Sunday, August 22, 2021
We will begin this blog answering what several people are wanting to know and what we wanted to know first thing Monday morning and continued to ask about each day. How is the injured eagle that was taken in last Friday? We are very glad to report that he is doing very well and making good progress. The internal bleeding stopped. He did have a spinal contusion. The swelling has gone down and he is now up and walking around a bit. The vet thinks he will make a full recovery and will be released back into the wild. He is starting to get a little feisty which is another good sign.
We welcomed another new couple to the group this week and we ended with a total of 41 people working at REGI, some for only a few days, or a week but all 41 making huge contributions to the work. This week we all continued to work wherever we could jump in and help. The landscaping/weeding/planting continued and the REGI campus looks like one of those backyard makeover TV shows. We had some gifted painters on our team who repainted all the exterior signage including some in the town of Antigo. They did beautiful work and it really makes the entrance drive pop, as well as much easier for visitors to find their way.
With so few staff, Marge and her crew just needed some help sprucing the area up and the Year to Volunteer crew did a lot of sprucing. We also cleaned/scraped/and painted three gazebo bird enclosures as well as a cabin enclosure and the building that contains the new passerine enclosure. We think the birds are appreciative and are enjoying their spiffed up homes.
The largest portion of the project was the new passerine enclosure which was actually six enclosures inside another enclosure. The team completed that project at 4:30 Friday afternoon – working hard to the very end. The staff is very excited about the new enclosures for their small birds. In some of the pictures you can see the small box type enclosures in the yard that are currently homes to the smaller birds. They are especially grateful for the enclosure for the woodpeckers.
Additionally, many other projects were completed such as organizing the garage, replacing some outside lighting, pressure washing all the benches, building a nice storage shed and a new lean to structure in Qush Quluk’s (the eagle rescued from the Valdez oil spill) enclosure, general cleaning and probably other items we are not remembering right now. We were able to observe the release of some bluebirds and robins this week as well. Thirteen total, which were all babies when people brought them to the center after finding them in various places and in various conditions. The wonderful people at REGI nursed them back to health and they are now back in the wild.
Late Friday afternoon, unfortunately, another bald eagle was brought into REGI after being hit by a vehicle. This one was in worse condition than the one from last week. It was a female who was about 3 years old and severely dehydrated. Again, it was amazing to watch the interaction between Marge and the eagle. She gently took it out of the box and immediately knew this girl was in trouble. She immediately started making eye contact with the bird, and talking to her, picked her up and held her close to her chest and just talked to her softly. You could watch as the bird began to relax in her arms. She again then placed her on the exam table and began the exam. X-rays revealed her radius and ulna in her left wing were both broken. Marge and one of her staff quickly gave her fluids. The vet came by Saturday and set the bones. She is not eating solid food but is taking liquids well. Marge is hopeful about her recovery as we all are.
We are so impressed with Marge and the staff of REGI. They are all so tender with the birds and it’s obvious they are all very passionate about what they do. They all work so hard, preparing food and feeding the birds multiple times a day, and caring for them, washing towels, keeping everything clean and so much more. We hope to return someday.
We were so blessed to be able to work with everyone on the Y2V team. God as He always does, provided all the skills that were needed to accomplish the tasks even when at times it did not look like we were going to get it all completed. The link below to Phil and Shar’s Youtube video gives you an overall summery of what was done. Phil and Shar put together a bunch of newbie volunteers, only three couples had prior experience and pulled off their most difficult project to date. Thanks so much to them for providing the opportunity for us all to have a great two weeks. We have some great new friends that we hope to see again soon.
Check out these links to learn more about the project:
RVing With a Purpose 
Beautiful blog Max and Anne. This truly was an incredible experience because of the people. So much talent and love.
LikeLike