As wildlife baby season begins, tree trimming worries sprout
GOLETA, Calif. - Spring brings with it warmer weather and the beginning of wildlife baby season, where small mammals and birds from songbirds to owls and raptors begin to build nests and have babies.
The Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network, the South Coast's only wildlife rescue and rehabilitation center, is used to seeing an influx of displaced, orphaned or injured young animals from roughly March through August.
With COVID-19 limiting the number of volunteers that can come in to treat those animals, the staff is trying to limit how many animals they need to take in.
“If we’re able to keep animals like squirrels and woodpeckers in their nests and in their trees, that’s gonna be the best thing for them, and for us,” said Liora Bregman, the Care Network’s volunteer coordinator.
The staff's message is to take extreme care when trimming trees, which often knocks down nests and separates animal families.
“Hundreds of babies are brought to the organization every year simply because of tree trimming issues,” said SBWCN Rehabilitation Coordinator Kimberly Stephens.
The staff recommends trimming trees in months that end in 'r,' suggesting the fall and winter months are more ideal.
Before trimming trees in the spring or summer, the staff urges people to proceed with caution and look for:
- Wild animals gathering nesting materials.
- Animals consistently moving between trees.
- More chirping or distress calls from animals possibly defending a nest area.
This year, the Care Network already took in three young squirrels displaced by tree trimming, but the staff was able to re-nest them. Young animals that cannot be returned to their nests must remain with the Care Network staff.
“We are merely human surrogates,” Stephens said. “We don’t do nearly as good a job as mom and dad. So it’s ideal that they be left with their parents to be raised. They have a much better chance at survival in the wild once they’re older and on their own.”
The Care Network is also looking for volunteers to join a new re-nesting team this spring, aimed at reuniting fallen young animals with their families to give them a better chance at survival.
Before physically returning animals to their nest, the new volunteer team would scout an area for the same species and ensure the family is still active around the nest.
The Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network is also in the process of building a state-of-the-art wildlife hospital at its facility in the Goleta hills.
To learn more you can visit the Care Network's website.
If you find an animal that is displaced, distressed or injured, you can call the emergency Wildlife Helpline at (805) 681-1080.
