Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center in Huntington Beach, California

An article about the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center and its mission. I conducted an interview with Lisa Birkle, the Assistant Wildlife Director at the center.  This article is based on that interview and I had Lisa review this article for accuracy.  I would like to thank Lisa Birkle for her generosity in taking the time to share her immense knowledge with me.  I would also like to take the time to thank her, all the volunteers at the center for their dedication and devotion to the animals and the habitat that they call home.  Thanks

The Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center operates on donations of people and money.  Please donate today. 

About the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center


The Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center was started 10 years ago after the American Trader oil spill off the Huntington Beach Coast in California.  The volunteers to help clean the birds and remove the oil from the beaches had no place for the clean up efforts.  After this spill 27 facilities were setup to respond to such an accident again.  They are fully trained staff and volunteers to help.  This program is run by OPSR - Oil Spill Prevention Response that is part of the California Fish and Wildlife Department. 
The Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center located in Huntington Beach California also cares for sick and injured wildlife.  This part of the program, which is the largest part of the program, runs on donations.  The state does not help with efforts to rehabilitate sick and injured animals.
They have an education director.  They will conduct classroom visits.  There is also a great center that includes video cameras so you can see the animals at the center and tech rehabilitation area.  There is also interactive display, a nest collection of different types of birds, microscopes, educational animals (ones that can not be released back into the wild).

Mission of the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center
The mission of the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center is to rescue, rehabilitate native wildlife (birds and other mammals) and release them back into their environment.
Approximately 3000 animals a year are helped.  This includes such animals as possums, hummingbirds, squirrels raccoons and many others.

Injuries and health problems
Cat and dog attacks as well as fishing lines pose a large problem for birds and other wildlife in the urban environment.  Even at the wetlands, were dogs are not allowed because it is a protected area, on any given day many dogs can be seen running off leash chasing wildlife. 
There have been no incidents of bird flu at the center.  They do check all birds for signs of bird flu.  Some of the signs are:

There has been one case of Psittacosis (parrot fever) in 2008 and several cases in San Diego County.

Monitoring of birds
The number of migratory birds and types of birds fluctuate from year to year.  There are more Murres this year, 2008.  Not sure what accounts for the fluctuations some possibilities are a natural die off.  Conditions are better for one bird than another from one year to the next.
The federal government has a banning program to monitor birds but they prefer to monitor birds that have not been rehabilitated.  They want to get an idea of a bird within its own natural habitat and one that has not had human contact.  They will tag birds that have been in an oil spill to see how well these animals do after such an event. 
The center has tagged some of the birds from a company.  They are usually birds that survived what should have been fatal diseases.  The recovery of these tagged birds is usually about 1% making this a very difficult process and making it very difficult to use this as a testing means.
From observing and tracking which birds come into the facility the number of native birds has remained the same.
The Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center does perform necropsies on birds that do not make it.  From these necropsies some of the findings are fishing lines, kidney failure and fungal infections as some of the main causes of death.  They also use the necropsies to discover if the antibiotics that they were giving the birds were working or not.  Also if the care they are giving the animals can be improved upon to increase survival.

Monitoring of wetlands
The Huntington Beach Conservants keep track and conducts research on the water quality of the Bolsa Chica Wetlands.  Karen labs is a private lab that conducts sampling and laboratory testing on the water at the Bolsa Chica wetlands.  This is the nearest wetland to the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center.  The lab test for Domolic acid, which is, found in certain algae blooms and can be toxic to birds. The Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center routinely samples the birds for algae by taking stomach, fecal and blood samples.
The center also cares for pelicans (white and brown) that each year gets infected at the Salt and Sea, which is inland in Southern California.  The some of the pelicans get botulism from the contaminated waters at the Salt and Sea.  Several of the 27 facilities help with this problem.

What can you do?
1. Do not take your dog to the sensitive wetland area
2. Bring dog and cat food in at night
3. Leave baby animals with their mother.  If you are concerned call the Wetlands and Wildlife Center 714.374.5587
4. Pick up your trash
5. Do not use chemical fertilizers and pesticides on your lawn.  There is urban run off and these chemicals find there way into the water system and wetlands
6. Recycle
7. Do not feed wildlife
8. Observe wildlife from a distance

Please Donate today.

Article by Melinda Sargent, 2008 copyright.