HawkTalk

Virginia Opossum, Petunia, sneaking between two carved pumpkins, one pumpkin has the WMC Owl logo on it and one has a snake carved in it.

Carving Pumpkins with Ambassadors

The Ambassador Team held their second annual pumpkin carving event last month. Since the ambassador volunteers primarily do their shifts individually or in pairs, social events are a great way to bond as a team…
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Great Horned Owl patient in the Wildlife Medical Clinic. This photo was the initial picture taken when they arrived at the clinic.

The Journey Back to the Wild

Great Horned Owl, Bubo virginianus The great horned owl, Bubo virginianus, is found across the majority of North America. Here in Illinois, they are found across the entire state. They are very adaptable and can…
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Red-tailed Hawk "Ruby" landing on the glove of falconer, Sarah Spang. Ruby was being flown on a creance between Sydney Oliveira and Sarah Spang.

Ambassador Enrichment

Enrichment, What is it? In addition to the daily husbandry of our resident ambassador animals, we also provide training and enrichment. The goal of enrichment is to provide mental (and sometimes physically involved) stimulation while…
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Falconer and WMC volunteer, Sarah Spang, with a Red tailed Hawk on the glove while out in the field hunting.

Welcome, Sarah Spang!

We would like to introduce you to a special volunteer that is currently helping us with some of our raptor training. Sarah is a licensed falconer that has brought some new training techniques to our…
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Critters Uncaged: Vet Med Open House 2024

Join Sydney Oliveira, WMC Program Coordinator and Sarah Hollander, Wildlife Ambassador Care Coordinator and vet student, class of 2026 as they talk about the upcoming Vet Med open house.

Dr. Erica Bender and Tyson Jenkins, senior manager and student class of 2026 work to radiograph a Bald Eagle patient. The eagle is on its back and laying on the x-ray plate, with a tail guard over its tail. Tyson and Erica are positioning it for x-rays while wearing large raptor gloves to safely handle this patient.

Welcome Back to the New Academic Year!

As the summer draws to a close, we are overjoyed to welcome our talented students back to the clinic. The clinic has been working tirelessly to update and revamp our volunteer offerings by bringing in…
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