Birds of Sandy

Sadly, the rarely seen Brown Pelican that was blown in by Hurricane Sandy and rescued in Brewster by Wild Care Cape Cod recently died due to complications attributed to a severe respiratory infection.

There is hope, however, for another bird beached in Orleans by Sandy, and taken in for rehabilitation on November 9th.

Wildlife rehabilitator Jennifer Taylor, says the Greater Shearwater to which she has been tending has made improvements over the past 10 days. It came in with a “left wing droop,” sunken eyes and scrapes

In its natural environment it would be eating krill and plankton off Cape Cod waters, so the Wild Care staff have taken to concocting a “squid slurry” for the patient, with the goal of releasing the bird back into the wild by November 23rd.

“When the sea birds become debilitated, they don’t preen. Then, they become hypothermic,” says Taylor. “They are not used to being on land, and can become depressed when they are isolated from other birds. But, this one has been doing well in the hot-water therapy pool we made to care for the birds displaced by Sandy. We got him flapping.”