Daily care 2/5

Where's Aldo?

With warm sunny weather, I just can't resist taking a 20 minute break from my office to sit outside with Aldo the American Kestrel. These...

Haley Selen

Jun 15, 20201 min read

Not Always Cold-Blooded

Whether meeting a snake in person or virtually via Zoom, "ectothermic" seems like a complicated word to drop in a snake program for...

Haley Selen

Jun 10, 20202 min read

Focal Point

When I'm outside with a bird on my glove, I often get the feeling that I'm being watched. I turn to find Aldo the American Kestrel...

Haley Selen

May 11, 20201 min read

Annual Exams

St. Paul may seem like a long way to drive for a simple vet visit, but The Raptor Center has some of the most raptor-savvy veterinarians...

Haley Selen

Feb 20, 20202 min read

All in good (salamander) time

While the tree frogs are sleeping away the winter in the exhibit hall, preferring to ignore their worms, it seems Scuba the Tiger...

Haley Selen

Jan 23, 20201 min read

A Surprising Weight Gain

Like most mornings, I asked Aldo the American Kestrel to step onto the scale. I adjusted his leather equipment, glanced at the numbers on...

Haley Selen

Jan 9, 20202 min read

Entertainment

We regularly give the birds enrichment to keep them from getting too bored in their mews. Enrichment might take the form of training new...

Haley Selen

Jan 2, 20201 min read

Target Weights

Wild animals can expertly camouflage illness or injury. Wild animals can also become underweight or obese. A scale reading is the closest...

Haley Selen

Dec 5, 20192 min read

Reuse

While digging through the Museum's storage room, sometimes I just have to shake my head. I might find an oddly shaped piece of plywood,...

Haley Selen

Nov 21, 20191 min read

Comfort Zone

With a hearty appetite this fall, Carson the Red-tailed Hawk will do just about anything to earn her food. Entering the office on my...

Haley Selen

Nov 8, 20191 min read

Body Language

Wednesday was a picturesque, sunny day and I asked Aldo the American Kestrel to step on my glove. He readily hopped on and we circled the...

Haley Selen

Oct 9, 20191 min read

Fall Hunger Pangs

With the leaves changing and the sun setting earlier, it is obviously fall. The birds know it, too, as they feel the urge to prepare for...

Haley Selen

Oct 2, 20191 min read

Broken

"Did you notice that Carson's alymeri is broken on this side?" Despite Mollie's calm, quiet demeanor, her words stopped me in my tracks....

Haley Selen

Sep 10, 20192 min read

Ice

With such warm weather lately, I figured the birds might like a cold treat. I left a few ice cubes on Carson's perch along with more...

Haley Selen

Jul 18, 20191 min read

Chilly

Red-tailed hawks are a hardy species. While some move farther south for the winter, many red-tails choose to stay in Wisconsin as long as...

Haley Selen

Jan 24, 20191 min read

Stages of a Good Bath

Aldo the American Kestrel seems to have bathing down to a science. There appears to be 7 essential elements to a good bath, something he...

Haley Selen

Jan 16, 20191 min read

Zero Percent

One thing I love about the animal care community – from bird trainers to zoo keepers – is the ability to find delight in small, peculiar...

Haley Selen

Nov 28, 20181 min read

Science of Behavior Change: Negative Reinforcement

Last week I wrote about positive reinforcement, giving a reward to increase a behavior, as the most important tool in training our...

Haley Selen

Nov 7, 20182 min read

Weighing a snake

How quickly does a 5-year-old hognose snake grow? As animals with indeterminate growth, snakes continue growing throughout their life,...

Haley Selen

Oct 24, 20181 min read

Aldo and the Mealworms

It was Aldo the American Kestrel’s turn for interesting enrichment this week. In the wild, over half of a kestrel’s prey can be insects....

Haley Selen

Oct 11, 20181 min read