Rehab Treating Baby Owl's Eye

The intense and beautiful eyes of an owl are captivating, but a juvenile Great Horned Owl in our care is battling a significant eye injury. Our Wildlife Education & Rehabilitation Program staff is working to promote healing in this “baby” owl’s wounded right eye with a course of antibiotics and eye ointment. It is also receiving treatment for parasites. The young owl is also scheduled to have an eye exam from our volunteer veterinary ophthalmologist at Animal Clinic Northview.

We don’t know what kind of trauma caused the injury, but it’s often a collision with something like a wire, pole, or vehicle. Read more about Great Horned Owls on the International Wildlife Rehabilitators Council website. There's even a quiz on the so-called, "night tiger." We also like the photos and information at the National Geographic site.

Welcome Our Newest Exhibit Animal

A former rehab patient has joined the animals in our outdoor waterfowl exhibit. This ring-billed gull's poorly healed broken wing permanently prevents its release back into the wild.

Our Wildlife Education & Rehabilitation Program staff worked on the gull’s fractured radius and ulna bones for a few weeks before determining that the bird will never be able to fly well again and so, is unreleasable. You can see the drooping effect of the wing injury in the close-up rehab photo as well as the picture of the outdoor waterfowl exhibit.

Because we have both the space and an educational purpose for this bird, we went through the process of making the gull a permanent resident. That process involved seeking approval from the government agencies that regulate and grant us the permits to perform wildlife rehab and to permanently exhibit wild animals.

We hope you’ll stop by and visit our backyard pond to greet our newest resident.

-Dave Wolf, Director of Wildlife

Rocket Camp Rocks!

The Walter R. Schuele Planetarium staff always has a ball leading our Rocket Camps and this summer has been no exeception. Families are invited to the launch and it's always fun to see the efforts of the kids pay off with a successful lift off!
We posted a few more photos over on our Facebook page.

If your child missed out, there's alway next summer! And, there's more space science fun on the fall planetarium schedule, including Laser Halloween!

Awesome Autumn Nature Experiences Await!

An all-new interactive live animal show for the whole family, topped with a scoop of ice cream, is one of the new programs being offered this autumn season at Lake Erie Nature & Science Center. “Animals A La Mode” will feature members of the audience in a fun show centered around our amazing wild animal ambassadors. Ice cream for everyone caps off the September 17 event, which requires pre-registration at $5 per person.

Registration for the Fall Session is now open to members and non-members alike and many programs still have openings, including the popular Frogs & Polliwogs parent and tot classes, Nature Nuts preschool and Log Cabin Explorer’s Club for children in Kindergarten and Pre-K that begin the week the September 14.

We've also added a new “Wild Things!” parent & child (age 1 - 5) program on Friday or Saturday mornings this fall, while After School Adventures Club and Junior Naturalist classes are ready to engage school-age kids in nature and science exploration. Family Workshops to build a rain barrel (September 9) or composting barrel and frame (October 14) are also on our autumn agenda, long with the always-popular Fall Family Hayride nights in October.

For more information on all these classes and programs, head on over to our online education listings, call 440-871-2900 or stop by and see us at 28728 Wolf Road in Bay Village.

Shooting Star Show Tonight

The weather forecast looks decent, so head on over to the Perseids party tonight at Lake Erie Nature & Science Center. Bring the entire family to learn about the annual Perseids Meteor Shower at an 8 p.m. planetarium program. Then, walk across the street, spread out a blanket, look through a telescope and enjoy nature's show in the sky! Tickets for the program in the Walter R. Schuele planetarium are $3/person and the gathering to watch the shooting stars is free!
Speaking of sky shows, did you get a chance to see the great orange moonrise several days last week? This photo was snapped Saturday west of Sandusky.

Shredding Results

The results from Lake Erie Nature and Science Center's summer Shredding Day show how little efforts joined together can make a difference. More than 200 area residents particpated, bringing boxes and bags of old paper for shredding and recycling in Shredding Network's state-of-the-art mobile truck.

In three hours time, we collected and prepared 5.2 tons of material for recycling. Repurposing that 5.2 tons of material resulted in the following impact:

• Saved 88.4 trees


• Prevented 15.6 cubic yards of landfill


• Kept 312 pounds of air pollutants out of the air we breath
  
• Saved 104 gallons of water

On top of the environmental impact, participants gave more than $1,000 in donations. Thanks to Shredding Network, which donated the use of their truck, 100% of the proceeds go directly to fund our non-profit mission.

We hope you'll keep recycling!

One of NE Ohio’s Late Nesters In Rehab

Just about the time many birds are done nesting, along comes a flurry of activity as the late-nesting American Goldfinch become active in these parts. With that activity on the rise, it’s not surprising that an injured Goldfinch was recently brought in to our Wildlife Education & Rehabilitation Program. Treatment involves stabilizing the area of wing trauma with tape, with the aim of release back into the wild. (The tape is visible in the second photo below.)

Our patient is an adult, but the late-nesting habit of these birds means you can look for young Goldfinches to be fledging this month. These small, bright yellow (and black) songbirds are year-round residents of NE Ohio, although in winter, the showy yellow color fades to shades of tan and olive.

If you have thistle flower in your yard, you may see these birds enjoying the seed from your plants. In fact, the Goldfinch nesting season arrives late because they wait for the thistle seed to mature. Read more at the Ohio Division of Wildlife website.

-Amy LeMonds, Wildlife Rehabilitation Specialist