Tom Sweets, executive director of the Key West Wildlife Center, joined Good Morning Keys on KeysTalk 96.9/102.5 FM this morning to talk about what’s happening at the center.
Key West Wildlife Center responds to calls all over the Keys.
Sweets said, “We cover mile marker zero to about 31 in the in the Florida Keys. So, yes, it’s about a 31 mile range that we cover. We’ve got some great rescuers that help us out. I’d like to mention Pat our rescuer from Big Pine, she always does a great job. In fact, that’s a great place to start. We’ve had some very interesting rescues up there. We’ve had a red tail hawk, which is a raptor that we don’t see too many of. They’re usually flying through for migration this time of year. But we usually see some of the smaller hawks, the broad wing hawks, the Cooper’s hawks, but it’s a juvenile red tail. And she is a big girl. She was down, weak and weary on Big Pine Key just by the side of the road. I think it’s her first migration. So I think she just either didn’t get enough food, or she was dehydrated, so we were able to get her into care, and she’s rehabilitating. She’s left our clinic, and she’s out in the aviary now. She’s getting some flight training in our flight cage. Pat also was able to rescue a white crowned pigeon that was actually stuck in the grill of a car on Big Pine Key. So that was a very interesting rescue. She was able to safely get that white crowned pigeon out of the front grill of a car. So yes, we always are thankful for everybody out there, all our volunteers and staff that that does the rescues for us. Pat on Big Pine, Brittany in Key West. There’s so many people that help us out, so we really appreciate that.”
A pigeon in a grill of a car sounds severe.
Sweets said, “I don’t think it was hit by the car. I think somehow it just ended up in the grill. So I don’t think it was a matter of the bird being struck in traffic or anything. I think it had just somehow found its way into the inside workings of a car grill and Pat was able to get it out. So that’s always good. We get all kinds of strange calls sometimes, we had an interesting rescue. We have a great white heron that somebody had reported a couple weeks ago with a laceration all the way down the neck, and it’s a pretty bad wound. The problem is, every time we would go after it, the bird was completely flighted and it wasn’t even there by the time we would usually get there. It takes us a little bit of time to get from Key West up to Ramrod. So we had tried a couple of times, and we were sort of looking out for this bird. And it finally did show up in somebody’s yard, and it had become weakened to a point where it wasn’t going to fly away. We were able to make the rescue of this great white heron, and we got it into care just in time, and we were able to staple the throat. It looked like maybe a fishing hook had gotten lodged in the throat, and then probably the line, it was an entanglement, and then it probably got pulled on by either a tree limb or something and it actually ended up tearing the bird’s throat open, but we were able to repair it with surgical staples. It sort of was interesting at first, we were giving the bird fluids, and there was still some fluids leaking out of the throat. So yes, definitely, it’s sort of like a pin cushion on that bird, but we were able to get the wound stabilized and closed, and now the bird is rapidly gaining strength, and it looks like it’s going to be a good story, a good outcome. That’s not always the case, but in this one, things are looking good for eventual release.”
The ultimate goal is to return wildlife to their natural habitat.
Sweets said, “These herons are territorial, so we try to get them right back up into the same area from Ramrod where the heron was rescued. That’s a good one, that’s a difficult rescue and a difficult procedure, but it’s looking good. So far, the wound is healing great, and the bird is able to eat and drink again without losing anything out of the throat, which is good. And then, just yesterday, we had a rescue on Cudjoe. So we are all up and down the Keys at the Square Grouper, we had a double crested cormorant, and we’re getting a few of these around. These are first year birds. They were just born in the spring, and by now, getting into the fall, they’ve been turned loose by the parents, and they sort of have to make their way on their own, and they don’t really have a lot of experience, so they end up missing too many meals. They get dehydrated, and they’ll end up in places like the Square Grouper parking lot. So we appreciate the folks at Square Grouper for calling, and I was able to get up to Cudjoe yesterday and get that bird rescued. So yes, all around the Keys, up and down, mile marker zero to 31 we’re trying to cover it, and keep all those injured birds safe and get them into care.”
Migration season is upon us.
Sweets said, “It’s here definitely. We’re seeing a lot of the little warblers. Sometimes the locals will call them Cuban finches, the tiny little birds. A lot of times, people think those birds are babies or have fallen from a nest, but they are not. Those tiny little birds are migrating all up from the mainland United States down through Florida into Central and South America for the winter, and we’re seeing them right now. I’m sure everybody’s familiar with the tiny little birds hopping around on the ground. So they’re making their way through and like I said, with the red tail hawk, and I’ve seen some other hawks in our Indigenous Park flying around. So yes, we are getting into raptor season, and we’re already seeing pelicans too. We’ve had a couple of brown pelican rescues, and those juveniles are starting to move down the eastern seaboard. Most of them are born up on the Carolinas, and on their first migration, they come down into Florida. So we’re starting to see a lot of the young brown pelicans. You can tell they’re youngsters because they have brown heads. The adult brown pelicans, they have whiteheads. So when you see those brown headed pelicans, those are all first year, really just out of the nest last spring. So we’re getting very busy. We’re moving into our busiest time of the year for migration.”
Key West Wildlife Center will also get calls for baby birds on the ground.
Sweets said, “That should be wrapped up by about now. There are some species that sometimes you will see pigeons, doves, some of our native doves, it wouldn’t be surprising to still see a baby, but it’s basically wrapped up now. It should be just about done, with just a few exceptions, sometimes the doves have some late season nests. We’re getting moving into the really heavy migration period right now. One season has sort of dovetailed right into the other, and we’re just as busy, for sure.”
It’s important to identify when a bird really is in need and when it’s not.
Sweets said, “Our 24 hour rescue line is 305-292-1008, you can certainly give us a call if you have concerns. A lot of behavioral things that go on during migration, sometimes birds will run out of steam or just be hungry and they end up on the ground dehydrated. We see a lot of dehydration during this time of year. Anybody that has a question, a lot of times, what’s been working really well with everybody’s high tech phones now is we sometimes will ask callers to provide a picture, and that picture really, really helps us. That lets us see the body language and what a bird is doing. Because sometimes these migrating birds will just stop and take a rest. They will stop on the ground, especially the hawks. It doesn’t necessarily mean there’s something wrong with them, but if they’re staying in the same place for days at a time, in a backyard or a place they shouldn’t be, a parking lot, something like that, if they’re down on the ground, and they’re just staying there, standing sort of in one spot, that’s sort of a time to be concerned. If you see a bird on the ground, a lot of times, these hawks will eat something, and then they will sit on the ground digesting. So it’s not necessarily a problem, but those photos really help us determine body language and are the eyes open that kind of thing. So, yes, 305-292-1008, 24, hours a day.”
Sometimes Key West Wildlife Center gets calls for other species.
Sweets said, “We just had a call for a nurse shark two days ago at White Street pier that people had called FWC, Florida Fish and Wildlife, there was a nurse shark that someone saw that had been hooked and may have been entangled along the rocks. We got a call from FWC. So it’s not always just the public calling. We do work with other agencies, the great folks up at the Marathon Turtle Hospital. We work with FWC, US Fish and Wildlife. We do get calls about other species, sea turtles, manatees. We had a call about some type of a ray yesterday. Now, we’re not really set up to handle any of these fish or rays, that would take a whole different situation. We don’t have the holding tanks. We don’t really have any way to rescue them. But FWC does have contacts to other groups, and as do we, for doing those type of rescues. But the good thing, the big thing, is to get it reported. We are out there doing more than just birds. We’ve had quite a few calls that are not bird related recently, and we sort of get those people to the organizations or agencies that they need to talk to at least get it reported.”
Donations are always welcome.
Sweets said, “We really appreciate it, all of the support the community gave us, the $2.4 million capital campaign to get this building built and to get our aviaries refitted. We can’t say thank you enough, and it doesn’t just end there. We have to keep this new building up and running, and we need to be able to serve the public. So, donations are gladly accepted through the website.”
For more information, click here: https://keywestwildlifecenter.org/