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TAMARACK — Baby Blue got a second chance.

The great blue heron suffered a devastating wing injury but was nursed back to good health by Kristina Franklin and the staff of the Big Woods Wildlife Rescue Clinic in Tamarack, Clinton County.

Franklin, who began the clinic about six years ago, said the bird was a juvenile and likely would not have survived on its own.

“He was brought here in June, so he is probably at least three or four months old,” said Franklin, who is a licensed wildlife rehabilitator. “He was brought from down below Williamsport, from a breeding colony. He went to practice to fly and he got hit by a car on the highway.”

Baby Blue’s injuries were serious, and two members of the Lycoming Audubon Society brought the bird to Franklin.

“He had a fractured wing and joint,” she said. “The wing healed, but the joint just fuses with the kind of injury he had, so he can’t fly anymore.”

At her clinic, Franklin watched as the heron, whom she nicknamed, fed on freshwater fish from a dish in an enclosure. The bird meticulously took each fish and swished it in a bowl of water before eating.

Having rehabilitated a variety of wildlife and living near a wilderness area, Franklin usually likes to release rehabbed animals and birds nearby. But, the great blue heron normally would migrate and by early October, the bird’s flock already had headed south.

But, a volunteer at the clinic made possible a relocation of the heron to the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center in Virginia Beach, Va.

“They have two older great blue herons there, but they have never had a juvenile,” Franklin said. “His colony has already left for the winter, so it was imperative that we find something for him.”

In October, Franklin and a volunteer transported Baby Blue to his permanent home.

“I drove him down with Sue Pernick, a volunteer coordinator here,” Franklin said. “We had him for three or four months and thank God that was a happy ending, because not all endings turn out that well. But, at least we can be here for them and give them somewhere warm to go. If they pass away, they pass in the arms of someone who cares.”



Big territory



Franklin took over last year for Montoursville-area wildlife rehabilitators Ed and Tink Reish, who had cared for injured animals for about 30 years.

Reish said he is pleased to see someone so dedicated take on that role for this area.

“She seemed more enthused than anyone we ever had here as far as taking care of wildlife,” he said. “I get word from the Game Commission that she is accepting these (injured) animals and I believe she has a couple of veterinarians she works with.”

Reish said Franklin was a quick learner and that he felt comfortable passing the reins on to her.

“We gave her all the information we accumulated over the years and that kind of gave her a head start with a library to refer to,” Reish said. “She’s not afraid to work with it. She has the guts to do it ... she knows what she has to do.”



All kinds of critters



Franklin often is busy taking care of the animal patients that are brought to her. She has treated everything from baby squirrels to all kinds of birds. The work is not steady.

“It comes and goes,” she said. “The other week we had 50 animals come in — a lot of rabbits, squirrels, birds. It grows each year. We get more and more.”

Among the recent patients were two pileated woodpeckers, she said.

She also has dealt with great horned, screech and saw-whet owls. Franklin even has four resident geese — named Martha, Georgie, Jethro and Emmy Lou — whom she rescued from a community pond because they were being abused.

As a rehabilitator, she said she serves all or part of 11 counties, including Lycoming, Clinton, Bradford, Potter, Tioga, McKean, Union, Centre, Cameron, Elk and Warren.

All that is funded by donations only, she said. A few people donate regularly, but the needs are great for food, housing, veterinary supplies and other costs.

“We also need an aviary (housing for birds) that would be about 100 by 50 feet,” said Franklin, who is assisted by her mother. “We need a pole building with an infant room, a rabies vector room, a kennel room, a reptile room, an injury room, a trauma room, a surgery room, an intensive care room and offices. That would be ideal,”

People often do not fully realize that the clinic really is a hospital for wildlife.

“We take injured and orphaned wildlife, take care of them and then release them back into the wild,” Franklin said. “That’s our main goal.”

Franklin is not paid for her work. Only the contributions keep the clinic going, she said.

The Big Woods Wildlife Rescue Clinic is a nonprofit, 501c3 organization, so contributions are tax deductible.

For more information, call the clinic at 923-0114 or email B'>BWRC@pennswoods.net'>BWRC@pennswoods.net.

 

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