Carol L. Malnor, author of the children’s book, The BLUES Go Birding Across America recently visited the Wild Birds Unlimited store in Grass Valley, CA for a book signing during “Bluebird Day”. Children learned about Bluebirds, made simple feeders and received free mealworms for the Bluebirds in their yards. Wild Birds Unlimited raffled off a Bluebird box and pole with all proceeds going to Wildlife Rehabilitation & Release.
Members of the Wildlife Rehabilitation & Release Center brought in two educational birds to view. Cayanne (pictured to the left) is a Harris Hawk and Chester (pictured above) is a Great Horned Owl. They were both cared for at the center and were unable to be released back into the wild. They are now educational ambassadors. It was an awe-inspiring experience to see them up close. The Wildlife Rehabilitation & Release Center provides a great service to Northern California by saving injured and orphaned wildlife throughout six foothill and valley counties. Most workers are volunteers, but all of them are highly trained and dedicated to helping wildlife in our area.
The Western Nevada County environment is the perfect home for both the Western and Mountain Bluebirds. If you live here you have no doubt spotted them in and around your own backyard. The Western Bluebird is especially common in our area because it is attracted to our abundance of open forests. The Western Bluebird is a delicate little bird and possesses an unusually charming personality. They enjoy feasting on insects, earthworms, snails, poison oak berries and other assorted small berries and fruits. The Mountain Bluebirds share many of the same traits except that they prefer to live in high mountain meadows scattered with trees and bushes and where the grass grows short. In winter, they move to lower elevations where it is warmer and spend the winter months inhabiting the various plains and grasslands.
Carol Malnor is a retired classroom teacher and an enthusiastic birder. She’s an Audubon member and participates in Cornell Lab’s Feeder Watch program. Last year, Carol worked with a songbird research team in the Tetons for Earth Watch Institute. Then in 2007, she rehabbed songbirds with Wildlife Rehabilitation and Release. Carol lives in Lake Wildwood, where she has breakfast with her backyard birds each morning.
