Knitting Nests To Save Orphaned Baby Birds & Wildlife!

August 25, 2014August 25, 2014 / jrmilson / Leave a comment

Little Red Bear and I have rescued a number of orphaned baby birds and other baby critters over the years. Are you a friend of the birds and like helping out? Do you knit or know someone who does? The NBC Nightly News on Saturday evening (August 23, 2014) featured wonderful work being done to rescue orphaned baby birds at a wildlife rescue center.

The name of the center is Wildcare and they are located in San Rafael, California in Marin, County. Each spring throughout the country, baby birds are orphaned while still in the nest due to severe weather and storms, tree trimming, flooding (for ground nesting birds, baby rabbits and such), lost parents, and other causes.

The Wildcare center has a “Baby Bird Nest Craft-along” project where people make knitted nests in various sizes (for different sized baby birds) and donate them to the center to help care for orphaned babies. The fabric nests serve as snug and cozy replacement nests while the baby birds are being cared for in the center, being the next best thing to real nests. The fabric nests retain heat and insulate against the cold, keeping the babies toasty warm (very important for baby birds!), and are soft for fragile little bodies, preventing injuries from the birds bashing against hard cardboard boxes and the like.

Wildcare has instructions for making the nests on their website. Knitting a bunch of little nests would make for a wonderful and rewarding project thru the upcoming cold winter months to have a supply ready to help out orphaned baby birds come next spring’s nesting season. If reading this outside the U.S. or if one did not want to send the knitted nests out to California, I am sure any local wildlife rescue organization in your area would be delighted to have these available for their use. I think the larger size would be perfect for baby rabbits, squirrels and such.

Here are some helpful links for more information and the patterns to download, along with the NBC news report to help get you going. Happy knitting! And thanks for helping the baby birds and critters! — Jim (and Red!)

Wildcare’s Main Site→ Wildcare Wildlife Rescue

Information On Making Knitted Nests→ Making Knitted Nests Patterns & Downloads

NBC News Feature→ NBC Nightly News Wildcare Feature 08-23-2014

Knitted Nests for Baby Birds, courtesy of Wildcare Wildlife Rescue Center

World Elephant Day– The Power of 96!

August 12, 2014 / jrmilson / Leave a comment

Today is WORLD ELEPHANT DAY! Please check out “The Power of 96 Elephants Campaign” below, as 96 elephants die every day for their ivory. At the current rate of slaughter they will be gone in 12 years, as ivory poaching is at its highest level since 1989, with much of the money going to fund terrorist groups. Elephants can be a vital long term tool to aid African communities thru eco-tourism.

“But with 35,000 elephants killed on average each year, more work is needed to reverse this trend. The death of 96 elephants each day is more than just a tragedy; it destabilizes countries by funding dangerous armed groups and international criminals, disrupts the order of delicate ecosystems, and brings the already endangered species of African elephants, who now number around 420,000, ever closer to extinction.” — from the article. Here is a link for more information on “The Power of 96 Elephants Campaign.”

Elephant Conservation and Eco-Tourism

Famous Elephant “Mountain Bull” in Kenya, Poached for Tusks on 05-16-2014.

World Elephant Day

World Oceans Day

June 8, 2014 / jrmilson / Leave a comment

Today (Sunday, June 8 if reading this later) is World Oceans Day!

And boy do they need our help. No oceans, no people. Simple really. More pollutants → higher acid levels → less marine life → less seafood → lower oxygen levels for the planet.

Even if not living on the coast, actions in the middle of the continent affect the oceans as waste, pollutants and trash work their way down thru the streams and river systems into the oceans.

Please help promote sustainable seafood practices, conservation and ecology awareness. The life you save may be a nameless shrimp in the Gulf of Mexico. Or it might be your own.

World Oceans Day Information

World Oceans Day

International Migratory Bird Day

May 10, 2014May 10, 2014 / jrmilson / Leave a comment

In addition to today being National Train Day, it is also International Migratory Bird Day. And with Little Red Bear having so many migratory friends and nature playing such a large part in his stories, it would be remiss not to give all the little flyers a tip of the cap as well.

Migratory birds play a great role in keeping seasonal pests under control, help in plant propagation by spreading seeds and pollinating plants, contribute to recreational activities and inspire artists, writers and folk like me. It is always a special time for me whenever we spot a flock of migrating geese or ducks cruising by overhead in V formation, signaling the changing of seasons. And welcome the cheering songs of the Song Sparrows and others upon arrival in the early spring.

So hats off for the migratory birds. Safe travels and welcome back!