Direct Contact With Humans

It took 3 people to remove this fish carcass from the throat of a pelican. The exposed bones pierced its throat and lodged in its neck, wedging it into the bird.

When pelicans and other water birds eat fish, the whole fish dissolves at the proper rate. By the time the meat is dissolved, the bones are soft. This is the natural way water birds consume the fish in their diets. If you feed a cleaned fish body to a water bird, the bones are shallow and exposed in many instances. Serious injury and death can occur after you think you've done a hungry bird a favor!

Don't feed fish scraps to the birds!!

It was a beautiful, quiet, sunny late morning when a call came into the center from a woman named Myra Gale on Monte Cristo, which is part of the island of Tierra Verde (Myra's back yard backs up to the Intercoastal Waterway.) Knowing her birds and their behavior, she realized she was watching a heron swimming to the center of the channel. For those of you who don't know bird behavior, herons are wading birds not swimmers. Their feathers are not waterproof and eventually becomes water logged and ultimately will drown.

When Myra called the center for help, I went over to see what could be done. On my arrival, the bird was no longer visible. As we searched the area we noticed the heron clinging to a bottom rail of a dock three doors south of Myrrh's yard. We walked the seawall and scooted around a fence to where the bird was hanging on. As I approached him, he jumped back into the water and started to swim away. Reaching over the rail and scooping him up into the net head first, I gently placed him on the grassy area of the yard and carefully removed the net from his toes, legs, wings and head. I couldn't help wondering why he was feeling so disoriented and ill. I wrapped him in a towel for transport back to the center for evaluation.

Questioning why this bird was so lethargic, weak and disoriented I soon got my answer. In the bottom of the cage the bird deposited a pile of evenly cut pieces of hot dogs . A well-meaning individual, from their back yard or condo balcony was feeding this heron and I'm sure other birds also. One of the pieces even had a greenish tint and looked spoiled. Hot Dogs are not a main staple for birds, neither is cheese, chicken necks, deli meats etc. After a few days in rehab, the bird was released.

So quickly did the bird jump into the street to scoop up the fish, the man driving the truck didn't have time to stop before he hit the bird and knocked him unconscious. The three other fishermen and the driver of the truck ran to the aid of the bird and pulled him out of the street. The fisherman that did the dirty deed took off before anyone could hold him accountable for what he had done. In the confusion no information was taken and we had no name or license plate number, consequently we were unable to prosecute him for animal cruelty.

When I got to the scene a very short time later, the bird was still unconscious with a pouch filled with 7 fish. Carefully picking up the unconscious bird, I was amazed that on a quick evaluation, he had no broken bones. Still showing no signs of waking up, I transported him back to the center and did the normal protocol for an impact patient. Because there were no broken bones, we felt sure when he awoke; he would eventually be released.

Tube feedings of fish puree', fluids, medications, and lots of TLC, we cared for the male, adult pelican for four days before he finally woke up. It didn't take long before we realized he wasn't seeing the fish we were holding out in front of him for him to eat. He was blind!

Stevie has been with us since March 1994.

The picture of Stevie here is a portrait done by the artist, Christopher Still. The mural, commissioned for the city of St. Petersburg, Florida immortalized our Stevie. If you are in the area or live here, it's a must see.

It was a sunny afternoon when we received a call into the center about a great blue heron that was lying on the ground outside a home where a woman was feeding birds. The report was, an elderly woman was feeding herons, egrets, gulls and crows outside her front door and the different species were fighting over the pieces of chicken liver, cheese, chicken necks. She fed these birds everyday and had collected quite an audience for her handouts of foods these birds shouldn't eat. The digestive system for birds of these species cannot tolerate the fats, dyes, and preservatives that human food contains, beside the fact that the nutritional value is lacking. Instinctively egrets and herons feed on fish, small birds, mammals,and snakes in order to keep healthy.

While fighting for the food the woman was throwing up into the air attracting many birds, the heron was able to snatch the chicken neck away, from the gulls, egrets and crows. Successful in getting the "prize" he flew straight into the air, hit the power lines, ultimately crashing to the ground. With the wind knocked out of him and unable to move, he still held on to the chicken neck.

We were called to retrieve and help this big, beautiful, adult, heron. We drove him directly to the veterinarian for x-rays already knowing what the outcome was going to be. The x-rays confirmed our fears. He had a fractured back that could not be repaired and our only recourse was to put him to sleep. It was a very sad ending to this beautiful birds life. If left to his own ability to find his food it never would have happened.