Hawk-Tober: Alaska WildBird Rehabilitation Center hosting annual event

BIG LAKE — The Alaska WildBird Rehabilitation Center is set to host its annual Hawk-Tober event at the Big Lake Lions Recreation Center Saturday from 1 to 3 p.m. This event is free but “donations are appreciated” according to longtime volunteer and bird enthusiast, Nancy Wade.

“All the proceeds benefit the birds,” Wade said.

Wade will be there alongside other volunteers like Katie Peterson to celebrate another successful year saving the Mat-Su Valley’s wild birds, and to educate the public about the native birds around them and the unique challenges they and their rescuers face each day. Hawk-Tober events include crafting workshops for kids, a bake sale, educational birds, handmade gifts for sale and various bird artifacts on display.

The center has dual purposes, rehabilitation and education. It’s is a nonprofit organization that started in 2005 inside a private residence. In 2013, they moved to their current location that today features a medical room, several recovery and long-term care rooms, and outdoor bird enclosures.

The volunteers are currently treating one dark-eyed junco and one magpie. So far in 2018, the center treated 82 live birds in their center. They treated roughly 120 birds last year.

A plethora of native species are coming through their doors but the center do see its fair share of frequent flier species like robins or magpies. Here are some of the most common species the center treats each year: robins, chickadees, juncos, sparrows, and magpies.

Peterson said that they helped 13 magpies get back into the wild so far this year. Last year they built a new enclosure made solely for magpies. She explained that magpies are known to make a lot of noise so that separate space outside helps reduce the other animals’ stress.

Each bird has their own temperament so volunteers provides individualized care and know which birds fair better than others within captivity.

“Gulls are terrible for captivity,” Wade said.

Wade is a self-described “birder” who sees her time volunteering as a fun way challenge herself and help the local bird populations so near and dear to her heart.

The state of Alaska does not allow anyone to rehabilitate any creature (mammal or reptile) other than birds. The center operated under permits from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

Birds are usually very difficult to catch and they will often try to escape with every ounce of might they have left, according to Wade. She said that’s why a majority of the birds that get dropped off or rescued in the field are usually in critical condition. It’s also common for people to bring dead birds to the center because they don’t know what to do with it and Wade said that’s OK because they do. She noted that nearly half of the live birds they treat are released back into the wild.

The center has a handful education bird that includes a red-tailed hawk named Rhett, two great horned owls, one great grey owl and one short eared owl- all native species. Under federal law, the center can only treat native birds.

Due to the nature of their injuries, these educational birds are unable to safely return to the wild. Thanks to their temperaments, these birds became effect teaching tools, according to Peterson. She said the names are intended for educational purposes only.

“They’re not pets. They’re wild animals and you don’t pet wild animals,”

She said that people tend to anthropomorphize animals and ignore obvious signs of distress as something cute or funny when in reality they are “in terror” like a viral video of a small child getting “kisses” from an owl.

“That’s the hardest thing,” Peterson said.

Peterson is not a birder like Wade but she loves wildlife, birds including. Her favorite types of birds are predatory, like the educational hawk, Rhett.

“I cannot hold him unless he chooses,” she said.

Wade and Peterson both stressed the importance of leaving wild bird rescue to the experts. Despite any good intentions, anyone who tries to rescue and treat a wild bird is more than likely not knowledgeable enough to care for it properly and anyone without a permit is liable to be slapped with a felony to boot.

“It’s 100 percent illegal for anyone to take a bird into their home without a permit, Peterson said. “We don’t the public trying to catch any bird. They should call us first, period.”

Many of the Valley’s native species have already migrated south for the winter so their feathery client list is slowing down again. Summer is the center’s busiest time of year.

Eagles, especially young ones are “notorious” for overeating, according to Wade. She said that each year, she receives calls from concerned residents who see a listless eagle, worrying it’s injured when in reality, more often than not, it’s simply overstuffed with food and is taking a break to digest.

Mistaking lethargy for injury or illness is one of several misconceptions commonly floating around the Valley. That’s why they spend a fair amount of time talking to people on the phone to explain and educate, going back to one of their two core principles and daily operations: education.

“A lot of what we do is providing information,” Wade said.