Jonah's fundraising success

Jonah's fundraising success stories:
 Jonah was first introduced to me through a letter that he had sent to Wings of Wonder 3 years ago, when he was 7 years old.  Here is the letter:

(This is what the letter said: "Dear Wings of Wonder, I got this money from letting people pet my dog for $1.00.  P.S. I do not want Wings of Wonder to run out of money.  signed Jonah.)

Now that Jonah is 10 years old, he decided to organize another fundraiser...this one to take place at Books-a-Million in Traverse City.  Jonah created all the press releases, posters, handbills and even did a presentation at his school.  He talked a buddy into helping him pass out Wings of Wonder brochures, bumper stickers and to collect donations during the day of the fundraiser.

In addition to the donations collected at the bookstore, a number of folks chose to donate directly to Wings of Wonder.  I had posted a note to our membership that over a 14 day period all donations collected would be applied towards Jonah's fundraising efforts.  

The final tally is now in....Jonah raised $810.00 for Wings of Wonder!

Jonah is a huge inspiration to all of us...proving that one person can make a difference!

He reminds us all to be the change we want to see in this world.

The power of One

Jonah is clearly demonstrating, through his actions, that one person can be the change he wants to see in this world.
http://record-eagle.com/local/x1533633267/Boy-10-raises-money-for-endangered-birds

Golda and the new egg

In celebration of the first day of spring, 2013, Golda has laid an egg, the first one of the season.  

She tucked it into a corner, snuggled into a "nest" of dried leaves.  She seems quite proud and even curious about this egg, yet has absolutely no intentions of incubating it.  When I entered her aviary, bringing breakfast, she vocalized and chattered at me, an alert about the egg in the corner.  

She was not bothered as I approached the egg, nor did she display any territorial behavior.  In fact, her gentle chittering was more reflective of wanting to share this moment with me and an acceptance of my presence. 

Of course it helps to win her over when I arrive bearing a nice big piece of rabbit meat!

OWL

Our year-end holiday card included the following story:

A late afternoon day.

Owl is very sick, laying on the ground for hours. 

Finally he is rescued and brought to Wings of Wonder.  

Rigid as a board, his body is racked by seizures, nonstop. There is no respite. 

Now, immediate medical help.  Warmth.  Owl is safe for the night.

Morning arrives, the seizures continue, but less intense.  

More medicines, quiet, comfort, darkness.  

Time passes, there are moments of calm before the seizures return.  

Sleep finally comes in between.

At last no more seizures. Owl can eat small bites of meat.  

He stands.  Drinks water.

Soon he is strong enough and is moved outside to a small flight pen.  

Perched atop a stump, Owl looks all around as he did before he was sick.

Each day Owl eats a bit more and his strength returns.  

He will fly free once again.

Owl had eaten poison meant to kill rodents who were destroying trees.  

Owl ate these mice who had eaten the poison, and he himself nearly died.

Now, Owl will live for many more moons thanks to Wings of Wonder.

As promised, some pictures of Owl

Here is Owl several days after being admitted to WOW.  This was his first day without continual seizures.  He is very weak and sore...hence the squatted posture.  He struggled all day to stay up on his feet atop the perch.  

Each day he gets a bit stronger

Once he was eating solid foods he was moved from the hospital to an outdoor aviary.  This is Owl looking at the food I have just brought him.  It was so wonderful to see him perching and showing an interest in his dinner.

 Owl moments before his release back into the forest

This is what Owl left behind...a bit of rat skin and tail

Owl now flies free!

Merry Holidays to you and blessings for a new year filled with wonder, adventure, laughter and many wondrous experiences with nature.

namaste

(if you are not on our mailing list and did not receive our holiday card please submit your address and we will add you to the "WOW" family)

A message of thanks to our generous flock members:

Because of your outpouring of support and extreme generosity Wings of Wonder was able to complete the final payment to the Leelanau County road commission.   The horrid law suit and settlement agreements are now officially over.  Can you hear the shouts of joy?  I can not thank you all enough for your help through this mess....your kind words, your letters to the editors, your generosity, your bottles of wine, your humor....yes, you all kept me somewhat sane and strong.  I can honestly state that during this entire road saga not a single raptor here at WOW ever went without a meal!  

Wings of Wonder is now free to focus on our mission of raptor education, rehabilitation and conservation.   

Donations continue to arrive which will help us rebuild the depleted reserves for medical emergencies and for our educational scholarship account.  






WOW is still in a state of rehab and recovery as we move forward, yet it seems that each day we "fly" a bit higher.  

Now, let the journey continue...onward and upwards

(some photos Anna Grimm, Moments Captured Photography)

To all of our friends and supporters, we ask that you consider the following request:

Due at the end of this month is our second, and final, $4000.00 payment to the Leelanau County Road Commission, as per the settlement of the 2009-2011 lawsuit.  As you may remember, the road commission had decided that our private easement was a public road and decided to take ownership back in 2009, thus a lawsuit was "born".  This easement included our private driveway and, if allowed to become public, would have had cars driving through our yard and right alongside several of our flight pens.  If allowed to become public, the proximity of the new road to the flight pens would have closed down Wings of Wonder, permanently.  The settlement provided for a portion of a newly constructed seasonal road to be situated off of our property and 70 feet from our property line.  Terms of this settlement required us to make a total payment to the road commission of $8000.00.  The additional legal fees created a huge financial burden as did the required property perimeter fence which we built last fall.  This solid 9-foot fence now shields and protects the raptors from the new public road.  I am asking you to please consider a financial pledge of support towards this final payment.  Your donation is fully tax deductible and will help us to continue our mission of raptor rehabilitation, education and research.

   Help us to fly ever higher.  My raptorian thanks!

T

The release of 2 young Red Tailed Hawks

I decided to quietly release 2 young Red Tailed Hawks yesterday.  Both of these youngsters were admitted to Wings of Wonder as starvation cases and had both lost close to 50% of their normal body weight.  As youngsters, newly out on their own, young raptors just do not have perfected hunting skills.  It doesn't take long for them to lose weight, become weak, and no longer be able to hunt successfully.   If not found and rehabilitated, they will starve to death.

These 2 youngsters were the lucky ones.  They were found by caring individuals and transported to Wing of Wonder.  

Within a month they had put on weight, were flying, and were successfully hunting live prey.   I decided to release them on sight so I could continue to put out some free handouts, providing they decide to stick around. 

 

 It is always a joy to see rehabilitated raptors fly free once again.  

May they now have successful hunts and find safe habitats to raise their future families.