Summer Internship Week 2

May 21st, 2022

My first week of work was busy and a bit stressful, but it went well, and I'm finally getting used to the work schedule. I'm also getting used to living in State College, PA. I live in western NY, so being in a different state for the summer is exciting! I've been going on lots of hikes and enjoying living in a new place. Some new interesting patients we got include a baby porcupine, a Scarlet Tanager, and an Indigo Bunting. Baby porcupines have sharp spines just like their adult counterparts, so they have to be handled very carefully. We use rubber gloves along with wrapping them in newspaper so we don't get poked by their spines. Some of our baby birds are also growing up! Many of them have gone from having to be fed every 30 mins to instead every 60 minutes. The tiniest baby birds (with no feathers and closed eyes) have to be fed every 15 minutes. Some of our baby birds are able to fly now, and they escape and fly around the clinic a lot. Some of the first baby squirrels of spring are growing up as well! Some of them are ready to be released and be wild squirrels. It's so exciting to see our hard work paying off! I haven't seen a release yet, but I hope to see one soon!

House finch hatchlings asking for food

Safety first!

Baby porcupine enjoying a healthy snack

A baby song sparrow, and an adorable escape artist