8mo ago

Community Updates

I forgot to mention I got around to updating the community icon, banners, and we also have some helpful info added to the sidebar now as well. Be sure to check them out!

17 comments

This owl looks superb. Almost at if they're wearing a cape and hood instead of wings.
- It's a very dapper looking Spectacled Owl.
  
  Wouldn't expect anything less from a specky!
Are you interested in adding info for other countries, too?
German language content about finding wild birds and what to do can be found here: https://wp.wildvogelhilfe.org/
They also offer a list of rescue places, mostly in Germany but Austria, Switzerland, and one station in Tirol are also mentioned. Some are bird specific - including owls.
- I will always take whatever you guys have! It's tough for me to find things on my own. Even with a translation app, it's a matter of vocabulary.
  Do I search for an animal hospital, shelter, rescue, rehabilitation center, and then does it serve all wild animals, owl, eagles, all raptors? There's just so many combinations of words, and I don't know how to string them together or find the most commonly used words, etc.
  Hopefully your list will help me find a few new places that do frequent social media updates.
  I'll see if I can get that existing international rescue link updated so it's simpler. This link goes right to a country list. Your list has more local results, but usually centers coordinate to play to their strengths, so getting in touch with one may not be the one you need, but they should be able to get you networked with the right group.
  
  Hopefully your list will help me find a few new places that do frequent social media updates.
  I'm a little busy right now. But I'll see if I can find the time to look through some entries that might offer content for you.
  Your list has more local results, but usually centers coordinate to play to their strengths, so getting in touch with one may not be the one you need, but they should be able to get you networked with the right group.
  Some places listed are single volunteers or very small places run by people who do this in their spare time. Those places usually don't have the resources and knowledge to care for special needs birds - which are raptors, owls, common swifts and some others.
  Networking does indeed happen. I once found a group that connected rescues and voluntary drivers whenever an animal needed a ride to another place. They tried to concentrate their rescued baby animals by species. It helps them to learn how to socialise and they'll have 'friends' around to not feel so lonely.
  
  I just took a look at your link. It seems that page is in need of updating. I chose Germany and the first two places are in Spain (Seville and Las Palmas). For Germans it would have made more sense if they had listed Mallorca. A famous destination for party-happy German tourists and often humorously named the unofficial 17. state of Germany.
  
  I looked through the first entries and most don't even have a functioning webpage. Those who have pages are mostly wildlife parks that do advertising for visitors. I'll use this comment to add FB links I found and looked promising. As I don't have a Facebook account I'm blocked from taking more than a cursory look though.
  Pflegezentrum für Vogelfauna Schloß Tirol https://www.facebook.com/gufyland/ Closed for visitors until April
  Greifvogelstation Berg am Irchel https://greifvogelstation.ch/ https://www.facebook.com/paneco.ch/ (PanEco is a foundation financing the Greifvogelstation - at the moment they have a short 'three memorable stories from 2024 film' (SwissGerman only, I'm afraid)
  Zwergohreule ( Eurasian Scops Owl) Rare bird in their area. Only the second of its kind to 'visit' the station. Crashed into a window, suffered a traumatic brain injury. Released after 4 weeks of care
  Habichtskauz (Ural Owl) They keep a bonded pair that successfully raised a clutch of 5. The young birds were released into the wild (in Austria).
  Steinkauz (Little Owl) This poor bird was found in a delivery of watermelons from Tuskany. Dehydrated and malnourished but they nursed it back into superb condition and were able to release it back into the wild.
  Fürstlicher Falkenhof Schloss Schillingsfürst https://www.falkenhof-schillingsfuerst.de/ https://www.facebook.com/100063568933045/
  Tbc
Huh, huh...

17 comments