2021 rescues
Rescue Group activities in 2021
20 January 2021 - Steller's Jay. Elaine Furbish responded to a call from Skagway Police Dispatch (PD) about an injured bird under a vehicle. Katie Kluge saw a Steller's Jay go under her parked SUV to get away from her dog, and it seemed unable to fly. The jay seemed alert and was moving around inside the engine compartment. Working together, Elaine and Katie eventually captured the bird and put it in a transport kennel. No obvious signs of injury were seen or felt. Elaine contacted JRC and was given instructions to assess whether the bird could fly. Joanne and Andrew Beierly came to assist. The kennel was opened in the middle of a ball field, and after a second, the bird shot out of the kennel, spread its wings and hopped/ran across the field, never really getting airborne. It was very energetic. JRC advised monitoring the bird until tomorrow. The Beierly's agreed to check on it a couple more times, and it will be re-evaluated midday tomorrow.
UPDATE 21 January: When the site was checked this afternoon, the bird was gone but there was no sign of predation, so we presume it recovered.
Steller's Jay crossing ball field (photo by A.Beierly)
7 March 2021 - dead Bald Eagle. A Skagway Police officer contacted Deb Boettcher about a dead BAEA at Nahku Bay. Deb told him it should be left in place while beach monitors collect data and the NPS biologist contacts USFWS for guidance. Betsy Albecker, assisted by Elaine F., collected COASST data on the mostly decomposed carcass that afternoon and tagged it with a red marker for further monitoring. It was tangled in driftwood on the high beach. Please do not move the carcass or remove any part of the bird.
UPDATE 11 March: Juneau US Fish and Wildlife Service requested that the eagle carcass be removed from the beach. Klondike Park staff collected the body and sent it to the Juneau FWS office. Some or all of the eagle will be sent to the National Eagle Repository for disbursement to Native American tribes.
21 June 2021 - fledgling American Crow (northwestern). Police Dept. called Deb B. at 9:30 a.m. reporting that an injured crow was at Tony Koster’s residence. Deb call Betsy A. asking for assistance, they found a young crow (pink on bill, very short tail). The crow didn’t appear injured but was young and not yet able to fly. Betsy threw a sheet over the bird while Deb distracted it. Tony lifted it to a shed roof which had an overhanging tree branch the crow could hop up on. Several adult crows were perched on the nearby power line so, hopefully, one of them was the parent who could take care of the young bird. Betsy checked on the crow over the next couple of days - it moved around and at times was lower to the ground, but appears to be thriving.
AMCR juvenile (photo by B.Albecker)
28 June 2021 - injured Common Raven. Elaine F. took a call from police dispatch about a Common Raven with an injured leg or wing at a construction yard on Klondike Hwy past the Dyea Road turnoff. She looked for the raven later that afternoon, but couldn't find it. The next day, Elaine and Mike Konsler visited the site and found the raven, which was limping and using its wing and tail to stabilize itself as it moved about. It seemed otherwise healthy - energetic, alert and responsive. It spread its wings once for a short hop-flight, but seemed to avoid trying to fly. Mike monitored the crow several more times over the next few days, and talked to the construction workers about the raven. Once he found it resting and seemed weak, but it roused when he approached and moved about afterward. Unfortunately, a couple of days after that, the raven was taken by a fox.
5 July 2021 - American Crow (northwestern). A local resident sent Deb B. a photo of a crow with a growth in its leg and asked if there was anything that could be done to help it out. I called the raptor center in Juneau and was told it sounded like a fungus. They’ve tried to cure the condition in other birds without success. It can spread to other birds. However, since it can fly, they said to just leave it alone. If it couldn’t, we could try to catch and send to them.
AMCR with fungus leg (photo forwarded by D.Boettcher)
14 July 2021 - American Crow (northwestern). Police department called Deb B. about an injured crow, possibly with a broken wing, located between Alaska and Main on 11th Ave. She sent the callout to Joanne & Andrew Beierly. They found that the crow was still too young to fly and was being fed by other crows. They left it alone. Deb followed up with the police department.
fledgling AMCR being fed (photo by A.Beierly)
5 Oct 2021 - Varied Thrush. Elaine F. received a report about a bird that flew into a window. Theresa Figuerado found it near Molly Walsh park, and there was no sign of other trauma or health issues (like deformities). Elaine recommended putting it in an out-of-the-way place in the woods to recycle.
dead Varied Thrush fed (photo by T.)
5 Oct 2021 - Cassin's Auklet. Ken Graham reported a dead Cassin's Auklet at the NPS campground in Dyea. Elaine F. examined the bird later. There was no sign of human-caused trauma. There had been a strong storm system with high winds just before the bird was found, so it was probably a weak bird that was blown in from areas to the south closer to the ocean. It was moved to a place in the woods away from where people go, to recycle into the ecosystem.
dead Cassin's Auklet (photo by K.Graham)