Nature's Vein

Apparently some individual is telling people we aren't a legitimate rescue? I guess because we also do education or something like that?

Lol, this guy would beg to differ. His condition is touch and go but he's hanging in there and showing tiny improvements every day. With any luck, he'll be releasable after some time but if not, we will give him the peace he deserves and that's just as important, off not more so, for many of the animals we take in.

It's odd that there is so much drama and in-fighting in the rescue world when we are already stressed enough as it is with the nature of our work.

I guess you can't escape the pettiness anywhere though 🙄
Such is life.

We'll keep doing what we do and improving and growing AND educating as we have done the past six years. This past year was a major challenge for many reasons but we're coming back together, rebuilding and picking up where we left off.

And, as always, we have all of you to thank for this! Without your help and support, none of this would be possible. I really can't express enough how important each and every follower, finder, rescuer, donor and supporter is to us.

You all make this happen! 💜💜💜

Never ending list of tasks!
Slowly, but surely, we are recovering from the crash of the last year. This brain "map" is just the first step in figuring out what we're doing, how we're prioritizing things, and where we are going with it all. And I just keep on writing things down -_-
We are, essentially, starting over in a lot of ways.
Giving Tuesday is coming up and that is our largest fundraiser of the year! This will be essential to our restart and the coming spring baby season so keep us in mind when you're thinking about your holiday spending!

How I feel knowing the end of the year is coming, reports need to be gathered, property taxes are due, the IRS still hasn't decided if they believe that we're running a legit non profit, I'm still putting in endless job applications, and knowing I really need to focus hardcore on grants and donations for the rescue!

This Cooper's hawk gets it.... Lucky for him, he'll get to be released soon and go back to flying free and hunting birds while I get to continue struggling to breathe in the ridiculous Insanity that is human life. 🙃

How did we get it so wrong?

A sad story today... Similar to one posted by Wildcare not that long ago, but with an unhappy ending unfortunately.

We were called out today to assist with a skunk who had gotten its head stuck in the drainage hole on a dumpster.
She had been like that, probably all night before anyone found her and her head had become very swollen.
We worked to try and lubricate and get her loose but the swelling was just too much it caused her to suffocate before we could get her out....

When first assessing the situation we called the company whose name was on the dumpster and were told that they wouldn't do anything and that we should just shoot the skunk.

Besides the obvious fact that it's not safe to try and shoot an animal whose head is in a metal box, it's obviously not our mission either. Euthanasia is a last resort and we are always prepared to do it if it's necessary... But at that point we had still hoped we could get her loose.

The hole she got stuck in is a common threat to skunks and other wildlife that might be after our left overs. They are clearly made up have something screwed into them and it would be SO EASY to just have a grate installed to prevent this

Why bother to put a threaded port there and then not cover it up?

A completely preventable death.... Yet there are thousands more just like it out there....

If you have a dumpster on your property or at your work or anywhere around, check it out to see if the company has reasonably covered the drain as they should. If not, maybe consider giving them a call and requesting that they do so.

There was absolutely no reason this had to happen...

Thank you so much to the finders who called me and stayed with me through the entire process as we tried to get her free. I'm sorry it wasn't a better outcome.

Winter injuries are coming in quick now and we've had a number of hawks and vultures over the past week.
As young birds (and sometimes adults too) struggle to find food during their first hard season they may end up in collisions on road ways after scavenging road kill, chasing birds into glass windows, or just too weak to fly at all.

If you see a bird on the ground that isn't immediately able to fly away, please get it contained in a kennel or cardboard box and call us or another licensed rehabilitator.

This juvenile red tailed hawk is a suspected car hit victim but also appears to have an illness causing wounds on his feet. We're treating the concussion first and trying to get him more stable before investigating further problems.

You can help us care for this kid and hundreds of others like him with a one time or monthly donation!
Nature's Vein, like most wildlife rescues, is 100% volunteer and donation operated! None of this would be possible without your support!

Success!
After multiple attempts last night, with no luck, we returned first thing this morning to get the hawk out of the store.
It started out not looking too promising but after a good long flight around the store and an eternity to decide it was hungry, this little sharp-shinned hawk finally came down to the trap!

She was given a brief health check and released a distance from town where she hopefully won't find her way into any more buildings!

Sharp-shinned Hawks are migrants to Oklahoma and usually seen hunting small birds in the fall and winter.
They appear very similar the more common Cooper's Hawks but are typically smaller.

Update: Have found some and will be trying to trap the hawk this evening when the store is quieter!

Do any of our followers in Stillwater have LIVE mice or chicks available right now?
We need to try and trap a hawk from inside a large store and I haven't been able to find either in town today.

Capture and transport needed!

We have a report of a vulture with a broken wing on Coyle Rd North of highway 33.
Hoping to get more details soon but if anyone can go and check it out and be ready to bring the vulture in to us that would be greatly appreciated!!!

Alright, it's finally time to announce that we are open and taking rescues again!

I apologize deeply for how long I had to step back and refuse intakes. In all honesty, things haven't actually changed much. I still don't have a steady full time job but we are getting by and it feels like there's something good around the corner.... I really really hope so!

In any case, the doors are open again, and you can help us keep them open and care for our winter patients with a donation today! Or become a supporter and set up a monthly automatic donation here or on patreon!
https://www.patreon.com/naturesveinwildlife?utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator

Image is of a small copperhead we recently removed from someone's garage.

Come see us at the Stillwater Farmers market tomorrow morning!

Just a reminder to keep on voting!
You can vote once daily for free.
I'm still in 5th but need to make it to 1st to get to the semi finals!
Help me bring in 20k for wildlife!

Will Jessica Torres be an Inked Original? Help Jessica Torres win $20,000 and a feature to tell their story in the iconic Inked Magazine.

Hey everyone!
Small updates for now- I am still working towards more regular and better paying work, got all the audit paperwork for the IRS sent off today, I hope to be able to start taking rescues again this winter, funding is still the biggest problem.

Please remember to keep voting daily to help me win $20k for our wildlife! I need to make it to 1st place to get to the finals. This will go a long way towards our education plan!

Will Jessica Torres be an Inked Original? Help Jessica Torres win $20,000 and a feature to tell their story in the iconic Inked Magazine.

Top 20 cut is tomorrow! Get your votes in now!

Will Jessica Torres be an Inked Original? Help Jessica Torres win $20,000 and a feature to tell their story in the iconic Inked Magazine.