Sunday August 10, 2008 Home Owners Glenn & Lisa Welker Take Photos of the Yacolt Quakers.

Sunday August 10, 2008 "The Yacolt Quakers Play at Home"

It was a warm 80-degree day as Glenn Welker walked into his backyard to catch a few photos of his Quakers at play. As Glenn approached, he immediately observed two Quakers flying over as if to give him permission to enter their sacred ground.
All photos were taken by both homeowners Lisa & Glenn Welker.

As Glenn entered his backyard, two Quakers flew overhead and announced that they were sentries of this territory.

All photos were taken by both homeowners Lisa & Glenn Welker.

A pair of Quakers was standing guard over their new found home as other Quakers flew by.

Three Quakers where seen having a snack on the feeders in the Welkers backyard.



As other Quakers flew around and some ate lunch. One pair seemed to be guarding the nest platform. The Question is; are there more babies inside?As the two Quakers above take watch over their domain, there joined by a third Quaker announcing "Intruder Alert below!”
All photos were taken by both homeowners Lisa & Glenn Welker.

Three wild birds are spotted on the Quakers Nest !

The three Quakers go into action and kick the unwanted snoopers off their nest.

Two Quakers flew down immediately to reclaim their home.
Once the Quakers cleared their nest platform, they flew back to their sentry post and seemed to call their family.
All of a sudden a third Quaker appeared.
Then a forth Quaker appeared. Then the complete family of seven arrived as if to say hello to Glenn & to announce that they are in charge of their newfound home.
At this time we have a count of ten Quakers.
All photos were taken by both homeowners Lisa & Glenn Welker.

An Interrupted Visit to Yacolt Makes one bird very happy!

Saturday August,9th,2008 Yacolt Visit interrupted By An Urgent Rescue Call. (Graphic Content)

On the way to Yacolt, we were given a call to rescue this Osprey who was tangled up in fishing line near the Columbian River.
(CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO VIEW IN DETAIL)

I could tell that this would be a challenge.

The bird was placed on a blanket to untangle him and assess the damage.

(CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO VIEW IN DETAIL)
Upon getting the bird untangled from the net we discovered that there was fishing line around it’s’ neck and much more untangling to do. Once the net was off we found that we had our work cut out for us.
It appeared that there was a lot of fishing line wrapped around this bird’s legs.First we needed to remove the stick with most of the fishing line.
(CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO VIEW IN DETAIL)

It became rapidly apparent that the bird had been tangled in fishing line for over one day. So the mission began...
Once his legs were cut free. We worked on one leg at a time..
(CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO VIEW IN DETAIL)

If you look close you’ll notice the inflammation on the bird’s leg.

(CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO VIEW IN DETAIL)

The fishing line was deeply embedded into the muscle of the leg.After just five minutes of working on the bird in the field, the Osprey was docile. It sensed that we were there to help. Time to seperate the bird from the net. Upon closer examination, it was obvious that this juvenile Osprey had been in distress for days.

(CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO VIEW IN DETAIL)

Now, the long task of removing the fishing line.
(CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO VIEW IN DETAIL)
It took over five minutes to untangle the first set of knots.
The fishing line had been deeply embedded in the bird’s leg for two days or more.(CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO VIEW IN DETAIL)

Taking a close look at the scabbing on the leg, I needed to irrigate with saline solution to help loosen the fishing line.So the task began of getting all of the fishing line out of this obviously infected leg.
The more we looked, the more fishing line we found.15 minutes into this procedure, my hands started to get tired. As I worked on the bird, he started to flex his talons. He must have felt the circulation of blood return to his leg. The removal of fishing line continued for over thirty minutes.
After flushing out the wounds, you can still see a small amount milky liquid flow out of the wound.(CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO VIEW IN DETAIL)
While working on this second embedded set of fishing line...

I noticed the bird starting to tire.
This bird gave me a small nip on the back side of my hand, as if to say I need a break..
After a few minutes of rest, it was time to continue.

But first I gave this aquatic bird of prey a little dose of electrolytes for hydration.
This young juvenile was happy to be hydrated. I could only administer a small amount knowing that I did not want him to aspirate during transport.
Now, time for transport.
He was alert and apparently coming out of shock.
Time for a slow transport to a wildlife specialist. Now, after arriving at a veterinarian’s, the bird is out of shock and pain.Now it's time for a nap..

Now, with medication and a fresh bandage he is placed in a safe, quiet container.