May 18th, 2011 PAWS Cat Sanctuary

So I spent the weekend on Caye Caulker which is a small island off of Belize geared towards backpackers and such. This place is amazing! It is very slow paced and relaxing and their are no cars, just golf carts. I went with a few friends and we decided to volunteer while we were there at a cat sanctuary. http://www.pawanimalsanctuarybelize.com/

 This place was amazing but let me give you the disclaimer, you MUST love cats to stay here : ) The woman who runs the place is so dedicated it's hard not to fall in love with her right away. She came to the island on vacation and saw the problem with the cat population and basically never left. As if the feral cat population is not bad enough she also has to deal with people who throw cats into the sea in bags. She literally has to check the waters by her dock all the time for these floating felines. It is heart breaking but makes me feel relieved that she is there to help them.

Besides volunteering we also had time to check out the island. We were able to go swimming,

 check out the island nightlife (and quickly found out there's none)

(At least shoes are optional!)

  

do some bird watching

And I was also able to do a snorkeling trip off of the world's second largest barrier reef. It was the highlight of the trip and was amazing!! We saw everything from sharks to eels to rays to every kind of fish you could imagine!

 I had an amazing time with amazing people in an absolutely amazing place. I couldn't ask for much more : )
    If you are interested in donating to the P.A.W. Cat Sanctuary I can tell you first hand she will appreciate anything you can spare. She does not get funding of any sort and does this out of her pocket. Also she is on an island where the price of everything is much higher than it should be, including cat food! So if you love kitties, have a few extra bucks, and want to make a difference, please think about donating what you can to this cause. P.S. I have every intention of going back before I leave Belize so if you want to get up close and personal with these amazing kitties please feel free to join me! : )

May 13th, 2011- Friday the 13th continued....

Part 2 of this hectic day:

 This evening was the Belize Bird Rescue Fundraiser. This event was held at the British High Commission and was a silent auction as well as a cash bar. I helped Nikki all week with the planning and setting up and by the time Friday evening rolled around all I wanted to do was curl up in a ball and go to sleep. Instead of doing that I spent most of the evening washing dishes, serving food, and smiling when I didn't want to.

 Although I was tired I was hanging in there, that is until the incident....

So all of the items for the auction were donated from local businesses etc. One of these items was a hand blown glass hummingbird. This thing was delicate and worth around $300. Needless to say we were all terrified of handling this thing. We didn't even take it out of the bubble wrap until the night of the event. So I'm sure you can all guess how this plays out. I went to pick up the bid sheet from the table and knocked it over and broke it right in half. It was awful, like a slow motion type moment where I had no idea what to do or how to react. As if it wasn't bad enough some jerk started laughing uncontrollably saying "priceless" over and over again so anyone in the room who wasn't aware of the situation was now fully aware. I could feel my face reddening and made the decision to go outside and hide. The next half an hour or so was a blur. I sat down awkwardly, could feel the tears making their way to my eyes, went to the kitchen where I cried out of embarassment, and eventually cleaned up the kitchen and then went to the car where I fell asleep. It was a terrible ending to the night and I think any other time I could've dealt with the situation but was just too tired at that point to handle it. I was told later that the person who won the hummingbird really didn't mind that it was broken because the money went to a good cause and also that someone could weld it back together. After going through the pics I had taken earlier in the evening I did notice that the bird was already broken by someone else who didn't bother to speak up. Anyway, not every day is meant to be a winner, and on a good note the rescue made enough money to start building the new aviary. And in the end it's not about me, it's about the birds!!

May 13th, 2011- Friday the 13th

Ok so this day has been long so it will be written in two parts. This morning we got in a fledgling Pygmy Owl. Although upon first sight he didn't look so great we quickly realized he was a healthy and fat fledgling.

After calling the people who brought him in and talking to Monteen at www.Hawktalk.org we decided it would be best to try to put him back with his family. Once we arrived at the site we discovered another surprise waiting for us in the grass.....a second one!

After looking around a bit we were able to find the nest cavity they had jumped out of. Their was another owl sticking his head out of the hole in the palm tree staring down at us. Not sure if it was one of the parents or another baby about to make the leap of faith. 

We ended up being able to place the two little ones up on a tree trunk. As soon as we stepped away they started to scream for their parents and within minutes their was an adult sitting in a branch overhead. 

The people who originally brought us the first owl and who's property the owls were on were very very concerned for the little guys. A special thank you goes out to them for caring enough to call and get advice! 

A bit of info: fledgling is the word used to describe birds that jump out of the nest before they are able to fly. This is normal and all birds do this. They hop around on the ground for a day or two and then are able to make it up to small trees and bushes. While this is happening the parents are still coming down to feed them. Unless a bird is in immediate danger it is suggested that you leave the bird where it is and watch to make sure the parents are feeding it. If they are then you can leave it where it is! It is doing exactly what it is supposed to be doing. If you think the bird is sick or something else is wrong then call a local rehabber right away to get advice. It is a myth that if you touch a baby bird the parents reject it so if it is in immediate danger please get it out of harms way.

May 9th, 2011

This afternoon we successfully released the Adult Pygmy Owl that we had received a while back. He came in with a bum wing and although he was small he was a monster of a patient! He refused to keep his wing wrap on,

 he thought he was ten times bigger than he really was and was always trying to attack me,

  

and his diet consisted of fresh bugs and mice which I had to provide for him

So although he was pretty cute and adorable in a tiny bird of prey sort of way, I was very happy to open the door to his release enclosure today and say my goodbyes as he flew off into the bush. Good luck little guy!

April 30th, 2011 The Agricultural Fair A.K.A. freak show of craziness

     Today I accompanied Nikki and Dennis to the Agricultural Fair of Belize. Apparently this is a huge deal here and people come from all over to attend. It actually takes place right down the road from us and if it didn't I don't know if any of us would've made a special effort to attend. So how do I explain what I witnessed and felt at this place? Well a few words come to mind.....scary, hot, confused, more scariness, bleeding ears, lots of food, pretty horses, weird agriculture stuff, and did I mention scary?
   

 Now I must admit some of it was pretty interesting. The livestock seemed well taken care of because the farms and people who brought animals wanted to show them off. We didn't see anything that wasn't supposed to be there (like parrots or other native animals). Their were booze tents everywhere which I am always fond of. I think booze tents should have the mentality of Starbucks at these functions. Put them everywhere, people should be able to be at a tent and see another one in their line of sight, just like coffee.

   

April 22nd, 2011

As some of you may remember I received a Collared Aracari on February 9th at CASA from Belize Bird Rescue. This was my first encounter with a wild Toucan and it took me a few days worth of bleeding and yelling to get the hang of handling him properly. This little guy came in unable to use his legs and after an x-ray it was confirmed that he had a fractured pelvis. For over a month I had to work with him by designing a sling for him and having to put him in it for hours at a time each day.

   Right before I left CASA he was transferred into a small outdoor enclosure. A few weeks ago Dr. Isabelle took a look at him and then transferred him back to Belize Bird Rescue so he could go into a large outdoor enclosure. This morning he was finally released back into the wild!!! Yay!

    Our Pygmy Owl is also doing well. His wing is healing but very slowly since he refuses to keep a wing wrap on. He has also gained weight and is now a whopping 60 grams! I have given up on trying to find insects for him. Let's just say if I was a chicken I would have died long ago of starvation. 

               To get an idea of how small this little guy is just look at the roll of toilet paper behind him!

   We got in a Red-lored Parrot the other night who is also doing well. He wandered into someone's house and we think he is an escaped "pet." He is overweight which means he was probably on a diet of sunflower seeds and junk food and was probably kept in a small cage indoors for most of his life. He is currently in a large outdoor enclosure and is on a diet of fresh fruits and veggies. He is a very beautiful bird and loves to stretch out his wings so he can feel the breeze under them. Hopefully one day he will be released back out into the wild. (pics coming soon!)

          We also released the Wood Turtle that we rescued from the bleach tub a few weeks ago. He was a land tortoise that had been living in a small tub of water stacked two high with aquatic turtles. He had sores all over him and had been surviving on the occasional piece of grass. After we had picked him up we offered him a grape and he ate the whole thing while sitting on my lap. I have never seen a turtle so excited to see a piece of fresh produce! We released him on the property in the woods close to the creek. I wish him the best of luck in his second chance at being a normal wild turtle!