Baby Bird Season has officially begun here at BRC! 🐣 We’re currently admitting a handful of babies each day, a number that will soon climb to 10, 20, 30 and even 40 tiny new patients each and every day! The most common species we’re seeing right now are baby finches, juncos and hummingbirds, although we do also have raptors and adult birds in care. One of the youngest babies we’ve ever received is this day-old Great Horned Owl— (pen for scale!) and his tale is an interesting one! A local farmer found an egg on the ground. Thinking it was from one of his chickens, he allowed it to incubate. Imagine his surprise when out popped a baby Great Horned Owl instead of a Rhode Island Red! Fortunately for this little one, the farmer immediately brought him to BRC for care. Once we’re sure he’s ready, we’ll explore options for fostering him with an established family. Barring that, he will be paired with other baby Great Horned Owls we receive to keep him wild as we rear him until he’s able to successfully thrive on his own. In the meantime, his incubator walls are lined with photos of our beloved Wowl in case he opens his eyes. This will help him avoid imprinting on humans. 🦉 Caring for babies like this takes both time and resources. Their average stay is 30 days, requiring food, care, supplements and supplies even when no serious injury is involved. In the same way your family’s grocery bill has increased in the last few months, our expenses also continue to rise. Your gift today can help feed the growing number of babies we care for. Your gift today will literally save lives. 🫶 . #babybirdseason #2025 #greathornedowl #owl #birdrescue #avianrescue #wildliferescue #santarosa #sonomacounty #northbay #bayarea #california (fb)

A Cooper’s Hawk soars to freedom! 🪶🪶🪶 After being chased by a dog and trapped in a greenhouse up in Mendocino County, this beautiful Cooper’s Hawk was brought to us for care. She had a broken tail, other feather damage, and appeared to be stunned—whether from trauma or the long ride in an enclosed box was yet to be determined. One thing was for sure: Cooper’s Hawks are easily stressed and therefore make difficult patients. This can impact their recovery. The initial exam revealed she was in overall good health, so she was moved to quarantine to begin her healing journey. Over the ensuing weeks, her eating was erratic, and we were concerned by her lack of facial and ocular reflexes. Her flight and evasive movements, however, were great. After two weeks in care, she was physically fine and mentally alert, however her reflexes were still diminished. A thorough exam by Dr. Rebecca Burrell, our eye specialist, confirmed the hawk’s eyes and vision were also fine. Due to the stress of captivity, our raptor team immediately began planning her release, but first, her broken tail would have to be imped. This manual replacement of damaged feathers is one of BRC’s specialties and would get her back to the wild sooner! After a total of three weeks in care, and having received a major tail makeover, she was pronounced ready for release! Our raptor team transported her back to Mendocino County to her original habitat where she eagerly took off. She was obviously happy to part ways and return to her life in the wild! 🫶🫶🫶 📸 @tidalwalker . #coopershawk #hawk #birdrescue (fb)