I am not sure I can tell you anything you dont already know, but I - - PDF document

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www.BirdRescueCenter.org Presented and Coordinated by: Native Songbird Care & Conservation Co-Hosted with Napa Wildlife Rescue

Towhee Talk

Dana A. Glei

Rehab Volunteer, Bird Rescue Center California Passerine Rehabilitators Gathering Napa Valley Community College February 18, 2017

• I am not sure I can tell you anything you don’t already know, but I

can share with you what we do and what we have learned about rehabbing towhees.

• (And, of course, I have lots of pictures to help entertain you.)
• Then, perhaps we can exchange ideas about possible

improvements.

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Towhees are “Special”

Towhees vex all rehabbers

• I think it is safe to say that Towhees vex all rehabbers.
• Who among us here has had difficulty with towhees? Perhaps the

better question is: who hasn’t?

• So, you tell me: What problems have you had?

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Trauma X Captivity STRESS!

• Do not fare well in captivity
• Easily stressed
• Most were “catted” (poor prognosis for any bird)
• As they enter the pre-fledgling stage, “they discover

they are Towhees” (Francoise at Wildcare) – That is, they become reluctant to gape. – If they don’t eat, they will die.

• Towhees are easily stressed to begin with.
• Add in trauma combined with captivity and the result can be

deadly.

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68% of Young Towhees were “Catted”

• 2016: BRC admitted 194 towhees (142, CALTs, 7 SPTOs); 103 babies

(100 CALTs, 3 SPTOs).

• 2015: 183 towhees (169 CALT, 14 SPTO), 76% were young towhees,

69% were fledging or younger

• 61% were catted (68% of young towhees)
• 15% were found on the ground helpless (9% of young ones)
• 5% dog-related (6% of young ones)
• Remainder: FFN, orphaned, bird-napped, hit window/CNS,

rat/mouse trap

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Sticky Traps

Although the sticky trap cases are less common, they are horrific for the bird (and follow-up care can be long because they may need to regrow so many feathers).

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Perch splint applied to nestling with flattened toes

• We seem to get a lot of towhees with toe issues
• I don’t have a picture of it, but we have had many towhees that

have had to endure a cardboard “boot”.

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What Stresses Them?

• Pain: Being catted is very painful. A bird in pain may

be reluctant to eat. [We administer painkillers along with

antibiotics to all catted birds.]

• Excessive noise from humans or predatory species

(e.g., jays)

• Inadequate housing: overcrowded; dirty; lacking

enrichment (i.e., natural greenery, comfortable perches, dirt tray, leaf

litter, & water bath that encourages normal development)

• Incorrect, inadequate diet: irregular/infrequent

feeding schedule

• Dirty feathers/feet/face

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Returning Them to the Wild Early Does Not Solve the Problem

Unless we can reunite them with their parents, returning them to the wild too early would be a death sentence.

• CALTs mature slowly and need to learn many

survival skills before they can thrive on their own: generally, 6-8 weeks from hatchling to release.

• In comparison, some bird species can be released at

a younger age.

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What is their natural environment like in the wild?

• I think it is helpful to first understand their natural environment in

the wild.

• Only then can we think about how best to emulate that

environment in a rehab setting.

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Where do they live?

• Among the most wary & furtive of all birds
• Live close to the ground, often hidden in dense bushes

– Chaparral scrub in coastal slopes & foothills – Along streams & canyon bottoms among oaks, manzanita, madrone, etc. – Shrubby backyards & city parks

• If you hear rustling in the leaf litter, you can bet it is a

Towhee

• LOVES bathing

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Key Elements of Towhee Habitat

1) Dense shrubs to provide shelter (e.g., Ceanothus/Blue Blossom, Coyote Bush);

• Here are some pictures from my backyard, which appears to

be prime habitat for both CALTs and SPTOs, judging from the number of towhees I see there.

• These are two native plants that are great for towhee and quail

habitat: These are two native plants that are great for towhee and quail habitat: Ceonothus griseus horizontalis (on the left) and a prostrate form of Baccharis pilularis (on the right).

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2) Seed Food Sources

• Native bunch grasses (e.g., CA Fescue, Deergrass)
• Note: CALTs in my yard seem to prefer native CA

Fescue seed to the “bird seed” we use at BRC.

• And here are two of my favorite native bunch grasses:

Muhlenbergia rigens (Deer grass, on the left) and Festuca california (on the right).

• As you can probably guess, CA native plants are another

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3) Lots of leaf litter

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…and 4) Taller trees for escape

If you are lucky enough to have a mature native oak, treasure it—our feathered friends certainly do!

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What do they eat & feed their young?

• <10 days old: Entirely insects (mostly grasshoppers

& caterpillars)

• 10 Days old: >90% insects (including beetles &

wasps); <10% vegetable (largely fiber, little fruit)

• 2+ weeks old: >90% insects(largely beetles, wasps &

ants)

• Adult Diet: mostly seeds/grains (~80%) with ~15%

insects (esp. beetles & grasshoppers) and ~5% fruit

• Got Poison Oak? Often build their nests in poison
• ak and feast on the pale white berries

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How do they behave? Nestling Stage

• At 2-3 days old: will raise heads & gape in response

to nest vibrations

• At 8 days: will cower rather than beg when

approached; will jump from nest if disturbed

• Fecal sacs removed by adults, nest kept clean until

fledging

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How do they behave? Fledgling Stage

• Stay with parents up to 6 weeks (but if parents

renest, they may drive away fledges at 4 weeks)

• Cannot fly at fledging, but capable runners
• Spend several weeks hiding in vegetation near nest

site while being fed by parents

• At 3-4 weeks, young begin foraging for themselves

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How do they communicate?

• Many variations of the basic “tsip” note:

– Territorial display call (metallic “tsip”) – Contentment/contact call (sparrow-like “tssip”) – Distress call (long peep sounds, squeaking) – Alarm call (loud warning note) – Feeding calls (loud peep crescendos at regular intervals into a short staccato call)

• Hunger call: “puhlee” for as long as 30s at a time

peaking at 20s.

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Feed me… Feed me NOW!

• I *think* this is an example of the “Feeding call”, no?
• Honestly, I cannot distinguish between all the variations of the

“tsip”.

• But, young towhees can be very vocal with their metallic cheeping.

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Lesson #1 Setting the Mood

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The Right Environment Helps a Lot

• Try to emulate their natural environment as much as

possible in a rehab hospital setting.

• Provide a calm, quiet space (keep them separate

from the “loud mouths”, particularly jays).

• Group single baby birds with a buddy of the same or

compatible species (SPTO, AMRO, NOMO, BHCO).

• If solitary confinement is necessary, add a mirror.
• Use brown (rather than white) paper liners. White

stresses towhees.

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Age Appropriate Housing

• As soon as it is developmentally appropriate, move

them to a: 1) Reptarium (simulate a more natural environment: greenery, dirt tray, leaf litter) 2) Aviary (allow more flight practice, encourage foraging and learning other skills they will need to survive)

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Needs a Place to Hide

• Don’t forget to give them a place to hide.
• Yes, the greenery makes feeding them more difficult, but they will

appreciate having a place to take shelter.

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We have special “Towhee” dishes

• Shallow with low edges: able to get in/out easily
• Broad trays with mix of seed and worms where they

can practice the “towhee two-step”

• At BRC, towhees get their own special dishes.
• Ideally, they get a dirt tray as well (if you can fit it in their housing).

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Reptarium

(once they can thermoregulate)

• Note: They take advantage of the bungee cord perch and the

greenery.

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Reptarium

(before they cover it with poop)

• Here is a “model” reptarium (that I set up just for the purposes of

taking a pic for the presentation).

• After you put birds in it, it will never look this nice again.

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Aviary

• Later we move a towhee “cohort” (group of towhees that will

eventually be released together) to an aviary.

• Need to include water bath, dirt tray with leaf litter, and plenty of

places to perch and explore.

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Aviary

• Don’t forget to provide places to hide.
• I like to set up a shelter in the corner that they can hide under if

needed.

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• Seed & worm dish is placed in the dirt tray where they can scatter

their food and forage for it later.

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Lesson #2 Keep 'em Clean!

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Keep 'em Clean: Easier Said than Done

• Look at all that poop! (Not to mention the empty food bowl)
• Reality: They poop again before you even leave.
• It is an endless job.
• In the previous pictures, I purposefully cropped out part of the

picture because I didn’t want to show all the poop.

• If I saw this basket/reptarium, I would immediately want to clean it.
• REALITY: But, I realize that you can put in fresh liners and fresh

diets, but they will immediately poop on it and all over their own food.

• It is an endless job, which brings me to the most important lesson...

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Lesson #3 Patience, Grasshopper!

• It takes patient and persistent volunteers to care for towhees.

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You MUST get them to eat

...or they will starve, but force-feeding them causes stress and thus, may exacerbate the problem.

• Stress can kill them:

– Directly (they can truly be “scared to death”) OR – Indirectly (because it leads to starvation).

Only experienced volunteers who are willing to take the time (and have the proper training) to get them to eat.

• It is a catch-22: feeding them stresses them, but you must feed

them or they will die.

• NEVER assume that a baby towhee that is not gaping is just not

hungry!

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FIRST, make every effort to get them to gape

• OCD Tendencies: Let them go thru their ritual (i.e.,

hop around, act distracted, and ignore you) until they are finally ready to gape.

• Be very, very patient: WE CANNOT RUSH THEM!
• Bobbing motion with the worm-filled hemostat can

help switch them into eating mode.

• It will seem like it takes FOREVER, and you might

think they will NEVER gape...and they then do.

• Once they start gaping, they will usually keep gaping

easily...and they will eat a LOT!

• REALITY: It is really hard be patient when you have a whole room

full of towhees that need to be fed.

• There have been times when I couldn’t finish one feeding before it

is was “time” to start the next feeding.

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Mimic the “Time to Eat” Vocalization

• “Chipping song” imitated by the foster parent (that’s

you!) has a calming effect on nervous birds.

• How do you do it?

– Air is pressed through the teeth while moving the lips and modulating a faint hissing-whistling sound. – They are forgiving if your call is not perfect and can get used to a wide variety of feeding calls.

• Can help trigger gaping behavior when applied

consistently (at the start of each feeding).

• Do not overuse (or you may stress the bird).
• Another trick that may help: mimic a “time to eat” vocalization
• I don’t know if I do it correctly, but here is my version of it (which I

learned from Veronica).

• Veronica can probably do it better...Veronica? Can you

demonstrate?

• Is there anyone else who uses the feeding vocalization and is willing

to demonstrate their version of it?

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Difficult Eaters? Add a Good Gaper

• Buddy good gapers with similar-aged difficult eaters
• A gaping nestling might encourage a pre-fledge to

gape

• A different, but compatible species is OK (e.g.,

cowbirds make good nursemaids).

• Use colored bands to keep track of the good versus

difficult eaters (and make sure they don’t revert).

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• I like to “burrito” the towhee in a small washcloth

(easier to hold them without squeezing to tightly).

• Towhee may start gaping once you are holding it.
• If not, gently open its mouth (can be challenging

to hold the bird AND a food-filled hemostat while

• pening its mouth and inserting food).
• Let it swallow before trying to give more food.
• They eat a surprising amount of food; gauge the

amount for an “assisted feeding” based on the consumption of similar aged towhees.

LAST RESORT: Assisted Feeding

• After you have tried everything and given them plenty of time,

there will still be the stubborn towhee that refuses to gape.

• DO NOT simply skip the feeding (unless you know that towhee is

eating on its own and making good weight gain)!

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Bird Rescue Center’s Towhee Protocol

• Now, I will briefly review BRC’s towhee protocol through the

developmental stages from hatchling to juvenile.

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Naked/Pin-Feather Stage

• Days 1-5, 10-14g, no tail growth
• Placed in an incubator (at 90-95F with 50-

60% humidity)

• Fed every 30 minutes
• Jiggling the nest may stimulate gaping
• Their eyes open on Day 5

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Nestling Stage

• Days 5-10, 20-30g

– Days 6-8: Feathers begin to emerge – Days 8-10: Will start hopping around

• Still fed every 30 minutes
• When mobile, moved out of the

incubator into the Brooder Area.

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Towhee Nestlings: 7 Days Old

Source: The Birds of North America On-Line.

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During feeding, this towhee decided to jump out of the basket! It is time to get him more space, perches, and greenery to explore.

• We let them sit on the edge of the basket, if that's where they want

to gape! (although Ashton draws the line at landing on her )

• But, in my experience, once a towhee begins jumping out of the

basket s/he doesn’t stop at the edge. She might end up in your lap

• r on the table. So, use caution.

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Pre-Fledgling Stage

• Days 10-13, 25-35g, “tail starter” (2cm long)
• Needs space, greenery, places to perch, leaf

litter, dirt tray, etc.

• Often become reluctant gapers at this stage
• Feeding intervals progress from 30 to 45 min
• We leave sticky notes (i.e., about the

idiosyncrasies of each individual) for the next feeder; their preferences change quickly!

• Example of the kind of detailed “tips” we leave for each other:

Green band - likes 1/2 worms (at a 45 degree angle); Purple - loves egg; Blue - likes 3 apple pieces then 2 whole worms; Pink - likes worms only after fully tenderized and dipped in water.

• But, a few hours later, their “preferences” may have changed!

[This year Leslie is going to make laminated cards w/photo for the type

• f bird and blank lines where we can write in notes. If they are done

by the time of my talk, take one as an example.]

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“Tail Starter” Phase (Pre-Fledge)

• Here are some towhees in the “tail starter” phase.

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True Fledgling Stage

• Age 2 weeks to 2 months, 35-45g, tail growing

5mm/day

• Hand feeding intervals progress from 1 to 2h
• Weaning can begin when tail reaches 5-6cm

and weight 40g+ (but NEVER impose weaning)

• We move them to an aviary once they are self-

feeding with good weight gain.

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Pre-Release Conditioning

• May begin by 4-6 weeks of age
• Need time in an aviary with the other towhees

who will form a release cohort (groups of 3-6)

– Ideally, allow 2 weeks for them to interact with each other and to learn survival skills – Important to provide enrichment – OK to house fledglings with adults (young learn from elders)

• Minimize human intrusion to allow them to “wild up”
• Should weigh 50g before release
• Towhees should be released in groups of 3-6 that have gone

through rehab together for the best chance of survival.

• In the aviary environment, they can learn survival skills and we can

provide enrichment.

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Critter Cam in the Aviary

• One time, I put my critter cam in a group of

towhees approximately 24 hours before they were to be transported the soft-release site.

• Aimed the camera on the food tray.
• When motion is detected, the critter cam

takes three photos, one second apart…and then waits for the next motion.

• Want to take a guess how many pictures it

took in less than 24 hours?

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Critter Cam: 6,856 Pictures in <24 hours

(In nearly all of those pictures, the towhees EATING!!!)

• Unfortunately, I placed the camera TOO close to the food. So, you

will have to bear with the somewhat out of focus pictures.

• To get recognizable pictures of birds, you need to get the camera

very close – it is designed more for deer than for birds .

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Ready to Go Back to the Wild: Now What?

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• CALTs do not disperse far from their natal home

– But, if we return each bird to its “natal home” it may be less likely to survive on its own. – Releasing a cohort who have been housed together improves their chances for survival.

• Use one of the original rescue sites for soft

release? Generally not a good option because:

a) Nearly all of the birds were “catted” b) Finder may not be able to provide towhees with the necessary support needed during transition c) Finders may not have the necessary commitment

Send Them Back “Home”?

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Based on recommendations from Veronica Bowers (NSCC) and advice from Ashton Kluttz (BRC):

• We decided that Towhees would probably not feel

safe in BRC’s regular soft release cages (and would not be willing to return to those cages).

• So, I designed and built something special for

towhees that I hoped would work better.

Our Regular Soft Release Cages Not Suitable for Towhees

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Voilà! The “Towhee Trailer”

How does it differ?

• Double-walled (to protect

against Cooper’s Hawk attack): screen on the inside, plastic fencing on the outside

• Large door on the end
• pens like a mailbox (so

CALTs might be willing to return).

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Feeding Station on the Ground

• Set up a feeding station on the ground near the trailer.
• I usually set it up as soon as I bring the trailer home to

encourage my resident towhees to come make friends with the newbies.

• After the hatch is open,

we also leave food and water inside the trailer (for several days at least).

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They quickly learn the drill (as do all the

• ther birds in the

neighborhood)

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McStuffed Face Mockingbird

• After the towhees had been released, I continued to put out worms

and other food for them.

• But, I quickly realized that if I did not guard the worm tray from the

WESJs and the NOMOs, the towhees weren’t going to have a chance.

• So, I would watch from a distance.

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Need to Guard the Worm Tray

(to give the Towhees a chance)

• The towhees seemed to realize that I was only going to yell at the

WESJs and the NOMOs, so they were not scared off.

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Take-Home Messages

1) Right Setting (emulate their natural environment as best you can) 2) Keep 'Em Clean (admittedly an endless task) 3) Patience, Grasshopper (they will vex even the best

• f us; I think they stay awake at night thinking of

new ways to confound our efforts)

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Acknowledgments

Many thanks to Veronica Bowers (NSCC) and Ashton Kluttz (BRC) for everything they taught me about towhees. Thanks also to the rest of the dedicated staff of the BRC rehab hospital and the 125+ BRC volunteers who provide 90%+ of the BRC’s total labor hours.

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References

American Bird Conservancy. (2012). "KittyCam" Reveals High Levels of Wildlife Being Killed by Outdoor Cats (August 2, 2012). (www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/releases/120806.html) Benedict, L., M. R. Kunzmann, K. Ellison, K. L. Purcell, R. R. Johnson and L. T.Haight. (2011). California Towhee (Melozone crissalis), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology. (http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/632) Bird Rescue Center Supervisor’s Manual. (2016). Towhee Protocol. Bowers, V. (2013). Passerine Fundamentals. Sebastopol, CA: Native Songbird Care & Conservation. Kasper, A. (1998). Natural History, Rehabilitation, and Medicine of the California Towhee (Pipilo [Melozone] crissalis). Glendale, AZ: Wildlife Publications. The National Geographic & University of Georgia Kitty Cams Project. "A window into the world of free-roaming cats (www.kittycams.uga.edu).

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Slides and Handout available at:

You can download a copy of this PowerPoint presentation and/or a handout outlining the key points at: http://danaglei.users.sonic.net/BRC/Info.html

Questions? You can contact me at: flyawayhome@sonic.net

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EXTRA SLIDES

Extra slides that I am not planning to use (unless I have tons of extra time and want to show some more fun pictures). Slide 63

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Not Bothered by the Camera

After they got used to the “new thing” in the aviary, the camera did not seem to trouble them. We got LOTS of pictures like the one below (far left) of the bird right up next to the camera.

What’s That? A Bird? A Plane?

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Mine! No Mine!

Out of 6,856 pictures, this was the only

• ne that

suggested some competition among the Trio

• f Towhees in

this release cohort.

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They seemed to eat ALL THE TIME

One of the longest gaps occurred when a volunteer came to feed them. Suddenly the CALTs disappear from the worm tray at 9:49am. The tray disappears at 9:50am.

The Hand That Feeds

At 9:51am, we see a hand putting the tray

• back. Less than 4

minutes later (9:54am), they are back eating.

• From the Critter Cam in the aviary the day before transport to a S/R

site.

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Day 0: Transport to their new “home”

• Put their food in the cage prior to transferring the

birds to the trails

• Keep the trailer covered during transport
• At the S/R site, hang trailer in a tree and provide

them with fresh water

• Acclimation period: 3 days
• Then, we open the hatch

and allow them to emerge

• n their own.

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Still Using the Trailer 2 Days Post-Release

• Critter Cam captured 299 pictures of a towhee

inside the trailer at the feeding tray for 6 feeding intervals totaling 78 minutes over a period of less than 4 hours (1:32pm – 5:10pm)

• A CALT was inside eating 36% of the time!

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3 Days Post-Release

I wondered if perhaps they had abandoned the trailer in preference to the ground station? I saw CALTs at the ground feeding station a few times during the day. So, I re-aimed the camera on the ground feeding station.

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Well, Some CALTs are Certainly Helping Themselves!

The camera took 1,791 pictures, the vast majority

• f which showed a least one CALT at the food tray.

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Feeding Until Almost 9pm

Although they did not roost in the trailer at night, they were there very late for a bedtime snack. Last picture: 8:44:27pm. I better be careful not to close up the trailer for the night too early!

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Night: Visitor of Another Sort

6:05pm 11:56pm – Mr. Fox

Well, that might explain why our CALTs do not come back to the trailer to roost at night!

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5:56am: Never Too Early to Feed Your Partner

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The Day Overslept and Didn’t Open the Trailer Back Up Again until after 7am

5:49am: Buffet closed????? 6:14am: Still closed? Hey, what’s the deal?

• I have never had any towhees come back to roost at night, but

there are certainly there again bright and early in the morning.

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Dang it!

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Other Birds Getting in on the Action

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Still hangin’ around

More than 10 days post-release, the CALTs were still returning to investigate the dirt tray and search the surrounding leaf litter for remaining seed.

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NOMOs Now Recognize the Trailer

7:11am the next morning after I brought 1st batch of towhees home this summer

• 2016 was the 3rd Year I had Released Towhees from the Trailer in my

backyard.

• When I brought the trailer home the first time that summer, this

NOMO came to check it out at 7:11am the next morning

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And Again at 7:24am

(still can’t get in?)

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Again at 8:51am

(I can see the mealworms!)

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Again at 11:10am

(he is a persistent devil, I’ll give him that)

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6:21pm

(Hope springs eternal)

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Less than 30 minutes after I opened the hatch... Look who’s back.

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Towhees may be difficult but they are also fun to release

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Keep Their Own Nest When it is SAFE

• We have had finches that got their legs caught in hair from the nest

and amputated some of their own toes.

• So, as a precaution, we don't really use their own nests anymore :(
• If you do keep the nests, then be sure to check they're not getting

entangled throughout the day and growth process.