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A recovered Barred Owl returns to the wild.
Photo by Mark MacKenzie

If you have found a bird or mammal you believe to be injured, orphaned or abandoned, click here to determine whether or not to contact a rehabilitator.   While Owl's Hill is licensed to have and release native animals, maintain an active hacking program for raptors, and release other rehabilitated animals on the site, we DO NOT accept injured or orphaned animals of any sort for rehabilitation.  Rehabilitation of a wild animal is a very complex, full-time job and, by state and federal law, must be done by licensed rehabilitators.  Attempting to rehabilitate an animal yourself can result in injury or death to the animal, injury to yourself, and/or expensive legal fees and fines.  The following organizations and individuals are licensed rehabilitators in the Middle Tennessee area:

        Raccoons, Fawns, Squirrels, Hawks, Owls   
Harmony Wildlife Rehabilitation Center (Fairview)
Carol Burgess
615-799-8712

Possums, Squirrels, Groundhogs, Adult Songbirds
Creekside Wildlife (Fairview)
Jennifer Varden
615-799-5418

Small Mammals ONLY
Lisa Butler (Franklin)
615-790-7809

Hummingbirds
Deborah Dorsey (Madison)
615-865-2941

Any Wild Creature
James R. Talbott, DVM (Nashville)
615-662-1700

Walden's Puddle (Joelton)
299-9938

TWRA (Nashville)
781-6500

Can't capture or transport the injured animal yourself?
Contact Wildlife Solutions
John Blanton
615-207-3199 (cell phone)
John will capture and transport the animal in his rescue truck to Walden's Puddle. 
He requests only that you make a small donation (tax deductible, of course) to Walden's Puddle.

Remember, under the laws of Tennessee and the United States Fish and Wildlife regulations, you are not permitted to care for wildlife.  Rehabilitators do not rescue or pick up injured or orphaned animals. You must take the animal to them.  When  you call, you will get a recorded message – leave a number where they may call you back with instructions.  Rehabilitators are not publically funded and depend upon private donations.  Please pay them something if you are placing a found animal in their care.

BIRDS - Nestlings (naked or with beginning feathers) If you find a nestling that has fallen from a nest, try to return it to the nest.  It is a myth that birds abandon their chicks if a person touches them.  If the original nest is destroyed or out of reach, get a woven stick or wicker basket and hang it as close to the original nest as possible.  Make sure the basket isn't too deep - parent birds will not jump into anything they can't see out of.  Watch for the return of the parents by gluing your eyes to the new nest.  Parent birds can zip in quickly to feed their young.  If no parents return within two hours, call a rehabilitator.

BIRDS - Fledglings (feathered, sometimes with tufts)  These are young birds who are learning to fly from the ground up, which may take several days  They are often misperceived as injured birds because they "can't fly."  Telltale signs of a fledgling are a bird that is full-sized, fully feathered but has a short tail.  Watch closely and you should see a parent fly over to feed the fledgling.  If no parent appears for hours and the bird chirps nonstop, he's probably in trouble and a rehabilitator should be contacted.

RABBITS - Rabbit nests are usually found in a shallow, fur-lined depression in the grass.  The mother rabbit only visits twice a day to nurse her young so that predators aren't attracted to the nest.  If the nest has been disturbed, or if you think the babies are orphaned, re-cover the nest with surrounding natural materials (grass, fur) and put an "X" of yarn or string over it.  If the mother returns, she'll push the X off, nurse the babies, then re-cover the nest.  If the X remains intact 12 hours later, the babies are most likely orphaned.  If a cat has gotten a baby rabbit, the rabbit will need to go to a rehabilitator immediately.

Spring and summer are the seasons when people find baby wild animals and assume they are orphaned and need help.  This is often not the case;  the following tips from The Humane Society of the United States will help you determine whether a baby animal truly needs rescuing.

FAWNS - People mistakenly assume that a fawn is orphaned if found alone and quiet.  It is normal for the mother to "park" her fawn in one spot for a month until the fawn is big enough to start traveling with her.  The doe only visits and nurses her fawn a few times a day to avoid attracting predators.  Only if the mother is known to be dead or the fawn is wandering and crying incessantly should you intervene and contact a wildlife rehabilitator.

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Did  you know that every time you put out your garbage or take your recyclables to the curb you can help - or harm - wild animals? 

Whether you live in the city, the suburbs, or the country , your wild neighbors are attracted to the items you dispose of every day.  Glass jars still smelling of peanut butter, plastic containers with a bit of yogurt at the bottom, plastic food wrap that looks and smells good enough to eat, and plastic six-pack rings all can be deadly to curious - and hungry - squirrels, birds, raccoons, skinks, foxes and other animals.

Fortunately, it's easy to safely dispose of containers and wrappings - and it only takes a minute or two.  Wide-mouth contaainers can become death traps when animals get their heads stuck inside and suffocate, especially if the containers are narrow at the top.  Birds and other animals can easily become entangled in plastic beverage rings, causing injury or death.  And any animal - even your own pet - can suffer and die after ingesting plastic packaging that causes an internal blockage.  Plastic wrap can be particularly deadly to marine animals and birds, who mistake it for food floating on the surface of the water.

What You can Do

Rinse and Recycle. Rinse all recyclable glass and plastic containers to remove any food remnants and odors.  Any container can be a danger, depending on the size of the container and the size of the animal.  Some animals, such as skunks, are particularly vulnerable because their front legs are too short to push containers off their heads.  Even containers you're going to throw away should be thoroughly rinsed before disposal to aviod attracting wildlife to your trash.

Cut or Crush.  Cut up and/or crush plastic containers before you put them in the garbage or recycling bin.  Cut apart each ring in plastic six-pack carriers and other similar packaging.

Close and Cover.  Make sure plastic food wrap is rinsed and contained inside a closed garbage bag.  Never throw plastic packaging into open trash cans.  Put garbage out for collection in plastic or metal trash containers with secure covers.

At Home or Away.  If you are hiking, camping, or picnicking - or simply taking a walk in the park - take care to dispose of containers and plastic wrap responsibly. Better yet, carry them home for disposal.  Ask others, including office building administrators, school cafeteria managers and your favorite restaurants to dispose of their trash responsible.

For More Information about living humanely with your wild neighbors, contact The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS).  For copies of this flyer, contact the HSUS Wildlife and Habitat Protection section.

Information from the Humane Society of the United States, www.humanesociety.org and the National Opossum Society, Inc., www.opossum.org

Coyotes are extremely adaptable.  They are the only large wild predator that has extended its range despite human intrusion into habitat...they now live in rural and urban areas from California to Maine, from alpine to desert habitat.  Coyotes come into heat once a year in late winter or spring.  About two months later they bear roughly six pups, which begin to emerge from the den about two weeks later.  They are less social than wolves or domestic dogs and usually hunt alone, although they sometimes hunt in pairs for larger prey.  Coyotes are carnivores, and opportunistic.  Ninety percent of their diet is meat: carrion, mice, rats, ground squirrels, marmots, prairie dogs, other rodents, and the occasional bird.  Any environment that attracts small rodents will, in turn attract coyotes.

So, since we all live in coyote country...

• CLOSELY SUPERVISE SMALL CHILDREN, DOGS, AND CATS AND KEEP THEM IN, ESPECIALLY AT DUSK AND DAWN.
• ELIMINATE HIDING COVER in landscaping and dwellings.  Make it difficult for coyotes to approach unseen.
• INSTALL OUTSIDE MOTION DETECTORS.
• Predators follow prey.  STORE GARBAGE, GRAINS, PET FOODS, AND OTHER ITEMS THAT ATTRACT RODENTS SECURELY.  Feed pets inside; don't allow a build-up of uneaten bird seed near human residence.
• IF YOU ARE CONFRONTED...stay calm, look big and tough, and back away.  Remember, a friendly coyote is eventually a dead coyote.

IF YOU LOVE WILDLIFE, KEEP YOUR CAT INDOORS BECAUSE:

• Every day, cats kill between 4 and 5 million birds in the U.S. alone.
• Collar bells don't work.  Birds and other wildlife do not associate bells with being stalked.
• Ground-nesting birds are very susceptible to predation by cats.
• Even well-fed cats will hunt small wild animals.
• Most young birds leave the nest before they are able to fly well, spending a day or two on the ground as they learn.  These fledglings are frequently caught by cats.
• Most of the birds caught by cats, but not killed outright, die of their injuries or infection.
• Cats that kill small rodents can eliminate a critical food source for owls and hawks.

IF YOU LOVE YOUR CAT, KEEP HIM OR HER INDOORS  BECAUSE:

• Cars kill millions of cats each year.
• Outdoor cats are exposed to serious - and often fatal - infectious diseases such as feline leukemia and rabies.
• Parasites such as fleas, ticks, and intestinal worms post a health threat to your cat.  Some of these parasites can be transmitted to humans.
• Outdoors, cats can be chased by dogs or other cats and killed, injured, or become lost.
• Cats are often shot at, poisoned, trapped, or tortured by neighbors who are annoyed by cats using their gardens as a litterbox or hunting ground.
• Coyotes, great-horned owls, and other wild animals are known to regularly kill and eat house cats.
• Cats that spend time outdoors require more medical treatment and their life-span is much shorter than cats who live indoors.

Content for "Keep Your Cat Indoors" was provided by Lindsay Wildlife Museum, Walnut Creek, California

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Page last updated April 2, 2010.
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