Kathy  0:19  

Hello and welcome to another episode of Wild About Wildlife. In this podcast we go behind the scenes at Salthaven Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Centre. We take a look at their efforts to rehabilitate injured and orphaned wildlife, and share tips on what you can do to help. I'm Kathy Mueller. I'm a volunteer at Salthaven Wildlife and your host. In this episode, I sit down with Angela Tremka. She's the Community Engagement Manager at Salthaven West in Regina, Saskatchewan. We talk about their new banding program, the importance of banding birds and the simple thing you can do at home to help prevent birds from flying into windows.

Well, thanks so much for joining us today Angela.

Angela 1:17  

Thanks, Kathy. Thank you so much for having me on this podcast.

Kathy  1:21  

All right. So we've we've already mentioned that you are the Community Engagement Manager for Salthaven West. A lot of people might not be familiar with Salthaven West. So why don't we start there? Where is Salthaven West located? What kind of area do you serve? Give us a little bit of background about Salthaven West.

Angela 1:41  

For sure. Salthaven West, we're a wildlife rehabilitation and education centre in Regina, Saskatchewan. So we're also mainly volunteer operated and we also provide care to sick injured, displaced and orphan wildlife from across southern Saskatchewan. So over this past year, we admitted 1,500 wildlife patients from over 90 cities, towns and villages across southern Saskatchewan.

Kathy 2:10  

Wow, that's really busy. 

Angela 2:13  

It is really busy. And in the in the prairies I think we'll be seeing some different wildlife than what you see in Ontario. So some of the feathered wildlife patients that we can expect to see in our clinic that you might not be seeing in Ontario, might include like Swainson's hawks ferruginous hawks, Western Grebes. So California Gulls, Western Kingbirds and American White Pelicans.

 Kathy  2:41  

Now you've been with Salthaven for a few years now. You actually started as a volunteer, right? And you've been manager now for about half of that time? Yes, exactly. Okay. And but you're also a bander at Last Mountain Bird Observatory. So let's first start with the Community Engagement Manager aspect of your role at Salthaven, what does that entail?

Angela 3:04  

So that actually entails a lot. Being a small nonprofit you do end up wearing a lot of hats. So I'm also working hands on in the clinic, but alongside that, I'm doing communications for Salthaven. So that can include keeping up with our social media, attending events and doing educational presentations around our community. And all of those sorts of things that come with it. 

Kathy 3:34  

Salthaven West, it now has a banding program. So first, the term banding. What does that mean? 

Angela  3:41  

Yes, so we just introduced an ongoing bird banding program to Salthaven West. And so what this is, is we're banding songbird patients that have been admitted to our wildlife rehab centre for care. Once they fully recovered and are ready for release, that's when we band them. So what this means is we're attaching the small, non invasive aluminum band to the bird's leg, and each band has its own unique nine digit number. Now, these bands can be really small, especially with our small warbler patients. So they can actually fit nine digits on that small band. And then we collect some data, including their species ID. We weigh them, we get some other measurements like their wing cord length, sometimes their tail length. We look at their fat content. We look for breeding characteristics. And then we also look at characteristics to determine age and sex. 

Kathy 4:44  

Now you're doing this with songbirds. Why songbirds? I would think that songbirds are pretty prolific right there. They're everywhere. Are their populations in danger or some specific species that are in danger or like, what's the purpose of doing the banding?

Angela 5:03  

Bird banding is really important. In general bird banding provides information and important data about birds and the environment. So we use banding to learn about migration, their lifespan, their reproductive successes, and their overall population demographics. So it helps us monitor the number and species of migrating songbirds. And that helps us understand bird trends.

Kathy  5:35  

And why is that important to know?

Angela  5:40  

It helps us provide insight into ecosystem health and the longevity and the movements of birds, and whether birds are in decline. 

Kathy  5:50  

So, if a bird is banded by you, and then it migrates somewhere, and ends up at a different rehabilitation centre, because it's got this band on it, can that rehabilitation centre just plug in that number into a database somewhere, and they'll get information about? Is that kind of how it works?

Angela 6:10  

Exactly. So the data is submitted to the bird banding office and Birds Canada. And so this is a North American wide project. And all of this information is available for researchers. But anybody can report a bird band if they come across one. So either through taking a lot of photos and being able to kind of stitch that band number together or coming across a deceased bird, or if another banding station happened to catch a bird that was already banded. 

Kathy  6:39  

Okay, and how would somebody go about doing that? I guess if we could focus on doing that in Saskatchewan, or doing it here in Ontario, are you going to your provincial Ministry of Natural Resources kind of website? 

Angela  6:54  

Yeah, all you have to do is Google "Report a Bird Band", and the website will pop up. And it'll ask you to report that nine digit band number. And then you can report it and you'll actually get a certificate that will tell you who banded that bird, where it was banded, when it was banded and then you can get get an idea too of how old that bird is and where it's traveled from.

Kathy 7:16  

And then I guess the reason that you'd be able to access this is because the the bird is in some sort of difficulty, right? That it's allowing you to get this close to it. So at that point, then there's all that information that the person who has found the bird can take it to a wild animal rehabilitation centre and say, hey, this is the information I've looked up.

Angela 7:38  

Yes, for sure. Yeah. Sometimes, folks are able to take a picture of, multiple pictures of a bird when the bird data feeder, for example. And so sometimes there are those in nature photos that we're able to do. But it would be, there is another opportunity, perhaps in the future for us to increase this banding program to include colourful bands with just a few digits on top of that other nine digit band and that's easier to identify in the wild and being able to say like, oh, that's A 34 and it's a Swainson's Thursh, I'm going to report that.

Kathy  8:18  

So why did Salthaven West decide to launch a banding program in the first place?

 Angela  8:24  

For Salthaven West, this ongoing banding program will help us contribute to research and conservation areas in Saskatchewan. So, for example, this information can be really important to our clinic. It could give us important evidence to help us like reassess our rehabilitation practices, and then also contribute to new rehab strategies. So it's a way in which we can actually find out what happens to patients after they are released from our care. So I can give you a really cool example. It's not a local example, but there was a rehabber in the States, a centre that released a bird, and they spotted it nine years later, breeding successfully. So the fact that that birds can thrive and survive that long after release is a really great testament to the work that wildlife rehabilitation centres do. And there needs to be a little bit more information on that available so we can get more of that information through a bird banding program.

Kathy  9:37  

Now, when I've heard of banding before, it's typically involved larger birds, your birds of prey. So is this something that's different and unique to Salthaven West that songbirds are being targeted for banding?

 Angela 9:52  

Well, we actually started targeting songbirds because that was the bird that I was able to get a permit for first. So in the future, I would like to also be able to band raptors and waterfowl at Salthaven as well. But we're starting with songbirds and songbirds are incredibly important as well. What's really nice about being able to band songbirds is we get so many songbirds into our care. So, already this year, we've banded 51 birds and 17 different species.

Kathy 10:28  

Does that surprise you? Or is that kind of normal that you're seeing that many different species come through your doors?

Angela 10:35  

I think the diversity of species always surprises me. And I think it's because of how they end up at Salthaven. So we banded a Marsh Wren, and this Marsh Wren was actually found in a downtown area, it was a window strike. And so that's not a common place that you would find a Marsh Wren. So I think the fact that it found its way downtown and hit a window, and then ended up at our rehab and we were able to successfully release it with a band on it, it'll be really interesting to see if that bird has ever recovered, again, the band in the future to see where that bird has ended up.

Kathy  11:18  

And I guess the success of banding really relies on something else happening to a bird that has been banded. If it's good and healthy and doesn't need the support of a wild rehabber, then you may never know what happens to it. 

Angela 11:36  

That's true, yes. But also, if we're if the bird doesn't make it after a couple of days, and it's still in Regina, someone might come across the deceased bird too. And that would tell us a story as well. So I think it's, it's a hit and miss, you're not always going to know what happens to that bird. But the more birds that we can band, the more data we will eventually get.

Kathy 12:00  

And you mentioned right at the beginning that the band is non intrusive, so it doesn't interfere in any way with the bird's ability to live to hunt, to mate, to raise young ones in no way whatsoever?

Angela 12:17  

No, these bands are, they're aluminum, and they're incredibly light. And we have different sizes of bands, depending on the species of bird. So our very smallest bird will get the smallest band that we have available. And in that band, we'll make sure that it fits on that bird's leg very well so that it won't go over the toes or past the ankle, so it won't get stuck on a joint and it'll be able to rotate freely. And after a little while the bird won't notice it there, of course, the first time you band it, the bird's gonna be like, okay, there's something funny on my leg. But hopefully after after getting used to that they're not going to notice it. 

Kathy 12:58  

That was going to be my next question is that there must be a reaction when they first have this addition to their leg.

Angela 13:05  

Yes, especially if they're very curious birds. So especially like Grackles. So the Common Grackle tends to really notice it right away. And then they're trying to like, they kind of feel it and they're like, hey, what is this? And why is it there? And okay, it rotates and, and so that's why with larger birds like raptors, there's actually a different kind of band that is put on, and that's called a lock on band. And that is to ensure that raptors because their beak is built to with force to be able to, like pry things open. The lock on band helps keep that band on. 

Kathy 13:42  

Once you start going down that road, and you get the permit to start doing the larger birds, we'll have to make sure that we get you back on so you can talk about the experiences you're seeing there.

 Angela 13:54  

Absolutely, and we do have actually somebody that that can band raptors for us. They're just usually very busy. So occasionally, we can get the timing to work out where a bird is ready for release, and they're available to band it. So we did just recently have a Ferruginous Hawk in our care that they were able to band. 

Kathy 14:14  

How do you decide, like does does every song bird that comes in and is going to be released? Does every bird get a band? Or how do you decide which ones get a band, which ones don't?

Angela 14:25  

Ideally, as long as I am there, the day that they are scheduled for release, we want to be able to bend every single songbird. That way there's no holes or gaps in the data. Now, of course that just depends if there's days where I'm not at the clinic, and those are the days where it's like, hey, this bird is ready to be released. We're not going to hold on to a bird in captivity for longer. We're going to let that bird go without banding and so best case scenario we're banding every single bird that you that goes through Salthaven, except for those few that I might not be there for.

 Kathy 15:05  

I'm speaking with Angela Tremka, the Community Engagement Manager at Salthaven West and you are also a bandleader at Last Mountain Bird Observatory. So that's been around for a few decades now, what exactly is Last Mountain?

 Angela 15:20  

Yes, the Last Mountain Bird Observatory is the only migratory banding station in Saskatchewan. So it is located at the north end of the Last Mountain Lake. So this is a very long lake, I think it's like 93 kilometers long. And it's in the southern part of our province. And this area is a very large treed area on the prairies. So it's a little bit different than what surrounds it. And then there's a lake on the west side. So it's a very important stop over area for those migrating birds that breed in the boreal forest. 

Kathy 15:59  

So why is it important to be able to study those migrants who prefer the forest environment?

Angela 16:07  

The Last Mountain Bird Observatory, has been in existence for 34 years. And so this is it's not the oldest operating station, but it's the longest consecutively run banding station in Canada. So since inception, the Last Mountain Bird Observatory has banded almost 100,000 birds and 125 different species. So it's such an important area because it's such a high volume area with incredible diversity. So it gives us a really good look at all of the migrating species that are making their way through the prairies. 

 Kathy  16:45  

And then so you're a bander at the observatory, are you doing the songbirds as well as the larger birds of prey and raptors, through the observatory?

 Angela 16:56  

So they do songbirds there. And occasionally, if there's somebody with a permit for raptors, we could do raptors as well. And then there's an opportunity in the future perhaps to do owl banding at night. So there's different, so we're mainly focusing on warblers. But we get a lot of different species through that we catch in the nets, but so we operate 13, they're called mist nets. And that's how we catch these migrating songbirds. And these nets have holes in them that are small enough for a warblers heads to fit through but the rest of the warbler's body won't fit through that. So that's how you catch the bird. And some of the larger birds will actually just bounce out of the nets.

 Kathy  17:46  

Describe that process, you end up with a bird in the net, how long may they be in that net before someone from the observatory is actually noticing, hey, there's a bird in the net?

Angela 17:58  

Yeah, so we operate every single day, for so I'll explain like the fall season. So we start on August 8 then we go until October 7. And we operate every single day from 7am to 1pm, as long as the weather is appropriate, and so we will open all of the nets at seven o'clock. And then every half an hour on the dot we go through and we do a big walk around and we collect all of the birds that have landed in the nets. And we keep track of what bird has been caught in which net. And so instead of holding all of these birds, we actually have these breathable bags that we put the birds in, so one bird per bag, and it's a nice, dark, quiet, breathable place for them to hang out until we get them back to the station so we can band them. So as soon as we have all of our birds that are on our arms essentially hanging on our arms on these little bags, we go back to the station and we put them on the hooks from the nets that they came from. And then we start the process of weighing them and getting all of their their data and then banding them and then releasing them.

 Kathy 19:13  

Okay, so what changes have you been noticing in terms of migration patterns based on the banding and the research that you've been doing at the observatory?

Angela 19:27  

Yeah, timing is really important for a migratory bird. So in the spring, birds are in a hurry to get to their breeding grounds. And some birds have evolved to use timing mechanisms to signal their start of migration. So, for example, some birds are sensitive to the subtle changes in daylight length, and then they notice, that triggers the start of their migration. But what's happening is things like climate change can cause an early spring, for example, in temperatures. And some of these long distance distance travellers are depending on daylight to start their migration. So they might arrive too late for the peak insect populations. And those they rely on those insects to raise their healthy broods. So those subtle effects of climate change can actually lead to a lot of population declines in some of the species of birds.

 Kathy 20:32  

And have you noticed any trends this year that are different from previous years?

Angela 20:37   

Yeah, this year, something that we noticed and had to actively deal with was wildfire smoke. So we had a very smokey August, and birds have lived alongside fire for a very long time. But what's happening is the frequency and the size of wildfires has increased. And then also the wildfire seasons are starting earlier, and they're ending later. So a huge question right now is what is the fire's impact on birds. And there isn't necessarily an easy, straightforward answer. But for sure, it can be challenging to breed in an area that is affected by fire or smoke. And that can really impact the bird's breeding season. So one thing that we noticed this year, is we seem to catch a higher rate of birds earlier on. So we start our first day of our season on August 8. And usually there's a slow gradual climb to the busier days closer to September. But right off the very first day, we were banding 60 to 90 birds a day, and including birds that we wouldn't expect to see migrating that early. So we caught that very first week, we caught a Yellow-rumped warbler, and a Ruby-crowned kinglet. And these species are usually not seen until September or so. And so they came super early. And it was very smokey. And so we were wondering if they were getting pushed down earlier because of the smoke. And that's why we were seeing higher numbers of birds so early. And then these few migrants that are supposed to be later migrants.

Kathy 22:23  

And then can you say how does that impact the the wider ecosystem?

Angela 22:30  

So that's something that we would have to sort of wait and see what the trends look like. Maybe that's not at all what was happening. That is our best guess as to what was happening. But it's hard to make that determination based on just one year.

Kathy 22:49  

And then with the migration patterns, it's not an easy route, right for the birds. What are some of the you talked about, you know, wildfires? What about some of the human-caused challenges that birds face when they're migrating?

Angela 23:07  

Yeah, much, much of the bird losses that we're seeing and in fact, so there, there are 3 billion fewer birds in North America today than there were 50 years ago. And so a lot of that loss can be attributed to human activities. So we see a rise in injured birds in need of rehabilitation at Salthaven, due to a lot of those human caused challenges. So and this is, especially during times of migration, so birds are facing a lot of hazards. So of course, we have habitat loss and urban development and climate change. But we're also seeing light pollution and window fatalities. So there is a case in the news last week, where there were 1,000 birds that died from colliding into a single building in a single night in Chicago. Oh my gosh. And yeah, and so that is absolutely, it's horrific. It's a very significant number. And what was happening is that building is very bright. So there's a light pollution happening at night and that can attract migrating birds. They get disoriented, they follow the light, and then they don't quite know where they are, and they can't really figure out a way out. And then they end up hitting the windows or the the glass buildings that are very tall, at night. So when we think of window collisions, oftentimes we're thinking of that happening during the day. But it's also a problem at night if it's too bright.

Kathy 24:39  

Yeah, I think we can all relate. Probably most of us have been home at one point or another where we've heard a smack into the window and you know, there's a bird that's flown into it. So what can the average person, homeowner do to try and avoid some of those window strike?

Angela 25:01  

Yes, the best thing we can do is avoid them so that they don't happen in the first place. One of the products that I really recommend, it's called feather friendly window tape. And it's this little kit, it's really, it's quite affordable and easy to install. And essentially, you're putting these little dots on the outside of your window and they come in strips, so it's really easy to install them. But they're placed every two inches apart so that even your smallest warbler can then see that there is a window there, and they avoid it. So the reason why they're running into our windows is because they can't see the glass and they don't understand the concept of glass. So they think that they can fly right through. So by putting this product on, and these dots every two inches, they all of a sudden see these dots, and then they know that they have to avoid that that's a flat surface that they would run into otherwise.

Kathy 25:54  

I can imagine trying to convince some people to put a whole bunch of dots on their big, you know, windows might be challenging. How easy is it for humans to spot the dots?

Angela 26:07  

Yeah, it's so from the outside. So you have to put this on the outside of your windows in order for it to be most effective for birds. And from the outside, it is quite visible, it's a nice pattern. But from the inside, it doesn't impede your view out, it's less visible when you're looking out onto the street or onto your backyard or whatever you're looking at. But from the birds point of view, when they're coming towards the window, they see the dots and then they know to move away. And the other really great thing about these dots is it lasts on the outside of your windows for up to 10 years. And I've had them on my house for four years now. And we haven't lost a dot, you can wash your windows just like normal. And then what we do when we're at events is we do sell this product, and we sell it at cost so that it's the most affordable is it can be. But we also have a display so we can show people what that looks like on a window. And so oftentimes, once people see that display, and they can kind of feel it and look through it, then they're more comfortable with the idea of like, okay, yeah, I could do that. And you only need it for your problem windows. So it doesn't have to go on every window. But mainly those windows where you're, you're hearing that thunk.

Kathy 27:17  

Well, that's great that products like that exist. I think there's an organization that well there is an organization called Flap, F L A P And I think you can get that that film through through them as well.

Angela 27:28  

Yeah, they're actually also using feather friendly. So it all comes. So they're using Yeah, it comes from the same place Flap Canada, that's where we got the idea of this product was through Flap Canada.

Kathy 27:40  

So if there's one takeaway that you want people to, who are listening to take from this, what would that be?

Angela 27:48  

In terms of window fatalities, putting things up on your windows is really important. And if you do hear a bird hit your window, that bird is in need of help. It hit the window at great force and brain swelling can happen anywhere between right when it hits to 24 hours later. So if it goes to a wildlife rehabilitation centre, we're able to provide medication to help stop that brain swelling and give that bird a chance to survive. Because even if it seems like oh, it kind of shook it off within a half an hour and it flew away. It probably only got as far as your neighbours, and then the concussion symptoms set in.

 Kathy 28:32  

Okay, so before we let you go, you've been very informative learned lots today. Definitely going to have to have you back. Oh, and I do want to I do want to mention too, we're recording this in October. So maybe in the spring, we'll revisit this and you can give us you know, an update about what it is that you saw during your fall season banding and any updates from Salthaven West? So yeah, before we let you go, though, you must have a favourite bird. So tell us what your favourite bird is and why.

Angela 29:05  

This question is very difficult. And I know we've spent so much time today talking about migratory birds, that I should pick something that matches our discussion. I've seem to have developed many favourites depending on the time of year and what I'm doing. I'll say a favourite bird to band would be a Northern Waterthrush a favourite bird to see or hear in the wild would be a Grey Cat bird. But I have to say the bird that became my favorite through my time at Salthaven West has been Rock Doves or your common pigeon. They have such unique personalities and colourings and they seem to have healing superpowers. We've seen pigeons heal from injuries that seem impossible to come back from so there's always so much we can learn from them. And they have other unique qualities like they can take technically breed all year round because their parents can produce this nutritious milk in their crops. So it's pigeon milk that they feed their babies. They can fly up to 150 kilometers an hour, they can drink water as though they're using their beak as a straw, which is very unique to birds. They have an incredible history. All I'll say is our lives would be very dull without pigeons.

Kathy 30:30

I think you might have a lot of people disagreeing with you on that one. They seem to be the bane of a lot of people’s existence. Your passion is just obvious about pigeons. Maybe we’ll have to do an episode on pigeons someday.

Angela

That would be amazing. I could definitely fill the time.

 Kathy 30:49 

Thank you very much Angela for joining us today. I really appreciate it. It’s been a pleasure. Oh, thank you so much. I had so much fun.

And thank you for listening. Make sure to tune in next month when I explore the different volunteering opportunities at Salthaven. If you’re an animal lover but are a little hesitant about being hands on with a bald eagle for example, no need to worry, there are a lot of other ways you can help out. And, a heads up, January is when we start recruiting for new volunteers.

As always, drop me a line if you have a question about something you in an episode of Wild About Wildlife or if you have an idea for a future episode. You can reach me at wildaboutwildlife@salthaven.org. 

Thank you in advance for recommending Wild About Wildlife to your friends and family. Together, we can keep the wild in wildlife.