Wildlife Center of Salt Lake

Great-horned owl 24-1327 arrived to our facility at the end of last month after being "too close to home" - a human's home that is - by perching right on their front porch chair for nearly 2 days! This rescuer jumped into action and gave us a call! They followed capture instructions perfectly, as we are very clear that safety is the top priority when handling birds of prey. On intake, the bird had severe swelling on his right wing and was therefore unable to take flight due to the injury. While we were unsure of the inciting incident, we were very thankful that this wonderful human jumped in to save his life, as the bird would have declined without the ability to obtain food on his own. He is still considered to be on "bed rest" at the moment, but we look forward to releasing him in the next several weeks!

So tell us.....have you ever seen anything quite so handsome?

See you soon!!!

See you August 4th Scion Cider Bar to celebrate friendships! Play fun games, win fun prizes!!! 5-9 pm

Just a few of the patients we have received this baby season!

It is important to remember that animals don't just arrive to the center. We carefully ask questions and partner with the humans who have found these animals to come to the best possible decision and solution for their concern. We try as hard as possible to keep these animals in the wild with their natural parents as much as possible to avoid them coming in for care. Many times re-nesting efforts are successful, and sometimes they are not possible, or not successful and we are here to take in those cases. Unfortunately some of these animals were purposefully abducted from their nest simply because they were "in the way" - this is heartbreaking for us to see, and we would encourage everyone to take a look around their homes for entryways where birds could possibly build their nests (vents on HVAC or AC units) and close those up before an animal has a chance to lay eggs or give birth to a litter. Additionally, scheduling tree trimming in the fall is still not 100% safe, but it will reduce the chances of cutting right through a nest.

Please join us for a night of birds, drinks, and PRIZES!!!!

Graphic Warning: medical care. photo 3 may be too graphic for some viewers.

Male juvenile mallard 24-1269 was brought to us by our friends at Wasatch Wanderers. Wasatach Wanderers are one of our favorite exotic animal rescues and we often refer to them when we get non-wildlife calls on exotic animals. This bird was rescued from Daybreak pond with a fish hook embedded into his oral mucus membranes. The bird was emaciated when he arrived and would likely have starved to death without action. He received a tube feeding and pain management medications until our veterinarian arrived the next day to remove the hook under anesthesia. Dr Boehler (pictured) is our extremely talented veterinarian.

Wildlife Center of Salt Lake City raising money for expansion When the new Wildlife Center of Salt Lake City opened in January, it was a dream come true for the employees and volunteers who staff the facility.The center ta

Patient update! Common nighthawk 24-622 was admitted after being found on the ground from an unknown injury. Upon examination, it was discovered that this bird had a subcutaneous emphysema (air under the skin) and is currently on pain management medications until it resolves. Subcutaneous emphysema is birds is commonly caused by ruptured air sacs which allows air that the animal breathes to be released under the skin, causing a build up of air. Air sacs typically heal very well, and we can make an educated guess that this bird experienced a trauma that led to the injury.

Grab a beer with us! See you at RoHa Brewing Project on Tuesday, May 7 2024 from 6-9 pm and a portion of sales will be donated to Wildlife Center of Salt Lake! Help us rehabilitate and release native Utah species, giving them a second chance at life.

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A huge thank you to all of our supporters! If we have not reached out to you personally, please know that WE SEE YOU! We have received your Amazon, Walmart, and monetary donations and we are so appreciative! We try to get out thank-you cards and emails when we have a free moment but please know that your contributions are not going unnoticed! Your contributions are helping to take care of our current patients which include this clutch of baby barn owls, among many, many others!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you all! :)

Join Wildlife Center of Salt Lake on Tuesday, May 7. 2024, at RoHa Brewing Project on 30 E Kensington Ave SLC from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm for a fundraising event. A portion of proceeds from sales will be donated to WCSL to support the rehabilitation and release of birds and small mammals back into their wild homes.

Western screech owl 24-199 was found by an amazing family in Sandy on their back porch. Fearing the worst, they contacted friends and family members trying to find a safe solution for this little friend. They reached out to WCSL and we gave overnight instructions and took the bird in the next day. On intake, this bird received a full physical exam to check for any possible injuries. He was deemed a healthy owlet with minor dehydration and was administered subcutaneous fluids to correct the dehydration. He didn’t eat overnight so we also fed him a small meal to keep him sustained. We worked with a local falconer and the family who found him to get a plastic basket in a tree where owls had been seen before. It took a few tries, but eventually he successfully “branched” out of the basket the next day and a parent was seen nearby. The finders reported a successful “re-nesting” even though he was likely ready to fledge and just needed minor assistance.
Wild animals do best in the care of their wild parents. Humans will never be able to raise animals as well as their natural parents can, and it is our responsibility to make every effort to keep these animals in the wild. This re-nesting effort was a success, but they are not always successful, and we are here to provide support for the cases that need extra care.
If you call the center, we will ask you a LOT of questions to help determine the best next steps, so thank you for being patient, providing photos, and making efforts to reunite families. So far we have had the most wonderful, caring, and compassionate humans calling us and we are so thankful to assist a strong community that cares so much about wildlife.

Grab a beer with us! See you at RoHa Brewing Project on Tuesday, May 7 2024 from 6-9 pm and a portion of sales will be donated to Wildlife Center of Salt Lake! Help us to rehabilitate and release native Utah species, giving them a second chance at life.

Our first juvenile songbird patient of the year, Lesser goldfinch 24-196 is thriving. This bird came into the center after being found on the ground and not being able to reach the nest for replacement. This little friend was just a little too young to be out of the nest and had become dehydrated while being out of the nest. While we attempt re-nesting for every patient possible, in this case, it was not an option. We are excited to report that 24-196 is meeting all developmental milestones including fledge, flight, weaning, and submitting complaints to upper management. We are optimistic that this bird will end up at a Wild Birds Unlimited bird feeder in the near future after a successful release!

We have owls coming out of our ears!
'tis the season for baby owls and we have successfully placed 2 baby owls with foster parents (huge thank you and shout out to our partners Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah for setting up a baby Western screech owl with a clutch & mom that they took in a week prior) and another huge thank you and shout out to Great Basin Wildlife Rescue (for taking a baby Great-horned owl that fell out of the nest much too early and placed him with an experienced foster dad). While these owls got off to a rough start, they are in such good hands. The best lessons that they will ever be taught is from individuals of their same species, which is why foster placement is preferred over human-rearing. Check out the photos below 1) Great-horned owl on first day getting introduced to foster dad, 2) Baby w/ foster dad behind, and 3) Baby Western screech owl with foster mom and siblings. This is what Utah wildlife rehabilitators can do together! Additional thanks to our volunteer TJ Young for transport support!

Huge thank you to Alex Echenberg for a donation to our rodentpro.com account! We were able to place a large order to prepare for baby owl season! Thank you!

Burrowing owl 24-115 arrived looking extremely concerned about his situation a couple weeks ago after being captured by law enforcement following entanglement with a barbed wire fence. Barbed wire fencing can be a deadly hazard for birds, but we were thankful that this officer took time from his day to rescue this important little owl.
Burrowing owls are one of the more elusive owls in our state, preferring deserts and rural areas over our urban neighborhoods. They are listed as a "species of special concern" here in Utah due to population decline and are listed as an endangered species in Canada. We are very proud to say that this owl passed his test flight, and we are waiting for his wounds to finish healing before we officially give him the go-ahead for release!

What do you think will be on his bucket list once he is released?!

What is an animal abduction? It is when, we as humans, are uneducated about an animal's natural behavior and decide to intervene unnessecarily by removing a healthy baby or healthy nest of baby wild animals and taking them in to provide human care.
Wild animals are best left with their wild parents. A wild parent may not be around, but that doesn't mean a nest or a baby is abandoned. Many species leave their nests for periods of time to forage for food, or are nearby watching YOU watch the nest. The best thing to do if you think you have found a nest of orphaned animals is to call a local wildlife rehabilitator for next steps.
See our website www.wildsaltlake.org and navigate to "I Found a Baby Animal" for flow charts generously shared by Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah on specific steps to take!

We are a member of "Smith's Inspiring Donations," a non-profit donation program! If you shop at Smiths, you can log into your account, navigate to "My Account" and then "Inspiring Donations" search for "Wildlife Center of Salt Lake" or enter our organization number, "NL019" and link us as your Smith's Charity! It doesn't cost you a thing and we receive a donation every time you shop and use your Smith's card!

There was nothing silly about this goose that suffered from a fishing line entanglement. Canada goose #24-85 was lucky that a Good Samaritan spent two days trying to capture him, and thus rescuing him from a deadly fate. This goose would have certainly lost his leg due to the fishing line cutting off his blood flow. We have to be extremely careful with the medications that we use to treat wild geese since they are considered game animals so luckily this bird arrived just in time and didn’t need antibiotics! We were too focused on the care of the bird to get good before photos of the feet, but in the picture seen below, the leg and foot had swollen up to be twice the size of what it would normally be. Ouch! In the next photos you can see a minor indent in the skin, which may always be there, but our staff confirmed adequate tissue perfusion before he was released! Canada geese may be common, but they are a federally protected species and at one time were at risk of extinction! Make sure to pack out what you pack in in our wild areas!

Did you know Wildlife Center of Salt Lake has a YouTube channel? We just posted a Merlin release! Watch it here:
https://youtube.com/shorts/gl8AogT0W2U?feature=share

P.S. don't worry - we didn't release this bird today!

Merlin 24-80 release #utahwildlife #nature #birds #wildlife #outdoors #animals Merlin 24-80 was released back into his home after 13 days in care. This bird walked up to a homeowner and was unable to fly. On intake, his right wing was s...

This past Saturday we were absolutely thrilled to be invited to the Utah Wildlife Summit hosted by . This organization is doing incredible work to bring nonprofit stakeholders together to discuss and take action for Utah's natural spaces and animals. I can't believe we were so lucky to meet Brett Prettyman and Isobel Lingenfelter as they drove conversations and inspired dozens of Utah residents during this special day. If you are at all invested or interested in Utah's wildlife, please like, follow, and share Utah Wildlife Federation and watch them make a critically positive impact in our state.

Hooray! Thank you to Tena Rohr, Erin Lloyd, and Smith Jo for your generous donations! There was a box that came without a note so I hope we didn't miss thanking anyone! Literally hundreds of wild animals will know the comfort of having a calm, quite, soft, and warm place to recover because of you! Stay tuned for baby bird pics when we start rolling into April!

Baby hummingbirds, owls, and chipmunks . . . oh my!
Join us for our 1st baby animal spring fundraiser as we prepare for “baby season” - a virtual fundraising event March 1-22 2024

Visit the website for our nursery registry here!

https://wildsaltlake.org/nursery

On Saturday, February 24th 2024, 4 Utah wildlife rehabilitators collaborated to transport 9 birds from Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah to Great Basin Wildlife Rescue and Second Chance Wildlife Rehabilitation. A Wildlife Center of Salt Lake Director was honored to make the drive from SLC to Ogden then down to Mapleton and, finally, Price. At nearly 400 miles and a 12-hour day of driving, loading, unloading, and lots of coffee, 2 Bald eagles, 4 songbirds, and 3 other birds of prey were delivered to these talented rehabilitation specialists. If you have not heard about the eviction of Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah, please visit their page to see how you can help their cause. And to our rehab friends south of us - they are now taking care of additional birds which is a hit to their volunteer force, budgets, and food supplies. Please consider a donation to any one of these facilities to help with costs of care!