as well - Western Painted and Red-eared Sliders - especially when the sun is out. There's room for everyone on this log. The Western Painted Turtle is the only native freshwater pond turtle left in B.C., and it is considered an endangered species. It can be confused with the non-native Red-Eared Slider. To tell the two species apart, look for the telltale red “ear” mark on the Slider. The Western Painted turtles do not have any red markings on the neck or head. Their back is usually all green, while the underside is scarlet, reddish-yellow, or yellow with irregular dark patches. A young red-eared slider turtle. Most of the turtles in NIWRA's pond are red-eared sliders that used to be pets. As pets, turtles require large tanks, frequent cleaning, special filters, UVB lamps, dry basking areas, calcium supplements and chlorine neutralizing conditioner. That can be a lot of work! They also grow to be as big as a dinner plate and can live for 40 years - a long-term commitment. The next time you visit NIWRA, be sure to go for a walk or sit on a bench relaxing for a bit by the ponds. 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!

~Update on our resident Steller's Jay~ It's with heavy hearts that we announce the passing this week of Nugget, our resident Steller's Jay. Nugget was found as a young bird begging for food and was obviously used to being around humans, so we deduce that he was raised as a pet. Because he didn’t know how to forage for food, he came to live at NIWRA. Named the provincial bird of B.C. in 1987, Steller’s jays are excellent mimics with a large repertoire; they can imitate birds, squirrels, cats, dogs, chickens and some mechanical objects. They are part of the Corvid family of birds along with ravens and crows. The oldest recorded Steller’s jay lived to age 16. Named after German botanist/explorer Georg Steller, Steller’s jays are generalist foragers; they eat insects, seeds, berries, nuts and small animals. They are notorious nest robbers, stealing eggs and nestlings. They will also eat garbage, unguarded picnic items and bird feeder fare such as peanuts, sunflower seeds and suet. Everyone at NIWRA is going to miss Nugget. 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~ Unwanted and carelessly discarded fishing line, hooks and netting cause entrapment, pain, injury and death to many fish, birds, turtles and other animals who live on or near the water. Waterfowl, fish and turtles can become entangled when swimming. Birds sometimes use fishing line to build nests which can entangle both parents and chicks, causing feather damage, lacerations and/or death. Ingested fishhooks are painful, dangerous and potentially fatal for the creatures that eat them as well as predators such as large birds or animals. This unfortunate bird has fishing line in its beak! Be thoughtful when you fish. Pick up and properly discard your fishing gear when you are done. Cut fishing line into small pieces before throwing it away or recycling it. If you see an animal or bird that is entangled, has swallowed a hook, or is injured by fishing line, contact a wildlife rehabilitation centre for advice. You can help the wildlife in care at NIWRA and further our public education programs by making a financial contribution on our secure website. Thank you so much for caring about wildlife!