I’m not one to count my work days but…..it’s Hump Day! Yeah!
Tag: Wildlife Education by Bernie
Grafton Lakes Winterfest 2015
It was a fabulous event with hundreds of attendees including myself, Max Lynx and Willy Weasel. Our theme this year was Wild about Weasels which included specimens within the Mustelidae family and Willy the ferret. Max was a special add-in since it was Grafton’s 30th event. Many exhibitors educating and displaying their wares. There were lots of activities. Hopefully, you were able to attend. Max wanted to nap but the noise level kept interrupting that train of thought, so a friend of mine, bought him a homemade catnip toy. It mellowed him out tremendously. Here’s a few photos of my display, Max and a few birds of prey. You can visit our Youtube Channel – Wildlife Bernie to see Max Catnip video.
The Passing of Friends
It is never easy talking about the death of your animal, your friend, your beloved one. 2014 began with the death of two of my animals. Pedro ST Opossum passed February 26 and Jill Degu on March 16. You can find their memorial pages under the heading “In Memory.” It took me three months to get up the strength to write about Jill. Need I say, tears were shed anyways.
Pedro and Jill have been buried in our pet cemetery where many others lie except Bella Hamster. An animal dug her up and ran off with her two days after being buried. Well, it is the cycle of life! There are many memories of my animals and since lifespans are short with small exotics, I can expect a few more to pass this year. It is something I am not looking forward to, but that too….is life.
Barnyard Turns 30
Barnyard turns 30. There is no way to truly tell the age of a bird unless you were there when it hatched! All we can do is go by what the previous owner had told us. Three years ago when I got Barnyard, also known as Burt, we were told mid teens. The vet says she has arthritis in her ankle joints. A zookeeper who took care of Barnyard said she was more like into her late 20’s. So we went with that. May 24th was the day we got her and decided to celebrate her birthday on that day. We took it to the Pember Library & Museum since she travels to work with me once a week. So we had cake, a parrot slideshow, parrot coloring sheets and a parrot museum search. Burt ate cake! We all ate cake. There was so much cake that we pushed it on the attendees to take home and anyone else we could find. There is cake in my freezer and refrigerator. I preferred the chocolate but since that isn’t good for an animal, Burt got the yellow. Here are some photos of the festivities. Thanks to the Library Director Ardyce Bresett for letting us take over half the library.
Lynx vs Parrot
Yes, I have been injured by Max’s claws accidentally but Burt Parrot will bite me out of spite. If I touch one of her toys she will attack. Out for a walk with Max and the adventures continue with him investigating a bird house, now mouse house. A little interaction with Burt afterwards completed the day. Burt has broken every tail feather except one when she was nesting and her wings and chest are thin because of the same. Additionally, she plays rough with her toys and end up tail over head in somersaults.
Winterfest 2014
Once again Grafton Lakes State Park asked me to provide an exhibit for them at their winter festival on January 25, 2014 among other wildlife educators and organizations. It was an honor and pleasure. Liz Wagner, Park Naturalist had a last-minute design change for my exhibit and it turned out to be perfect. My hides and furs were on the front table while Muffin Chinchilla and ferrets Willy Weasel and Pansy were set on the table behind. Shortly after arriving and putting the animals in their exhibit cages, Muffin escaped by squeezing through the back bars. I had to use packing tape to keep her from wiggling through but it only made her try to escape out the front (see photo). I am amazed that she squeezed her body through those couple inches!
Many children and adults had never seen an albino chinchilla. Muffin was a big hit with her soft touchable fur. At one moment she got a bit overheated with one ear turning dark pink but she cooled off and returned to normal. Muffin has been an educational animal ambassador for nearly six years touching the lives of hundreds of children. She was purchased at an exotic animal auction early 2008. Her age is unknown and she has had health issues for the past 3 years. Last year her heart murmur had become worse and she was put on heart medication to accompany her pain medication for sore gums. Recently, she once again stopped drinking water and eating regular pellet food. We have her back on a herbivore mush. It seems like a cycle. She’s active and her weight is healthy, so we are not worrying too much. Willy Weasel was another hit as he’s a year and a half old but weighs 3 pounds! Yes, Willy is overweight and tends to “hoover” the food while Pansy is underweight and a picky eater. I guess I’ll be walking the weasel come Spring!
I must admit that the highlight of the festival for me was getting up close to a Harris Hawk. They are not found locally and I was just mesmerized by this beautiful creature. She is two years old.
Here are just a few photos.
It’s a Girl!
Barnyard, also known as Burt is now known as Burta! Yes, she has shown her sex. We found an egg in her cage on November 29. She had been screaming and carrying on for days. I didn’t know what was going on with her. The egg was cracked so I removed it. Two days later she laid another egg which was absolutely beautiful. Once again, I removed it. Did some reading only to find that I should have left the eggs with her but hard-boil them a bit. Then she would sit on them until she figured nothing would happen. I placed Burta on a 12 hour schedule of day and night to de-stress. So things were going pretty well. Her behavior was better and she was getting the correct amount of sleep. Then, this morning she laid an egg in her nesting box. The box is not in her cage but in the living room where she can play in and out of it. The last couple days she had been inside shredding blocks of wood and would come out for company, food or to play with her toys. I never thought she would go about laying more eggs. I did, however, pick up two wooden eggs which are close to the size of a parrot’s and placed them in the box this morning after removing the real egg. She’s been sitting on them for most of the day. I’m hoping this will deter her from laying a second egg in a few days. Fingers crossed.
Hamster Heaven
I am very behind in my posts. Mr. Buttons, my Russian Dwarf Hamster passed on 11-1-13. I’ve created a memorial page for him.
Wildlife Education by Bernie 
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