Variety of Water Birds Seen In Rehab

This week’s intense wintry weather brought an influx of injured water birds into our Wildlife Education & Rehabilitation Program. It’s common for us to see quite a few of these birds each winter, but we don’t always encounter such variety of species at once.

Wildlife Rehabilitation Coordinator Amy LeMonds identified the birds sharing rehab quarters this week as 2 Pied-bill Grebes and 2 Horned Grebes, along with a Canvasback duck and 2 Ruddy ducks.

The grebes have legs that are set far back on their bodies, ideal for propelling them through the water and diving for dinner but not for walking.

This body arrangement also means that they cannot take flight without paddling across the surface of water.This time of year, grebes can get stuck on snow-covered frozen lakes or in shallow puddles that collect on land. Often, all that is required of us is that we get them to open water to restore their ability to take flight.

We were already able to return 3 of the grebes and 2 of the ducks to Lake Erie this week, in the warm open water near the Avon Lake power plant.