Northwest Wildlife Rehabilitation Center

Joe Meche is president of the North Cascades Audubon Society and also serves the chapter as newsletter editor and birding programs coordinator. He has been watching birds for more than 50 years and photographing birds and landscapes for more than 30 years. He has written more than 100 articles for Whatcom Watch.

In Bellingham and throughout Whatcom County, we are truly blessed to live so close to nature. Within just a few miles from the city center, parks and an extensive trail system provide veritable oases for us all to relax and pursue any number of outdoor activities. We share these areas with a wealth of birds and other wildlife species which are around us every day. On any day of the year it’s common to see traffic slow to a halt anywhere in Bellingham to allow a family of deer or raccoons to cross the road, sometimes even in the heart of downtown.

While we enjoy sightings like these and the joy of feeders filled with hungry birds on winter days, it’s a different perspective for the wildlife. We usually view them from the comfort of our homes or motor vehicles, but the animals we take pleasure in viewing are out in the elements all year. The animals and birds around us live a day-to-day existence, focused primarily on their survival and the survival of their offspring. And sadly enough, they don’t always fare so well, especially when it comes to encounters with our motor vehicles and the plate glass windows on our homes.

The combination of a distracted driver and a startled deer can lead to an unfortunate collision. A sharp-shinned hawk or a merlin might cause a bird at a feeder to crash into one of our windows in an attempt to escape the predator. Young birds and other animals might become orphans if one or both of their parents meets an untimely fate. Sometimes young birds just stray too far from their nests and get lost. The animals that live closest to us lead precarious lives, to some extent even more so than their brethren in wilderness areas.

We’ve all experienced wildlife in distress and wondered what to do or whom to call. It seems that many of the places we call for help will only take certain species and maybe even refer you to some other place that might or might not take them. We should consider ourselves fortunate to have a caring and compassionate clinic right here in Whatcom County that takes all comers – all creatures great and small, if you will. We have the Northwest Wildlife Rehabilitation Center (NWRC).

I had heard about NWRC and was always happy to refer people to them. At the beginning of last year, I tagged along with an entourage of other folks for the release of a pair of trumpeter swans at Lake Terrell. The swans had suffered trauma from flying into power lines in the county. This was a big event with a local newspaper reporter and a photographer on hand, and the size of the swans made it even larger. It was exhilarating to everyone to see the swans leave their carriers and take wing over the lake, vocalizing to each other and maybe even saying thanks!

I had no first-hand experience with the clinic until last year when I was able to capture an injured Wilson’s snipe in the Eldridge neighborhood. I took the snipe out to NWRC and, after completing a bit of paperwork, placed it in their capable hands. As it turned out, the snipe had an injured wing and was unable to fly. Birds utilize their ability to fly to escape any natural enemies and even domestic pets that might add further to their injuries or even kill the bird. After a short stay for nourishment and a complete exam, volunteers released the snipe into the proper habitat.

When I took the snipe to NWRC, I had time to take a tour of the facility with Stacy Gaber, the lead rehabilitator. I was very impressed with the cleanliness and organization of the entire clinic. From the receiving area, animals are taken into the examination room to assess the nature of their injuries or situation. After the initial reception the animals are kept in “quiet rooms” and given nourishment and TLC until they are strong enough to return to the wild. Some of the temporary visitors are too large or incompatible to be kept inside so there are larger cages out back for them. The clinic is housed in an older two-bedroom home on a small piece of property near Nugent’s Corner, and is very accessible.

On my second visit to NWRC, I delivered a recently hatched Virginia rail chick which I found on the trail at Scudder Pond this spring. The chick was on its last legs when I found it and would not have survived an encounter with the next dog to come down this popular trail. Sadly, the chick did not survive the extreme dehydration it suffered from being out in the bright sunshine on the day I found it.

My most recent trip to the clinic had a much happier ending. I received a call from someone whose neighbor had discovered a barred owl on the sidewalk next to her home, apparently dazed from a window collision. I had no problem getting the owl into a box and out to NWRC. After a few days of convalescence, the owl was eager to leave the confines of its cage, so I picked it up and released into suitable habitat close to where it was found. The best part was to include my two granddaughters in the owl release.

In our busy, fast-paced world, we sometimes overlook folks who are doing things so far behind the scenes that we might even take them for granted. Such is the case for an organization like NWRC, an all-volunteer group dedicated to the rehabilitation of injured and orphaned wildlife. Since it was founded in 2000, volunteers from the clinic have responded to tens of thousands of calls, and have successfully released thousands of animals back into their natural habitats.

In the course of your day, if you encounter sick, injured, or orphaned wildlife, a few simple steps will help the process along. Since an animal will become even more stressed by human contact and capture, keep it in a warm, dark, and quiet place. When the animal is safely out of harm’s way, call the clinic at (360) 966-8845. If you are able to do so, transport the animal to the clinic at 3671 Mount Baker Highway. Although NWRC has volunteers who might be able to come to your home to pick up the animal, you can save them time and money by delivering it yourself.

You might also consider donations of time or money to the clinic, especially since their efforts are supported solely by donations from the public. To learn more about the clinic and find ways that you can be involved, visit their web site at www.northwestwildlife.org. §