Hope and Care Take Flight

Article for Wildlife Rehabilitation Society of Edmonton Newsletter   It was a wet misty day, threatening to turn into an outright downpour, as I made my way to the Wildlife Rehabilitation Society of Edmonton (WRS). Rain or shine, I was not going to miss this visit. Visitors and tours are not the norm in this facility that provides assistance to injured, contaminated or orphaned wild animals. I had been invited to the release of a Swainson’s Hawk that had been recuperating in their care and I planned to photograph the event.

Inside, I was greeted by the Development Coordinator, Caroline Barlott, and learned that the WRS is assisted by over 220 volunteers in roles like animal care, pen maintenance, public education and drivers to pickup their wards from veterinary clinics from around town.

Animal Care Manager Stephanie May led me out the back field to the ‘flight pen’ where the hawk was kept. WRS does all they can to keep their animals wild and that means limiting interactions so wildlife do not become habituated to people whenever possible. With what must be practiced efficiency, Stephanie and her assistant deftly and gently cornered the hawk and transferred her from her perch in a spruce bough to a soft-sided carrier for the trip to a release site east of Edmonton.

The mist had turned to a light rain once we were at the release site but the mood was upbeat in anticipation of releasing a healthy raptor back into the wild. This hawk had come to the rehabilitation centre last year at the time she would have just been learning to hunt. The release site and timing were chosen to provide a habitat with lots of open rolling fields, a healthy gopher population and a mature tree line to provide perches.

I chose a spot well off to the side so I could photograph the hawk’s release but not be a concern to her. At first she was reluctant to leave the confines of her carrier but once Stephanie tipped the carrier upward to provide a perch, she stepped out of the carrier and took a minute or two to view her new environment. 

Finally, she hopped from the carrier, stretched her wings, and lifted into the air. We were rewarded with a long sweeping flight out and arcing back towards us – perhaps a final parting gesture as she flew off to resume her life in the wild. 

The WRS is a non-profit organization which relies on donations to be able to care for injured wildlife. For more information, please go to: http://www.wildlife-edm.ca.

Fund Raiser

May was a hectic month for me but productive.  I started with the usual creation and publishing of the Imagery newsletter.  Then early in May,  I attended a presentation by Alberta Wilderness Association about Alberta's Lakeland Provincial Recreation Area that featured photos from Images club members.  These were shot for AWA in and around the Lac La Biche area in late 2008 and 2009.  

It was there that we met Ian Urquhart, the editor of AWA's journal, Wild Lands Advocate.  Ian invited three of us to write photography related articles for their June edition.  I chose to write about photographing wildflowers and one of the photography workshops at the WatertonWildflower Festival that runs every June in Waterton National Park.  The Advocate should publish June 17.

I also became involved with a fundraiser for Wildlife Rehabilitation Society of  Edmonton which is a charitable organization that provides compassionate care for injured, contaminated and orphaned wildlife and educates the public on the importance of wildlife in our community.  This photo and another will be part of a Silent Auction and Art Show at the Smart Gallery in David Morris Fine Cars.

This lead to an invitation  to photograph the release of a Swainsons Hawk that had been in their care.  Since writing this post, the article I provided to WRS's newsletter has been added in a recent post..

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Framed photo sold at WRS Silent Auction

Pelican Mist: Hastings Lake Alberta, Fred Rushworth 2009