A Newnan family was in for a Christmas surprise when they found a live owl roosting in their tree.
Their 10-year-old daughter jumped when she saw what she thought was a Christmas ornament turn its head and look at her.
11Alive’s Kaitlyn Ross talked to the tech who delivered the owl back to its natural habitat. The wildlife technician told her that it would be easy to mistake one of these little owls for an ornament.
A Newnan home received a unique Christmas gift last week, when a live owl turned up in their tree.
“No joke, we just found a LIVE owl roosting in our Christmas tree. What?!?!?” said Katie Newman, Dec. 12 on Facebook.
Newman said her daughter spotted the Eastern Screech Owl squatting in the tree among other ornaments. (There were many owl-shaped ones, so it fit right in at first). When the “ornament” turned its head to watch Newman’s daughter, they knew something was off.
Photo Credit: Katie McBride Newman, Facebook
Newman documented her owl story on Facebook as she and her family tried to get the owl outside through opening windows and shoo-ing it. When that didn’t work, she called the Department of Natural Resources for help. They put her in touch with CNC.
“She called us and I just happened to be driving past Newnan the next morning on my way to Auburn. I told her I would try and catch it and do an exam. If it needed immediate care she would take it to a rehabber,” said Dawn Ellerman, a wildlife technician at CNC. She caught and examined the creature, and said it looked healthy.
Since it is illegal to keep an owl as a pet, Ellerman was able to tell Newman how to release the tiny owl back into the wild.
“We owe so much thanks to the Chattahoochee Nature Center Wildlife team,” said Newman. “Truly good Samaritans who saved our Christmas Owl.”
The family in this instance opened their doors and windows to encourage the owl to fly away on its own. They called the Chattahoochee Nature Center and we were able to come help catch the owl, make sure it was healthy, giving it food and water, and give instructions on care and release.
Do not try to keep a wild animal as a pet, especially owls and other wild birds. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act makes it a federal crime for anyone to keep a native owl who is not a licensed rehabber.
If you find a wild animal in your home, call a licensed animal rehabilitation professional, such as the Chattahoochee Nature Center, or visit Animal Help Now for your local rehabber. They will help identify the animal and help catch it or release it.
The Chattahoochee Nature Center’s wildlife rehabilitation department did a fantastic job helping the bird. As a non-profit, CNC strives to do what it can for the wildlife we see. Please consider helping CNC’s efforts by going here: Georgia Gives.
A few weeks ago, while driving into the Chattahoochee Nature Center, I spotted something in the road. I often play a game called “Is it a turtle?” along Willeo Road, typically resulting in “no, it’s a pinecone.” This, however, was not a pinecone. Or a turtle. I stopped, curiosity piqued, and found myself looking at a small, brown, furry mass with the largest front feet I have ever seen for something that small. Naturally – and quite professionally – I touched it. It was no longer alive, so I picked it up. Enthusiastically, I presented it to my co-workers, though I wasn’t exactly sure what it was. I’d seen pictures of moles in school, and I knew they were native to Georgia, but I had never laid eyes on a real one. A quick Google search answered a few questions, which quickly led to a deep dive down the rabbit hole – or, more aptly, the mole hole – into the underground world of Leo (everyone needs a name), the Eastern mole.
The Eastern mole (Scalopus aquaticus) is a small, secretive creature known for its incredibly powerful front feet and the hills that mark its existence to us above-ground dwellers. These subterranean architects dig out extensive tunnel networks that provide all the luxuries a mole could ask for: sleeping quarters, travel lanes, and grub buffets. A typical mole abode consists of one semi-permanent burrow dug below the frost line for long-term use, and smaller temporary tunnels near the surface that are used for hunting. Location and structural integrity are very important to a mole. Nobody wants their hard work destroyed by cave-ins, floods, or other catastrophes. The soft but sturdy earth of fields, woods, local parks, golf courses, and your lovely manicured lawn are ideal. The characteristic mole hills are simply chimneys used to transport soil out of the way as the mole cultivates and maintains its hunting grounds.
Now, if you’re thinking, “wait, moles hunt?” then you’re in good company. I had no clue my new fuzz-ball friend had been a ravenous, cunning predator in its formative… years… months? (We’ll talk about it). Those shallow tunnels are really just worm traps. When the earth gets saturated after rain, terrestrial insects are driven to drier areas like, say, the open space of a tunnel. The mole then feasts, eating up to 50% of its body weight. Daily. How much is that in a lifetime?! I did some math: an average mole lives roughly six years and weighs about 75 grams, meaning it could eat roughly 160-180 pounds of bugs in its lifetime. If there were no moles, and that many more insects, could plant life survive? Moles help balance our delicate ecosystem by keeping insect populations in check. So thanks, moles, for having an insatiable appetite.
With a better understanding of Leo’s life, I now feel confident and comfortable preserving this mole through taxidermy. Then it can live on as an educational tool, shedding light on life below ground for students and visitors for years to come.
ROSWELL, Ga. – What flies halfway around the world in a backpack just to visit the Chattahoochee Nature Center? If you answered a leaf-footed gecko from the Galapagos Islands, you are correct!
One such tiny traveler came to CNC’s Wildlife Department October 23.
According to Kathryn Dudeck, Wildlife Director at the Chattahoochee Nature Center, Wildlife Department staff were contacted by a local family who had just returned from the Ecuadorean locale.
“This family opened up a backpack a week later and he crawled out,” said Dudeck.
Dudeck said the gecko was an adolescent and likes to eat insects. Adults will eat other reptiles and small mammals. This one was only a couple inches long, but adults can get four inches long.
The Galapagos Islands are off the coast of Ecuador, South America. They are known for their biodiversity. Famous naturalist Charles Darwin stopped over there on his world tour.
Dudeck and her staff figured out the genus and then checked the gecko out make sure it was healthy. They then contacted state and federal authorities to determine what to do with the tiny traveler. Biologists from US Fish and Wildlife Service verified that it was not a threatened or endangered animal, so it would not be returned home, but could find a new home in Georgia. The Atlanta-based Amphibian Foundation, which specializes in exotic an endangered amphibians and reptiles, accepted the gecko.
The Eastern Kingsnake can often be distinguished by their black scales patterned with white or yellow chain-like bands
By Samantha Kennett, Urban Kings Research Assistant and Previous CNC Wildlife Technician
When it comes to snakes, the National Wildlife Federation estimates at least 20% of the Georgia population carries a fear of snakes in some degree. If there is one snake species that people show a softer spot for, it is the harmless Eastern Kingsnake. Eastern Kingsnakes are Georgia native non-venomous snakes. Like many other snake species, Kingsnakes play a key role in managing rodent populations as your own natural form of pest control. But what Kingsnakes are really known for, and the reason they are called the “king,” is their ability and proclivity to prey on venomous snakes like rattlesnakes and copperheads. Though anything with a mouth can bite, Kingsnakes are general docile snakes not known to bite often.
Despite living in a wide range of areas across the Eastern United States, the Eastern Kingsnake has been going through a noticeable decline in population within the Florida and South Georgia areas of their range. According to the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, one of the largest populations along their Savannah River site has almost entirely disappeared over the span of 20 years. However, this is not the case in the Metro-Atlanta area where Kingsnakes are spotted frequently and seem to be doing relatively well. It’s exciting to think that these snakes seem to have some survivability in urban environments, but what do these snakes need to survive? How much space do they need? What habitats within an urban setting are they utilizing? What might be limiting their survival? In future urban planning and development, how can we better coexist with wildlife and create livable habitats where they will not only survive, but thrive? These are just a few of the questions the Urban Kings Project is trying to answer.
In 2019, the Urban Kings Project, a citizen science endeavor, began working to understand just how these urban Kingsnakes seem to do so well in developed and developing urban landscapes. This research is focused on understanding how different levels of urban development are influencing Eastern Kingsnake movements, habitat use, health, and overall survival. Part of the goal is to create an evidence-based strategy to help future urban developers and planners create effective green space where wildlife can remain in areas with lots of people. To better understand how populations are changing over time, the researchers are creating a population distribution database filled with Kingsnake sightings reported by citizen scientists.
Being a citizen science project, there is a lot of community involvement. Though this project focuses on the survival and study of these incredible snakes, education and public outreach is another goal. Whether it’s working public community outreach programs or responding to Kingsnake house calls, the people behind this project work diligently to help community members understand the importance of Kingsnakes in their neighborhood. These outreach opportunities are pursued to encourage people to participate in reporting sightings, but also in hopes to alleviate some of those snake fears.
This project would not be possible without the continued support of community citizen scientists, and YOU can be one of them! To participate, please keep an eye out for your neighborhood Kingsnakes. If you see one:
Please call the Urban Kings Project immediately (Bryan Hudson 404-556-1863 or Samantha Kennett 678-315-2020). They need to examine the snakes to collect certain data, such as sex, weight, length, health screens, and to obtain a non-invasive DNA sample (clip a few belly scales, essentially the same thing as cutting your fingernails).
Keep an eye on the snake if possible until you have reached them on the phone.
Try to take a quick picture on your phone without disturbing the snake (trying to keep them from escaping before someone can respond).
And if you find a dead Kingsnake (road kill, cat/ dog kill, etc.) PLEASE collect the specimen by placing it in a few plastic bags. They can still gather lots of important data from these animals, so they do not go to waste! If you can’t collect the dead snake, please call the project immediately and they will try to get out to collect it before it disappears.
If you’re lucky enough to have a larger neighborhood Kingsnake, your snake might be a part of the movement aspect of the study. If the Kingsnake is a large enough individual, the partner team of veterinarians at the UGA veterinary school will implant a tiny radio transmitter just under the skin. This is a quick and easy procedure. The Kingsnake will then be released in the exact spot that it was found. This allows the researchers to follow the animal, which tells them what helps them survive in urban environments. This is the fun part, and the part that you can come out and observe.
We live in a time where it seems a new neighborhood is developing on every corner. As urban landscapes continue to expand, our choices in how to create them are more important than ever in how these actions will impact the world around us. Projects like this one help us take a step in the right direction for choices that support human-wildlife coexistence. For more information regarding the Urban Kings project or to report your Kingsnake sightings, please check out the project page here.
It’s the perfect time of year to gather together on the back deck and watch for…bats! Often portrayed by media as blood-sucking and disease ridden pests, sometimes bats don’t always have the best reputation. What most people don’t realize though, is that bats are a great asset to any backyard. But why?
There are sixteen species of bats found in Georgia. All of these bats eat insects, including mosquitoes, stinkbugs, even moths and beetles that destroy your plants. Bats consume thousands of insects each night – pregnant and nursing females can eat their entire body weight. Can your tiki torch keep up with those numbers? Not only is this great news for us, but for farmers, too. Bats save upwards of one billion dollars each year for the agricultural industry in the United States. That means the more insects that bats eat, the less pesticides farmers need to use on crops!
Now that everyone is on board with the idea of bats in their backyard – how do you get them there? For starters, there are several species of bats that will roost together in tight spaces. For these bats, you can install a bat house in your backyard. For best results, make sure the bat house receives 6-8 hours of direct sunlight each day, is installed 15-20 feet high, and is placed on a pole or the side of a building. Live trees are not the best location for bat houses as they typically receive less sunlight and make sleeping bats more vulnerable to predators. Additionally, you can garden for bats. Their favorite meals include moths and beetles; by planting flowers that bloom at night, you’ll help attract these larger insects and provide a nutritious meal for your backyard bats.
What about the guano (poop) or rabies bats may bring? Luckily for you, guano is a great fertilizer. Place a flower pot beneath your bat house and watch those flowers bloom! Talk about a mutualistic relationship. As far as rabies and bats go, you can rest assured that a very small percentage of bats have tested positive for rabies. That being said, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Don’t pick up a bat you see on the ground.
Bats face many threats every day, like White-Nosed Syndrome, pesticides, wind-mills, and habitat loss. You can help bats by limiting the use of pesticides and fertilizers in your yard, installing bat houses, and spreading the good word about bats to help combat fearful myths about them.
For more information on bats, join the Chattahoochee Nature Center on a Night Hike or visit a reliable website such as Bat Conservation International to learn more. Stay batty!
All too often we hear about another species that is facing habitat loss and heading for trouble. News reels and online articles bombard us with image after image of downed forests and desolate construction sites. For so many of us, learning and interfacing with animals makes us feel closer to nature, and seeing their homes destroyed can provoke an intensely emotional response. We see those photos and think to ourselves: how awful, poor animals, and what a shame.
But what happens when those animals become “too successful” at adapting to the cities that replace their natural habitat? For some animals, while in nature they had to roam tirelessly to satisfy their basic needs, in a city they can find food, water, and shelter all in one convenient place. It just might happen to be your backyard. Are we willing to share our space? We are delighted to see does with their fawns until they start snacking on our vegetable gardens. What do you do when you have a neighbor that you can’t seem to get along with?
A basic piece of advice is to “treat the problem, not the symptom.” The critter is around because something in the area is meeting its basic needs. Take away or block off the food, water, or shelter they’re after and chances are they’ll move on to greener pastures. It might sound too good to be true, but sometimes bringing in the cat food at night or putting an exclusion fence around the garden is all it takes.
Another approach is to start with a shift in mindset. Humans generally consider our society and the natural world as two separate communities. Now more than ever, as urbanization continues to spread, “humans must view cities as part of—not separate from—nature,” said Suzanne MacDonald, psychologist and biologist at York University in Toronto. How can we learn to live alongside our wild friends?
CNC’s own wildlife tech Samantha Kennett recently began working with Clemson University and UGA on the “Urban King Snake Project,” to identify and track the king snake population in the metro Atlanta area. This snake (which eats Copperheads, by the way) has proven itself adept at surviving in urban environs. How and why does it thrive? If we found out, they could help control the vermin populations in urban areas.
Just like the snake, hawks and owls love small animals, but they often fall victim to the reflective windows of office buildings, hitting them and dying. CNC partnered with the Atlanta Audubon Society to implement a series of special stickers in the Discovery Center that have caused the rate of bird collisions at CNC to dramatically fall. Other businesses in Atlanta has adopted the new system, called Collidescape.
We will all have to do some adapting of our own and challenge ourselves to learn to embrace our non-human neighbors.
ROSWELL, GA. – An international traveler recently came to the Chattahoochee Nature Center, in Roswell, Ga.. A Cope’s Gray Treefrog from Georgia went on a trip to Toronto, Canada, and back.
The treefrog was found by a truck driver from Sandersville, Georgia, near Milledgeville, who had crossed the border into Canada, arriving at Mississauga. The driver opened his truck to find the treefrog hopping about. He captured the wayward amphibian and turned it over to the Toronto Wildlife Centre, who identified it and sought a way to get it back home safely.
That’s where the Chattahoochee Nature Center comes in.
As a wildlife rehabilitation center specializing in amphibians (as well as raptor and reptiles), CNC was a perfect recipient of the tree frog. But being willing is one thing; actually transporting a little frog across state and national borders was tricky.
Kathryn Dudeck, CNC wildlife director, set about finding out how. For Dudeck, she had to get permission from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to bring the frog into the state.
“We have a good relationship with the DNR, so we were able to quickly get approval,” Dudeck said. She said she has never had an animal shipped internationally before. She worked with TWC to get the proper permits and papers approved to get the frog back home.
Three weeks after Dudeck received her approval, the Toronto Wildlife Centre informed her the frog was on its way back to Georgia, boarding a flight in New York for Atlanta, via a service just for animal transport, Reptile Express International. It took off June 18 and landed in Atlanta the next day, where he ended up at the Chattahoochee Nature Center.
Dudeck said the frog arrived safe and healthy after its travels and was returned home safely July 7.
Spring brings buds, blooms, rains, and lots of calls to the Wildlife Department at CNC about baby animals. While we are licensed and trained only for raptors, reptiles, and amphibians, we respond to over 150 requests each month in spring regarding wildlife babies. Here’s what you can do to help the little ones you may encounter:
Baby Birds:
The first question we ask is “Is it naked, covered in fluff, or have fluff, feathers, and a stumpy tail?” It depends on the answer as to what needs to be done, if anything. If the baby is naked or covered in fluff, it should not yet be out of the nest. If possible, place the baby back into the original nest, ensuring to look on the ground, in low shrubs, and tree branches, since some species only nest 3-4’ off the ground and others actually nest on the ground. If you cannot find the nest, place dried grass and leaf litter in a small basket and place it/hang it in the closest tree. The parents cannot pick the baby up, but they will tend to it in the surrogate nest.
If the bird is partially feathered and has a stumpy tail, it is a fledgling and is supposed to be on the ground. This is the critical time it is building flight muscles and learning from its parents what to eat and how to hide. If the bird has wandered into a roadway, gently pick it up and place it under some nearby bushes. It will start calling once you leave and the parents will relocate it. It is an old wives’ tale about human scent. This myth started when people tried to put fledglings back in the nest and they jumped out or were pushed out by the parents so that they could continue teaching them.
Baby Squirrels:
Photo credit to Kevin Gaston
By far, our most frequent phone calls this time of year are regarding baby squirrels. Eastern gray squirrels have two peak breeding seasons in the south, and we are right in the middle of the first one. Mother squirrels can have 8-9 babies each litter, and place 2-3 babies in each nest they have already constructed. Mothers visit the nests in the same order multiple times each day to care for the young. If one of the nests is falling apart, getting cramped, etc., she carries the babies in her mouth one at a time down the tree and leaves them on the ground. She will then carry them, again one at a time, up to one of the other nests. If you encounter a baby squirrel on the ground (the only rodent in GA with black toenails), gently place it in a box with some grass clippings and leaves and leave the box on the ground. If neighborhood cats are a concern, you can wedge the box in a nearby tree or shrub. Give the mother 4 hours to retrieve the baby. If she has not returned by then, call a licensed small mammal rehabber. Please note that she will not retrieve the baby at night.
What to Do if You Find a Baby Animal Part 1
Baby Rabbits and Baby Turtles
Written by Wildlife Director, Kathryn Dudeck
Spring brings buds, blooms, rains, and lots of calls to the Wildlife Department at CNC about baby animals. While we are licensed and trained only for raptors, reptiles, and amphibians, we respond to over 150 requests each month in spring regarding wildlife babies. Here’s what you can do to help the little ones you may encounter:
Baby Rabbits:
Did you uncover a rabbit nest while cutting your grass? These nests are simply shallow depressions in the ground with dried grasses and rabbit fur lining. Mother rabbits don’t sleep with their young. Instead, they visit them once a day and once a night to nurse, and then cover them back up. If you have accidentally uncovered one, simply put grass clippings back over the nest, and place a tic-tac-toe pattern of yarn over the area. If the yarn is disturbed the next day, the mother has returned and all is well. If it is still in place, contact a licensed small mammal rehabilitator.
If your dog has uncovered the nest, there is a simple way to keep the babies safe. Mother rabbits only enter nests from one side and exit the other. Place a copy paper box upside down over the next, ensuring to cut out the short sides so that she has a clear path in and out. Place bricks or rocks on the box to keep the dog from disturbing it. Please note that mother rabbits do not have “bunny radar” and are unable to locate their nest if it is moved. If you encounter a baby rabbit whose eyes are open and ears are fully standing up, it is old enough to be on its own.
Baby Turtles:
Turtles and other reptiles in this part of Georgia have no parental care. This means that from the moment they hatch from the egg (turtles and some snakes) or are born (some snakes), they are 100% self-sufficient. Keep in mind that aquatic turtles nest away from water, so you may encounter hatchling sliders, cooters, and snapping turtles on land. Their instinct is to travel downhill to water once they emerge from the nest. You can gently pick them up and carry them to the edge of the creek or pond if their journeys would require crossing busy roads.
ROSWELL, Ga. – What flies halfway around the world in a backpack just to visit the Chattahoochee Nature Center? If you answered a leaf-footed gecko from the Galapagos Islands, you are correct!
![baby_box turtles[2834]](https://www.chattnaturecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/baby_box-turtles2834-800x600.jpg "baby_box turtles[2834]")
Did you uncover a rabbit nest while cutting your grass? These nests are simply shallow depressions in the ground with dried grasses and rabbit fur lining. Mother rabbits don’t sleep with their young. Instead, they visit them once a day and once a night to nurse, and then cover them back up. If you have accidentally uncovered one, simply put grass clippings back over the nest, and place a tic-tac-toe pattern of yarn over the area. If the yarn is disturbed the next day, the mother has returned and all is well. If it is still in place, contact a licensed small mammal rehabilitator.
Turtles and other reptiles in this part of Georgia have no parental care. This means that from the moment they hatch from the egg (turtles and some snakes) or are born (some snakes), they are 100% self-sufficient. Keep in mind that aquatic turtles nest away from water, so you may encounter hatchling sliders, cooters, and snapping turtles on land. Their instinct is to travel downhill to water once they emerge from the nest. You can gently pick them up and carry them to the edge of the creek or pond if their journeys would require crossing busy roads.