January 4^th was a sad day at the Sanctuary. Foxy, our resident Eastern Fox Snake, passed away at nearly 18 years old.

Camp counselor Sam showing the Eastern Fox Snake to a camper

Fox Snakes have a lifespan of about 8-10 years, so we suspect Foxy died of old age. To find out for sure, Foxy’s body was sent to Dr. Matt Burr, a local veterinarian who donates his medical services to the Sanctuary. Dr. Burr is going to perform a necropsy (an autopsy for animals) to determine Foxy’s cause of death.

Foxy was born at the Detroit Zoo on June 19, 1995. Shortly before her 1^st birthday, Foxy moved to Binder Park Zoo. She lived there until 2001 when she moved to Pierce Creek Institute. Foxy came to the Bird Sanctuary in 2004 and lived here for the remainder of her life. Foxy will be remembered for being a wonderful animal ambassador who helped educate both kids and adults about nature. Foxy is survived by her wild relatives who live along Lake Huron and Lake Erie in marsh areas and wet meadows.

A celebration of Foxy’s life is currently taking place at the Sanctuary. A memorial has been set up, and all of Foxy’s many friends are invited to come out and share their favorite memory of Foxy on her memorial.

In lieu of flowers, do your part to help Foxy’s wild relatives. Eastern Fox Snake populations are declining, and they are listed as a threatened species in the state of Michigan. The marsh areas and wet meadows Foxy’s relatives live in are being destroyed by human development and pollution. If you plan to build on this type of habitat, consider relocating your building project. Remember not to litter, and if you see trash, pick it up. This will prevent land and water pollution and keep Foxy’s relatives and the other creatures from eating trash. Eastern Fox Snakes tend to be very docile, so they are often kept as pets. Removing Eastern Fox Snakes from the wild is both illegal and detrimental to their population numbers, so don’t collect Foxy’s relatives from the wild. Eastern Fox Snakes are an important part of the food chain, and we need them in the wild eating rats and mice.

For more information:

Michigan DNR Eastern Fox Snake

U of M BioKids Critter Catalog; Eastern Fox Snake

Last Saturday, I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the Michigan Hawking Club meet. Hawking is another word for falconry, the art of hunting wild game with trained birds of prey. The meet was in Grand Rapids at the Boy Scouts of America Camp. There was a very in-depth presentation about raptors, as well as a hunting demonstration for the Boy Scouts. There were lots of birds, including several species I have never seen in real life before—an Aplomado Falcon, a Eurasian Eagle Owl (not really used for falconry, but still a really cool bird!) and a white Gyrfalcon.

This is an Aplomado Falcon, a small falcon of the southwestern U.S. and Mexico.

This is a Eurasian Eagle Owl. They are related to Great Horned Owls, but are much larger.

This is a female white Gyrfalcon.

Aside from being a chance to get together with other bird people, the meet was a chance for falconers to hunt together. I was able to go watch a Peregrine Falcon hunt, and also tagged along with two men who flew Red-tailed Hawks. It was amazing to watch the birds in action! I am so used to working with permanently injured education birds that seeing perfectly healthy birds doing natural behaviors was a real treat.

This is a female Peregrine Falcon. She is wearing a hood to keep her calm until the falconer is ready for her to fly.

Records of falconry date back to over 4000 years ago. It originated in the Middle East, and remains an important part of the cultures of some Middle Eastern countries. Falconry became popular in Europe in the Middle Ages as a sport for the nobility to practice. It is relatively new to the United States, having only become popular in the early 20^th century. It is currently legal in every state except Hawaii.

Those who become falconers pretty much commit their lives to the sport. Becoming a falconer is a lengthy process, and includes a written test and utilizes a mentor/apprentice method for training.  The ranks of falconers are Apprentice, General, and Master. The apprenticeship phase lasts two years, and the Apprentice can have one bird (either a Red-tailed Hawk or an American Kestrel). General falconers can have two hunting birds, and are not limited to Red-tails and Kestrels. To become a Master falconer, and be able to have three hunting birds, you have to be a General falconer for at least 5 years. Falconry is not a hobby to be undertaken lightly, but it is a great activity for those with the time and money to invest.

I learned quite a bit at the meet, and really enjoyed it! If you are interested in learning more about falconry, check out these websites:

Michigan Hawking Club

North American Falconry Association

I am the Avian Care Intern here at the Kellogg Bird Sanctuary, but this internship is about so much more than just taking care of birds. Part of my responsibilities here included completing a project that interested me and benefitted the Sanctuary as a whole. I am interested in educating people about conservation, so I decided to make two educational displays for the Overlook Museum. The Sanctuary put up a Purple Martin house just this spring, so I made one display about Citizen Science and Purple Martins. I created another exhibit about lead poisoning in Trumpeter Swans, because I am interested in the impact that lead ammunition has had on bird populations. I spent a good bit of time researching Purple Martins and Trumpeter Swans, and have learned  A LOT about both species. By doing this project, I also learned a lot about exhibit design—how to make an aesthetically pleasing layout, which type of font to use, what size of font to use, etc. etc.

To learn more about the internship program here at the Sanctuary, and about past intern projects, check out our intern web page.

Here is a little summary of my exhibits:

Purple Martins are fascinating birds. Over thousands of years, they have developed a close relationship with people, and have now reached a point where they will only nest in man-made housing. The introduction of House Sparrows and European Starlings was a huge blow to the Purple Martin, because the non-native birds would out-compete them for nesting sites.  In 1987, the Purple Martin Conservation Association was formed in response to their decline. In 1995, the PMCA started Project Martinwatch, a Citizen Science project that collects data from Martin landlords across the country to monitor their population. Thanks to the combined efforts of citizen scientists and academic scientists, the Purple Martin is doing much better now than it was before. The Sanctuary put up a Purple Martin house this past spring for the first time, and we had one successful nest. Hopefully we will have even more success next year!

Though lead waterfowl shot was banned in 1991, the presence of lead in the environment is still proving to be a problem for many species, including Trumpeter Swans. Trumpeters are susceptible because of their foraging habits. They dig around in the bottom of lakes with their bills, which uncovers lead that had previously been buried. They then ingest the lead, because they cannot tell the difference between a lead pellet and a small stone, which would aid in digestion by grinding up hard food items like corn. Because lead is such a soft metal, it is ground up in the gizzard, and is rapidly absorbed into the blood stream. As few as three lead pellets have been known to cause death! Conservation groups, such as the Trumpeter Swan Society, are working to ban all lead ammunition for hunting, but progress is slow due to opposition.

Be sure to check out the Overlook Museum the next time you visit the Sanctuary! The hours are the same as the bookstore: Monday through Friday from 9am-5pm, and Saturday and Sunday from 11am-4pm.

This is our resident Bald Eagle, who was hatched in 1985 in Cheboygan, MI. In 2003, he was found with a broken wing. He was treated at Michigan State University’s Veterinary Clinic, and was deemed non-releasable due to his injuries. He lived at the Potter Park Zoo until 2006, when he came to live at the Sanctuary. The Zoo wanted a glove-trained presentation bird, but his amputation prevented him from balancing well enough to do so. He does very well here as a display bird.

Despite the name, Bald Eagles are not actually bald. They are named for their white heads, which they develop around five years of age. Bald Eagles are usually found near bodies of water, and are known for their fondness for fish. When fish are not available, Bald Eagles are known to eat waterfowl such as Mallard Ducks and American Coots, and they also scavenge extensively.  Bald Eagles are one of the largest birds of prey in North America, with a wingspan of nearly seven feet!

Bald Eagles are known for being America’s national symbol. However, founding father Benjamin Franklin did not want the Bald Eagle to be our national symbol because of their scavenging habits. He would have preferred the Wild Turkey, because he thought it was more noble.

The Bald Eagle was listed as endangered in 1978 due to a combination of hunting, poisoning, and the reproductive problems caused by the pesticide DDT. After DDT was banned and purposeful killings were decreased, the Bald Eagle made a dramatic recovery. In 2007, the species was removed from the Endangered Species list. One of the largest continuing threats to Bald Eagle population health is lead poisoning from hunter-shot kills. Because they scavenge so much, particularly during the winter when waterways freeze over (which often coincides with hunting season), Bald Eagles are especially susceptible to lead poisoning.

Bald Eagles are rather vocal birds, though the sounds they make would surprise many people. In movies, the typical “eagle” scream is actually the sound made by a Red-tailed Hawk. Bald Eagles make more of a chittering, high pitched sound. Our resident Bald Eagle is quite chatty. Be sure to stop at his enclosure the next time you visit, and he might talk to you!