Written and Published by
the A.E. Howell Wildlife Conservation
Center and Spruce Acres Refuge
January - December 2009
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Greetings! This has been a rough year health wise with a stroke in May and a bear bite during the summer which set me back almost four months. I would like to thank my wife Dot and our wonderful volunteer staff who stepped in and took over the responsibility of cleaning the pens, feeding the animals, and providing tours for our visitors. Our volunteer staff this year has been the best ever!
Animal Roll Call
On January 20th, James Briggs of Littleton brought us a dove that had flown into a window. The bird received head trauma but no life threatening injuries, so it was able to be released a short time later.
On February 19th, Officer Thomas Milton of the Houlton Police Department called to tell us that a 2-3 year old Barred Owl had been hit by a logging truck headed to the mill. When the driver reached his destination, he didn't realize that the owl was still stuck to his grill. After an extensive recovery period, "Maxine" (the name given to her by the officer) was released on the refuge property on April 30th. Talk about an amazing trip! She can be heard in the woods almost every night responding to my call. She sometimes comes to converse with our Barred Owls in the raptor building.
During the month of March, Jeff and Sue Tubman of Patten brought us a Blue Jay that had been attacked by her cat. It died a short time later
from internal injuries. As I have explained to people before, a puncture wound from a cat doesn't always show up. The wound closes up, internal bleeding results and the bird in most cases dies from internal injuries.
On May 26th, Wardens Alan Curtis and Charles Brown and Biologist Arlen Lovewell brought a yearling doe that an individual had raised from a fawn. Upon seeing the mother killed, leaving two young fawns behind (one which later died), the individual took the surviving fawn and raised it in his backyard. Due to the fact that it is illegal to raise deer without a permit, the wardens and biologist had to take "Bambi" away. She has adapted very well here. She loves people and during the spring, stays by the fence to be fed dandelions. We have tried scare tactics so as to get her back in the wild, but she was so imprinted by the individual and his family that she will have to remain a permanent resident. We will continue to keep trying.
On June 7th, Janet Easter and her daughter Rhiannon Foxfire, two of our volunteers, brought us a female gosling that a woman had found along the Allagash Waterway. "Ishtar" was kept in a cage on the porch to keep a watchful eye on her. She grew so fast that we had to change cage sizes several times. When she was old enough, we put her in the pen with the other Canada geese- "Lucky", a permanent resident, "Richard"- another permanent resident that our volunteers call "King Richard" because he chases them, and "Miss Lady"- from Mrs. Somerville who saw the adult flock take off from Deering Lake for migration last fall and left her behind.
That same day, Warden Alan Curtis and his wife, Ashley, brought us a female moose
On May 26th, Wardens Alan Curtis and Charles Brown and Biologist Arlen Lovewell brought a yearling doe that an individual had raised from a fawn. Upon seeing the mother killed, leaving two young fawns behind (one which later died), the individual took the surviving fawn and raised it in his backyard. Due to the fact that it is illegal to raise deer without a permit, the wardens and biologist had to take "Bambi" away. She has adapted very well here. She loves people and during the spring, stays by the fence to be fed dandelions. We have tried scare tactics so as to get her back in the wild, but she was so imprinted by the individual and his family that she will have to remain a permanent resident. We will continue to keep trying.
On June 7th, Janet Easter and her daughter Rhiannon Foxfire, two of our volunteers, brought us a female gosling that a woman had found along the Allagash Waterway. "Ishtar" was kept in a cage on the porch to keep a watchful eye on her. She grew so fast that we had to change cage sizes several times. When she was old enough, we put her in the pen with the other Canada geese- "Lucky", a permanent resident, "Richard"- another permanent resident that our volunteers call "King Richard" because he chases them, and "Miss Lady"- from Mrs. Somerville who saw the adult flock take off from Deering Lake for migration last fall and left her behind.
That same day, Warden Alan Curtis and his wife, Ashley, brought us a female moose
The Refuge Review
Newsletter 2009
Newsletter 2009