in memory of...........

We recently admitted a young bald eagle from Benzie County. This youngster was emaciated and very weak.

Xrays done at Long Lake Animal Hospital revealed that the eagle had been shot. (Note the 2 small light circles in the xray.)

Several lead pellets were embedded in her body. One of the pellets had fractured the ulna bone, which is one of two bones located in the wing, between the wrist and the elbow.

After fracturing the bone the pellet then lodged inside the bone cavity.

Once the young eagle was stable enough, surgery was performed on Dec 28 by Dr. Eric Peck and assistant Julie Januchowski (Northern Michigan Veterinary Hospital).

The 2 1/2 hour surgery was complicated and intense due to the extreme damage done by the lead pellets.

One the injury was cleaned up and the bones aligned, the wing was sutured, a bandage applied and the bird was taken off anesthesia.

Unfortunately, about 20 minutes post surgery,

the young eagle passed away.

This youngster's life was cut short by the idiot who intentionally shot her. Such a tragic situation...and so preventable.

The eagle, while here at Wings of Wonder, showed me that she was curious about life, was very personable, very chatty and extremely appreciative of the free meals she had here.

She and her wonderful spirit will be much missed.

A little holiday humor

A holiday story: by Dave Barry

"Tis the special time of year, the Holiday Retail Purchasing Season, a time when we traditionally print heartwarming human-interest stories designed to make you feel better about running up a level of debt normally associated with Mexico. I have such a heartwarming story, which was published by the The London Times and sent in by alert reader John Nicholls. The story, which I am not making up, concerns a man named Neil from Devon, England, who discovered an owl nesting in his garden. Each night Neil would go outside and hoot to the owl. To his delight, he'd hear a hoot in reply; then he'd hoot some more. This went on night after night, month after month; Neil even kept a log of his conversations with the owl. Then one day, Neil's wife got to talking about this with a neighbor, who said that her husband, whose name is Fred, had also been going out every night to hoot to the owl. At this point, the women realized that their husbands had in fact spent an entire year hooting to each other. The owl was not involved at all. The owl was probably inviting its owl friends over to drink owl beer and listen to these hooting twits and laugh until they fell off the branch."

Holiday card

Greetings,

We are getting ready to send out our holiday card. Golda sends a reminder that if you wish to receive this beautiful raptor card please make sure we have your full mailing address by emailing it to us. Thanks bunches!

eagle release reminder

Just a gentle reminder to all that we are still set to go for the eagle release tomorrow....11am, eagle's meadow (3805 west empire highway) which is just about 6.1 miles east of the village of Empire, on the south side of hwy 72. Weather predictions are for a wonderfully sunny day, temps around 55 degrees...perfect for watching this bald eagle fly free once again. Plan to arrive in plenty of time to park and get comfortable. We will have unique Wings of Wonder note card sets available for purchase as well as our hot-off-the-pressess raptor bumper stickers. We will also be passing the hat to collect donations. Everyone is welcome!

REMINDER: BALD EAGLE RELEASE

Just a gentle reminder about the up coming bald eagle release this coming saturday, november 12, 11AM at Eagle's Meadow located at 3805 West Empire Highway (6.1 miles east of Empire, on the south side of Hwy 72). Please spread the invitation to one and all...everyone is welcome.

Photo taken of the eagle in flight by amazing Dave Dalquist

Bald Eagle Release on November 12, 2011

Wings of Wonder is inviting the public to the release of a young Bald Eagle. This unique event will happen on Saturday, November 12th at Eagle Meadow located at 3805 W. Empire Highway, Empire, 49630, beginning at 11:00AM. We ask that you arrive a bit early to allow time for parking, wear warm clothing, leave the dog at home and don't forget to bring your camera. We will have one-of-a-kind WIngs of Wonder note card sets and our new raptor bumper stickers available for purchase....both make great xmas gifts! We will also be passing the "hat" to collect donations for future raptor rehabilitation and releases. For more information please call WOW at 231-326-4663.

(photo by Dave Dahlquist)

Wings of Wonder fall fund raiser!

Come support Wings of Wonder

Join us this Sunday, October 23rd, at Lil Bo Pub & Grille, 540 West Front Street,

Traverse City, 2-6PM.

Great music provided by legendary blues artist Terry Gillespie and our own local boys Angelo Meli, Mark Sanders and Gus Belanger.

$10.00 at the door

FREE appetizers

$10.00 spaghetti dinner,

door prizes, raffles and Wings of Wonder ambassador raptors...don't forget your camera!

Unique Wings of Wonder notecard sets and our new bumper stickers will be available for purchase....great xmas gifts!

Don't forget to follow us on facebook!

Barred Owl Release Tonight!

Just a gentle reminder about the Barred Owl release happening this evening near the south end of Charlevoix. Take Bells Bay Road South and head towards Lake Michigan, about a mile or so.

The event begins at 7:45PM, rain or sunshine. Invite your friends and family, bring your camera, and don't be late. See you all there!

This article was published in the Grand Traverse Insider, Sept 19, 2011, highlighting the addition of our newest educational family member. We welcome Golda to Wings of Wonder.

http://www.morningstarpublishing.com/articles/2011/09/19/grand_traverse_insider/news/leelanau_area/doc4e7793cec70bc051171403.txt?viewmode=default

Due to her poor health, both mentally and physically, Golda is in healing for at least the next 12 months. She is a 19 year old eagle who has been in captivity and on public display all of her life, with never any time off for rest, rejuvenation or privacy. I believe it will take her at least 3 years to reach balanced health and to molt in strong and beautiful feathers once again. Because of some of her past history with untrained and unprofessional humans, she has little reason to ever trust again. My immediate role with Golda is to slowly and gently build up a strong trust account with her. I visit with her several times each day, always arriving with a tasty treat. She has become quite curious about me....and will vocalize when she hears me coming in anticipation of the treat-of-the-hour. I have secured a source for fresh rabbit meat from the local Leelanau County 4H rabbit breeders. Because these quality meats are fresh and not frozen, they contain all the essential vitamins and nutrients critical to Golda's return to health. She is also fed a diet of quail, chicken and rodents. We continue to modify and remodel her aviary to fit her ever changing needs. We have found that she is most comfortable on wide and padded perches so have wrapped all surfaces with multiple layers of daisy mat and sisal rope. Golda is enjoying her "toys"....stuffed animals, old phone books, cardboard boxes and large rope toys which she spends endless hours shredding and tearing apart. If anyone wants to donate old and used toys to Golda please contact Wings of Wonder. All donations are greatly appreciated!!!

We will soon be including Golda as one of our "adoptable" ambassador raptors..so stay tuned. What a great gift a Golda adoption certificate would be for that friend, family member or cohort who seems to "have everything".

BARRED OWL RELEASE

Wings of Wonder is inviting the public to our next raptor release.

We will be releasing a Barred Owl back to the wilds on Saturday, September 24th at 7:45PM near the south end of Charlevoix, Michigan. From highway 31 turn north onto Bells Bay Road South, heading 1.5 miles north towards Lake Michigan.

There will be some wonderful opportunities for great pictures so don't forget your camera. Please help to spread the word and invite anyone and everyone.

It is such a gift to see an owl flying free!

For more information please contact Wings of Wonder.

EAGLE RELEASE POSTPONED

ALERT: Unfortunately I am having to cancel/postpone the eagle release, scheduled for this sunday, august 28th at 4pm. This eagle was admitted to Wings of Wonder very ill and infested with a severe case of maggots. She was literally being eaten alive by millions of maggots. During her early recovery she dropped 4 tail feathers due to the maggot damage. Today, while I was out cleaning the large aviary where she is housed, she flew overhead and dropped all but 2 tail feathers. It is now obvious that there was more damage to her tail area than realized. This prevents her release for now. We must wait for her to molt in a healthy tail which will take roughly 5-8 weeks. We will then reschedule her release at the Boardman Nature Center. I apologize for this inconvenience. Our goal is to always do what is best for the raptor. In this case, it is best to continue rehabilitative care and let her grow in a new tail.

BALD EAGLE RELEASE

Wings of Wonder is inviting you and your friends and family to the release of a young Bald Eagle. This special event will take place on Sunday, August 28th, 2011, 4:00PM at the Boardman Nature Center located at 1450 Cass Road in Traverse City. Please arrive a bit early to allow time to park. Leave the dog at home but don’t forget your camera! We will be passing the “hat” for donations and our unique Wings of Wonder notecards will be available for purchase. (It is never too early to stock up on special xmas gifts) For more information please contact Wings of Wonder at 231-326-4663 or by email wow@wingsofwonder.org

Screech Owl Release on August 4th, 2011

You are invited to our next raptor release!

Wings of Wonder will have 2 young eastern screech owls ready for release on August 4th at the Homestead Resort in Glen Arbor, Mich. I will first be presenting a program, “The Wonders of Raptors” at the resort from 7-8pm which is free and open to the community. The owl release will happen right after the program. We are creating a bit of fund raiser around this release. Viewing the release is free but if you want a rare opportunity to actually release the owl yourself you must purchase a raffle ticket for $20.00 each. 2 winning tickets will be drawn from a "hat"...these winners can name "their" owl and do the actual release. (gloves and release instructions will be provided) You must be at least 18 years of age to enter this “contest” and there will be no limit to the number of tickets you may purchase. Tickets will be available prior to the presentation as well as right afterwards. Don’t forget to bring your camera! For more information please contact Wings of Wonder.

BALD EAGLE RELEASE

Wings of Wonder is inviting the public to our first eagle release of the year. We will be releasing a HUGE adult female Bald Eagle on Saturday, May 28th at a field located at 3805 West Empire Highway. This field, owned by the Empire Eagles Club, was just recently named "Eagles Meadow", and is 6.7 miles east of Empire, just off of highway 72. The event will begin promptly at 11:00am. Bring your camera and we ask that you please leave the dog at home. We will pass-the-hat to collect donations towards future raptor rehabilitations and releases. For any more information please call Wings of Wonder at 231-326-4663.

spring news

A very happy spring to you all. As I sit here in my office I am listening to the toads trilling in our pond and watching the baltimore orioles, hummingbirds and even a chickadee sipping nectar from our feeders. After yesterday's rain storm everything looks so green and fresh this day.

We have had some new patients admitted to our center recently: a little screech owl who was hit by a car and sustained severe trauma to his right eye. Unfortunately the eye could not be saved, but he seems to be adapting to this disability quite well. He is now hunting live prey and we hope to release him back into the wilds very soon.

We recently admitted an adult turkey vulture who was also hit by a car which caused trauma to her right wrist area. She was very thin and weak when brought to Wings of Wonder. The exam revealed no fractures so we suspected she had either a sprain or pulled tendons to that wrist. She recovered nicely, gained plenty of weight with her free meals offered daily and was released back into the wild on May 9th. She flew off and soared above the Wings of Wonder flight pens for quite some time before heading off. We like to believe she was "thanking" us for helping her out and showing us just how strong and healthy she was. She was a sweet patient and we wish her well with this much deserved return to freedom.

In March we admitted an adult Bald Eagle from the Wexford County Landfill. This eagle was sick, her feet were covered with hard crusty black "gunk" and she had multiple wounds on both feet. She recovered from her illness and after repeated foot soaks and foot bandaging we were finally able to remove the black gunk. Some of her foot wounds did become infected which required rounds of antibiotics and daily foot soaks and medical treatments. The infections have now cleared up and her feet are looking so much better. This eagle was banded by the US Fish & Wildlife Service when she was a young chick. I ran a trace on her band numbers and learned that she was hatched in Michigan 12 years ago. She has a previous injury to her right eye, which is totally blind. This gal has certainly tangled with much in her 12 years of life. We hope to schedule her release within the next 4-6 weeks so stay tuned if you wish to attend this great event!

On April 12th we released a beautiful Great Horned Owl into the woods near Omena, Michigan. This owl was found alongside the road and most likely had been hit by a car during the night or early morning hours. The collision had left the owl with a serious head injury. His rehabilitation at Wings of Wonder went smoothly and before too long he was ready to go back home. The following pictures were taken by Meggen Watt during the release.

Several of our education ambassador raptors are busy fostering orphaned babies. Sage, our older Great Horned Owl is fostering 2 chicks and our screech owls Gilda and Arlo are fostering 3 little babies. The little American kestrel admitted to "WOW" last august is recovering nicely. He had flown over the methane burner at Glens Land Fill near Maple City. The flame had completely burned off all of his wing and tail feathers. He is now beginning his molt to replace these damaged feathers. If all goes well we hope to release him sometime this summer.

As always I give huge thanks to each of you for your continued support and generosity.

We could not continue this work without your commitment to WOW.

Let the journey continue..........forever onward!

Our fund raiser was a total success!

The fund raiser held at Lil Bo's Pub and Restaurant earlier this month was a complete success. Folks started arriving early and stayed late. There were a few bidding wars happening on several of our silent auction items, which is always such fun to behold. Leo Creek played great dancing tunes and had many folks out on the dance floor shakin-a-leg. The WOW ambassador raptors captivated everyone's attention and, as usual, our turkey vulture Doolin stole the show. The entire event was high energy, a very fun party, and raised a bit over $4000.00 for WOW!

Nancy Freund, owner of Lil Bo's, generously decided to donate 100% of here till at the end of the event, a total of $1000.00. She has also offered to host another WOW fundraiser in the fall, so stay tuned. Nancy's kindness is hugely appreciated.

To help us thank her, please check out Lil Bo's and enjoy her delicious meals....she makes the BEST burgers in town. She also offers live music just about each and every night. Selfishly, I need to put in a plug for Tuesday nights when TC Celtic plays a traditional acoustic irish session.....I provide the irish tenor banjo and mandolin component.

My heart-filled thanks to all who contributed auction items, for all who attended the fund raiser, and for all who sent a donation. Our important raptor educational programming and raptor rehabilitation services could not continue without this WONDERFUL support and generosity.

Yes, you are helping us "fly" to ever greater heights.

Let this journey continue.....

WOW fund raiser

The WOW fundraiser will take place Sunday, March 6th, from 2-6pm at Lil Bo's Pub and Grille located at 540 West Front Street in Traverse City. Live music is being provided by Leo Creek and there will be an appearance by some of the WOW ambassador raptors. We ask for a minimum $10.00 donation at the door. Lil Bo's is providing free appetizers and a delicious spaghetti dinner for $10.00. The WOW board of directors has collected a diverse assortment of fun raffle and silent auction items: classes at Blooming Lotus Yoga, some free hours from Shannon's Cleaning Services, private cooking classes, Bill Perkins unique bookends, Yen Yoga gift card, Chocolate/wine/and raptors at Wings of Wonder, Becky Thatcher earrings, private golf lessons and much, much more. Lil Bo's is donating 25% of all sales...so come hungry and thirsty! All proceeds will help keep Wings of Wonder flying. For more info give us a jingle at 231-326-4663 or by email at wow@wingsofwonder.org

The Law Suit is over!

It is truly cause for celebration....the law suit is officially over!

The good news is that the public road will not go through our property. The bad news is that we are not quite finished paying off our financial obligations in order to meet the terms of the settlement. There will certainly be some changes to the feel of our property due to the proximity of the new public road, and we will try to modify that with the construction of a fence...a costly venture, especially coupled with the $8000.00 that we are required to pay the road commission towards the construction of the road. Once this is done WOW can go back to dedicating our every penny to the raptors. As with any settlement, the only way to a compromise is to give and take on important issues. We fought hard for the issues that were most important to the survival of WOW. Now we can move forward.

So, onward we go. I have been thinking of hosting a "community" day to make a party out of getting the necessary fence built. Want to help? We will find a nice day this spring and we'll all "play" in the woods. Many hands will make light work.

In other news, our soon-to-be Eagle scout, Joshua Olsen, will be shipping or delivering/installing the new raptor nest boxes this next month. I am so very proud of him and his accomplishments. If you are in the neighborhood, please give a shout of thanks to Mark Gabrick of Lake Ann Hardwoods for providing the lumber.

Eoin, our ambassador Great Horned Owl, is very "nesty" right now and begins hooting as soon as she hears my voice. She desperately wants me to crawl into the nest box with her. Each night she carries all her stuffed animals into the nest box and gently tucks them into the bed of dried pine needles. She is so cute indeed!

I am unconditionally thankful to you all, for your overwhelming support and generosity, for your kind words and hugs during this stressful time, for your eloquent letters to the editors, and for your strong belief in Wings of Wonder. I have truly "felt the love" from you during this difficult legal journey. It is now time to move on and look forward with open hearts and clear minds.