I never know what to expect on Mondays, it’s my volunteer day at IBRRC and anything can happen. The only sure thing is that I will come home smelling of fish, with assorted new colors of bird poop or vomit on me. Today started out as an ordinary day, an early morning visit to the beavers, a coffee stop, then the drive to Cordelia. After the usual morning pool and aviary feedings I was asked  to run out on a rescue  and that is when my day started to get more interesting (not that is isn’t already any day I’m up there!).

The rescue was for an injured hawk that couldn’t  fly at a golf course in Vacaville. When I got there he wasn’t in the area he had been sitting all morning and nowhere in the surrounding area. A photo taken by the  superintendent showed a lovely juvenile Redtail resting with a foot folded up and wings nestled against his body. Good news, he looks fine and is probably just waiting for a meal from nearby parents. Even better news was that I finally spotted him on  the lower rung of the big transformer in the neighboring field.

So my ordinary day is interesting, going out in the field, doing a rescue that turns out good results and chatting about the great birds seen at the golf course. Then I said the magic word..beavers..”We  have beavers, they are eating our trees, we are trying to trap beavers.”  Now my days changing from an ordinary, interesting and now extraordinary day because I get to practice what I preach every day  ‘the beaver gospel’. I watch beavers daily, I photograph beavers daily, I read about beavers everyday and now maybe I can put into practice what I live daily. Gary and  Joe, the superintendent took me on a tour of the ponds where the beavers are doing , well, what beavers do, chewing on Willow and making a nice lodge. They had made a bit of an effort at exclusion, but it was unsightly to the golfers and they just were not happy with the beavers handy work. I spent some time explaining the reasons its easier to learn to live with them and of course the moral reasons not to have a revolving door of beaver killing as more move in. I think I sold them on the fact the beavers would keep the cattails from choking their pond since they feed on the tubers. They have a beautiful habitat for beavers, otters, and birds and I hope they will use all our info and learn to live  in harmony with the wildlife that finds their golf course so attractive.

So my ordinary day turned extraordinary but it wasn’t over yet. As I got back to IBRRC birdless and set to go back to work, I got sent on another errand. One of a kind I can never complain about, a release. This release was special because it was Montys special project because of the stress level involved with this bird. The Juvenile Belted Kingfisher was ready to go. Laura and I set off to find a nice area along the Napa River close to where the bird came from. He set off  in  strong flight down the river and off toward some trees out of site. A great release on an exceptional day, who can ask for more.