Outside of Work

The first few weeks of this externship were rough in every way possible but about half way through you figure it out and your body gets conditioned to the extreme physical labor. Conflicts come up, patients don't make it after showing so much promise, added to missing your life back home and you realize you NEED TO GET A LIIIIIFE!! Even if the town you are in is slightly super backwards.

Here are some pics from fun roommate time we've had over the past few weeks. I've met some of the most amazing people here, ones I hope to keep in touch with and work with again in the future. 

Hibachi Wednesdays with my favorite Canadian, Amy (rehab extern)

Chilling on the front porch of the center on breaks/lunch.

Shopping/Starbuck's trips with road sodas ;)

Successful shopping trips are the bessst!!

Enjoying the view from the porch out back

Unsuccessful shopping trips are equally entertaining lol

This is the student house. Houses anywhere from 6-9 people (usually girls) Most of us share a room at some point and we all chip in for chores

Late night roaming the backyard/field during amazing lightening storms and watching foxes run around out back.

more Starbuck's trips

Monica (another rehab extern) and I

>>Dinner trips to nearby towns & an excuse to wear the cute clothes we bought

Said goodbye to Nia, a vet extern, who's returing to Colombia for a new job. She was so awesome and sweet and it was so much fun to hang out with another Latina lol we just got each other.

So yes, we work hard but sometimes play waaay harder ;)

Day 30 - Things From the Last Week

Hey all! Sorry for the hiatus from blogging! I realized I was having such a hard time adjusting to everything because I was staying so attached to what was happening back home and not focusing fully on the amazing things I had going on right in front of me. Took a short break from Facebook and stayed off my phone at work and spent more time with my friends here and dove into my work completely. As a result, I am still as exhausted and broken as I was before but I'm loving every single second. Busy season for rehab is such a stressful time even when you're in your native habitat but now that I have fully embraced the situation I am in it is far more enjoyable.

I'm going to be breaking down the past week for you folks back home over the next couple posts and try to incorporate some education in it for you as well. I know a lot about these species from the years of experience I have working directly with them and also from learning from those in the same field (my peers and supervisors). I realize not many of you have had that same opportunity so I will try to help you get a better understanding of the species I am working with so that you can have (hopefully) more enriching encounters with them in the future.

The first thing you need to understand about any wildlife hospital (or human hospital probably) is that we are ruled by the great and powerful whiteboard!

The rules of the board are:

1) at the end of the day, all tasks must be completed

2) when working on a task you must cross it out and inital it so that no one does it twice

3) erase said task only when it is complete!!

4) Remember Remember! to mark off completed tasks and update update update if there are changes so everyone is on the same page.

We bow to the almighty whiteboard and only leave when it has been satisfied hahaha

That sounds a bit dramatic....and maybe it is.... a little. Some days it definitely feels that way and some days just looking at the board at 4pm and seeing how much needs to be finished is quite depressing. But everyday we get it all done (or put it down for the next day) and we head home tired and ready for a good meal and some solid sleep.

I've had small anxiety attacks when I see something had been crossed off but it wasn't done or half completed and now your schedule is thrown off!! AUUGGHHH hahah

This particular day included heavy browsing for vegetation for the bears and fawns....

here Monica is showing me the proper way to...attempt to pull down a tree without tree clippers... lol We've gotten very efficient at defores....browsing for our larger mammals which rely heavily on eating a variety of local flora. (See previous post on browsing) At this point, the fawns have been weaned to morning formula feedings and only have apples, grain and browse for the rest of the day/night. The bears also need to get used to browse because when they are released, grazing native vegetation will be a huge part of their diet. We have about 30 fawns and 16 bear cubs so browsing is a huge endeavor everyday...meaning we do ^^this quite a bit :P

I was also able to release another little cottontail into our backyard :)

Good luck little bun!

We also recieved a third Snapping Turtle, take a look at this 20 lb dinosaur

It is important to handle a Snapping Turtle the proper way since their head can reach the front half of their bodies and they are faaast. For this reason, we grab them by the very base of their tails, then lift them vertically with our other hand under the back half of their body. It requires quite a bit of forearm strength (especially with this dude) and you definitely do not want to carry them very far if at all possible...unless you are looking for a killer workout.

Here are some more close ups of the giant.

Turtles are surprisingly awesome climbers...even ones as big as these Snappers. We have to make sure their tubs are always covered with a heavy mesh frame or they will quickly escape...see below.

Ok! Sorry, this is short but I NEED to pass out! Tomorrow I'm tubing every possum and baby bunny in Virginia (it feels like) and any day now we'll be adding baby squirrels to the mix! I'll have more on that as well as some cool video I've been collecting of Buddy the Bald Eagle and the bears in their new enclosures. Goodnight all! Enjoy your weekend, for me it's Wednesday :) :)

Day 23 - Gettin in the Groove

>> Remember: clicking on the pics will open them in full size!<<

It's Monday....oh wait, Thursday...right?! haha I have lost all concept of time in the real world. So it's my Monday at the start of my 4th week at the Wildlife Center of Virginia. My official training is over but I still learn so much everyday. Keeping this in mind helps me push through the stress: mental and physical haha. I'm going to keep a chiropractor veeery busy when I get home :P

I started out on meals again today and spent a lot of time with turtles! They are so strange and foreign to me....unlike most of the creatures I'm used to working with. But so adorable!

This little dude is seriously 3 inches long haha

Hung out on my break with the resident Eastern Ratsnakes we keep in the library :) Albus and Severus. Gorgeous snakes and so sneaky!! Albus gets out of his enclosure regularly and we never know how but have to keep reinforcing their cage to try to prevent it.

There he goes again...trying to find a new way out!

After break I went on pickup & exercise with one of our volunteers. We exercised our EASO's (Eastern Screech Owls) and they are so cute it's stupid!! Also got to exercise one of our kestrels...Amazing to witness their agility up close. I'm gaining a true respect for so many of these smaller and, maybe, less appreciated/recognized birds of prey.

 After pickup/exercise I headed out to the forest where we're clearing ground for the new 2-acre bear enclosure. It will be fantastic and so perfect for the growing cubs. I couldn't help but think of Fern Gully when I got to the site though. hahaha I'm a nerd, sorry.

Took a lunch (at 2pm) finally and look who we found escaping!!! Albus! That trouble maker! We watched him squeeze through the small space between the glass and the uppr shelf hah He actually squeezed pee out of himself to fit through!! That's what I call dedication!

Spent the rest of the day in ICU taking care of these Northern Flickers! Loved this guy. He's the one with the cast/leg bandage from a previous post. He is ravenous and will sit by the door being SO noisy until we come and stuff him full of worms. I would open the door and there he was, like a puppy barking for attention. Loved it!!

Also got this new cottontail bun!! I almost died from cuteness. Crossing my fingers for this little one, didn't look to be in great shape when I left tonight.

Anyways, just another day :) We moved almost all the fawns into deer yards so we're weaning them off formula and getting them on solids so they'll be ready for release in September! I'm finally getting the hang of things at this new hospital and feeling more comfortable with the day-to-day. Still ignoring the ....personnel problems we have to deal with. There's no time to waste on useless people ever, let alone in this situation. Unfortunately, I can't ignore my aches and pains! I feel the strongest I ever have but also the oldest!!! haha Need to start iceing my knees after work ....or my whole body lol As long as I don't injure myself again!

Just finished payroll and I'm off to bed. Bleh!! Need more sleeeep!! Thinkin that won't happen for another 4-5 weeks.

Oh and check out our tufted titmouse (pics of it in previous posts) in his outside aviary being a happy and very bossy titmouse :) He actually landed on my head, shoulder, and back chirping and vibrating with his wingbeats until I gave him my undivided attention :P

Have a great week all!!

End of Week 3

This week was tough but once again I survived :) Started it off with a quick trip to a suburb of Richmond to deliver those baby bats for transport to a bat rehabber.

This state is so pretty - loved the chance to explore on the center's dime and time :) Also, very nice to get away from the daily grind even for a few hours. Dropped the bats off at the Winterfield Vet Hospital and then enjoyed a leisurely cruise back to the hospital.

When I got back there were random jobs for me to finish/work on like acclimating this little cottontail....ugghhhh I love their little ears, it's ridiculous. 

I forget why I was in these pens...I think this is when I was moving Eastern Screech Owls....either way love seeing these dudes all shrunk down and camoflauged. When they get alarmed they puff up and look like little Muppet creatures :)

Amy and I have been having lots of fun these last couple weeks. She heads back to Canada in a week...I'll miss her like crazy but we've had a lot of fun and she's taught me a lot and kept me sane

Yea this European Starling likes people waaaay too much haha

This is Jordan displaying our fancy shmancy hat we use when working with baby raptors who are very prone to imprinting. To avoid this we disguise our faces so they have a harder time imprinting to humans and can be more successful when released back into the wild. Stylish right?!

Little bee on a Hosta plant outside the center :)

On fawn/bear duty for a day this week so we headed out into the forest to look for good browse to bring back for our animals :) Always a good time dragging trees back through the forest and then double checking for ticks ;)

Yes it is this green :) This area has been clear cut to make space for the new bear enclosure under construction. It is going to be amazing...when it is finally completed. These cubs NEED more room badly. The facilities we have right now are just not big enough for 8 messy, rambunctious bear cubs. They need room to explore and grow and exercise....plus it is getting more and more dangerous for us to be confined with them in such close quarters so it will be better for everyone once they get into their new enclosures.

 

This was one of the worst days so far....I was seriously murderous by the end of the day but fun shades and silly scrubs can help you to ignore the idiots and focus on the good times

Time to put these bears/fawns on leashes and let them browse for themselves!!! lol

June bugs for daaaaays

And pretty little blooms scattered around the property

Poor little flicker but cmon...super cute!

This was a rough week and I'm emotionally exhausted....won't lie when I say I almost walked for reals. But I'm no quitter and I won't let someone else ruin this experience for me. I expected the work to be difficult and physically taxing but not my relationships with coworkers....and at the end of the day I have zero energy for problems other then surviving 10 hr days on my feet in near 100% humidity. I spent two hours on the phone with my parents today trying to trouble shoot this situation, playing with the idea of leaving early....then I remembered I don't care hahaha I'm going to see this through, I sacrificed SO much getting here and I will reap the full benefits. So if I have to go to my happy place everyday I'm at work then so be it. My happy place is full of fuzzy animals, hott men and french fries so I'll be okay hahah But seriously.

I'm delirious with exhaustion still. Got a fun filled day planned with Amy tomorrow so off to bed I go. Have a wonderful week everyone!! 

Day 15 - One of Those Days...

Woke up at 6am without my alarm....just wiiiide awake. This would normally be awesome except I went to sleep at midnight last night and I was worn out. But I took advantage of my early start, got to the store to pick up some fresh fruit, greek yogurt/granola and some healthy things for lunch for the week. I had forgotten how to take care of myself while being on "vacation" and since I haven't been "home" yet, it's been a struggle getting back into my groove of healthy eating and daily exercise. Except I exercise everyday..... probably harder than I would normally so it's time to start taking care of myself in other ways as well. The other weird thing about today was that it was overcast and rainy.....and it's July! So weird! So much for getting a nice tan all summer =/

But walking around the outdoor enclosures was really beautiful today, all shady and quiet in the wake of a huge storm that blew thru last night. So I got outside quite a bit :)

Today I was on meals, so I made ALL meals for all of the animals hahah seems like quite the bit of work but we prep a lot of bulk diet that we supplement with different things depending on the species of animal. When I was done with meals I took care of mammals (rabies pre vax once again) and then got to spend a little time with the adorable broad winged hawk hatchling!

Freakin adorable right??!! When I sent this picture to my sister she immediately sent me a picture of Michael Jackson which resulted in the creation of this amazing collab....

HAHAHAH right??!!! riiiiight?!! Yea it's too much for me, even now.

Thank you, thank you! We'll be here all week!...Try the thawed mice, delectable ;)

The rest of the day was lots of odd jobs including cleaning bear pens and hosing flight pens. Check out some of the pics I snapped while out doing chores. 

Super chill moth on the dumpster :)

Red tailed hawks trying to scare me while I hosed their pens

haha so intimidating...except when you've worked with these dudes as long as I have...they're just birds. You learn to read their body language and learn to move and act a certain way around them which makes both parties much more comfortable :)

I spent quite a bit of time in ICU taking care of birds and learning how to care for the infant bats we have been receiving lately. These particular ones are big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) and look like little dogs haha little, extremely vicious dogs. They are so foreign and different than anything I've ever worked with so it was fun picking the brain of my supervisor about bats and their diets/behaviors.

Here we stuck a sponge in its little mouth and then soaked it with formula which it slowly sucked up. One of the methods used to get these guys to eat without biting off our fingers. The pink dot on its head is to mark it and set it apart from its siblings....

We also got this awesome near fledged Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus). Ended up taking a short video to showcase this stunner. It was fun teaching him to gape for us so we could fill up it's belly with formula & bugs :)

But today WORE ME OUT!!... lol this is not a new concept ofcourse, I feel like I can't get any more tired one day.....then the next day rolls around and ouucchhhh!!!....but somehow I survive and keep learning more and having tons more fun with my coworkers/housemates :) But this was me for sure by 2pm...

Totally stopped giving a......... well you get it.

The last cool intake we got was a spotted turtle (Clemmys guttata) 

I'm in love with this cute turtle face!!! Aren't you?! This is an extremely rare species for us to receive so we don't know much about it and will be learning a lot over the next few days :)

Ended the day with grocery shopping for veggies & egg whites etc etc for the week and got a fancy shmancy suuuper sexy....KNEE BRACE!! lol So the next few weeks shouldn't be as painful as these first couple have been...hopefully :)

Goodnight y'all!! Hope you enjoyed your Friday night & have a wonderful weekend!