Martens and Poor-Wills and Grebes, OH MY!

The end of last week was an eventful one for West Ridge Animal Hospital (WRAH) and surrounding wildlife; when I came in to work Friday morning we had a Western Grebe, an American Marten, a Poor-Will (aka Nightjar), and a pigeon here for treatment! All four were stable and awaiting transport to Greenwood Wildlife Rehabilitation (GWR) for, as the name implies, rehabilitation and future release back to the wild.

Pigeons, unfortunately, are a common site here. The other three, however, were a bit of a treat. That is, if you consider possible bites and examining fractious wildlife a “treat”- which we here do. Taking care of injured wildlife is one of the ways we connect so tightly with nature, it’s our labor of love; it also creates an environment that encourages learning and reminds us that we humans share this world with innumerable miraculous animals that sometimes need a little assistance…

For instance, before I started working here, I never knew that Grebes and Cormorants are unable to take off from land. Whether to facilitate their extraordinarily expert swimming skills, or perhaps just an evolutionary oversight, Grebes’ legs are so far back on their bodies that walking is difficult and taking off from solid land is impossible. The problem arises when a Grebe sees what it thinks is a body of water, but actually turns out to be only a shallow puddle in a parking lot. Fortunately, they are usually not injured from this rude awakening, but we do want to play it safe and have Dr Colin Combs examine them. Once deemed healthy, the birds take a trip down to the wildlife experts at GWR for release back to the wild.



Poor-Wills visit us less often. This particular one had a run-in with a window, injuring his shoulder and requiring extra care. He will spend some time at GWR and will hopefully heal fully and also be released. Shoulder injuries in birds, though, can be rather difficult. We wish him the best!


The American Marten was a new experience for all of us here at WRAH! These animals usually live in hilly, forested areas- NOT Milliken window wells where this little guy was found. There are stories of Martens who unknowingly hitch rides on trucks to unexpected places, we can only surmise that this is the case here. He looks like a small, cute ferret- right up until he screeches at you and shows his extra sharp teeth, used for defense and acquiring meals. Now, we humans know that this response is not necessary in this situation, but can you imagine just how frightening it must have been to be here?!? Dr Combs did not see any health issues and relinquished him to the wildlife experts, too.

A guaranteed happy ending in at least three out of four cases last week. We’re happy we were able to help these fascinating creatures!