Sad news from Marsh Haven

It is with a heavy heart that I share the news of the passing of one of the most dedicated volunteers and supporters of Marsh Haven Nature Center. Lillian Griffith passed away early Tuesday morning, January 27. Lillian was a devoted volunteer who staffed the gift shop almost every weekend for many, many years. Each weekend she filled the bird feeders, cleaned out the hummingbird bird feeders, and made sure our feathered friends had fresh seeds, nectar and jelly. She helped with tracking inventory, the set-up and take down of the gift shop every season, and tracked all the volunteer hours for many years.

As I walked through the nature center today, Lillian’s influence and generosity were to be found almost everywhere. The Bird Gallery was named after Lillian and her sister, Mary Griffith, back in 1993. The main building is named the Vine/Griffith Education Building, and we are pleased that Lillian was able to see the brand new sign with her name on it go up this fall.

Lillian also loved our animals and spent time feeding critters each weekend. She seemed to especially enjoy watching the tortoises and they were always happy to receive pieces of banana that she would cut up and put on their plates.

The people at Marsh Haven are part of a Marsh Haven family and Lillian Griffith was a huge part of that family and she will be missed. Her generosity and kindness will live on for many, many years to come and will make a difference to many people, so from myself and on behalf of the Marsh Haven family -  thank you Lillian, we will not forget you!

There is a bird in my bathroom and crickets in my coat

I’m not sure how many people have experienced hosting a sick bird in their bathroom or walking around with a bag of cricket tucked into their coat, but it’s all in a normal day’s work at Marsh Haven Nature Center. Driving home keeping crickets warm inside my jacket on this cold winter day got me thinking about the strange experiences I’ve had since becoming a part of the nature center. Some of these don’t even seem all that strange to me anymore, which is mildly concerning!

One of our doves appeared ill one day, so I took him home in a hospital cage with a heating pad on the bottom to create more warmth and a cover to keep out noise. I wanted him close by to that I could watch and observe his condition. He did visit the vet who gave us some antibiotics and antifungal medication and within a week, he was feeling much better and back to his old, happy, cooing self. But, for a week and a half, this bird lived in our bathroom - safely away from the dogs and in the only room with consistent heat and humidity. Visitors were told, don’t mind the bird in the bathroom, he’s only here to visit. This wasn’t the first, or I’m sure the last animal visitor to our home.

Today I stopped at the pet store to buy some dog food and picked up a bag of crickets so that I could feed Fred, the tarantula, later in the day. It was a bit chilly and I didn’t want the insects to freeze before getting them to the nature center, so I tucked the bag of crickets inside my coat and zipped it up. I could hear them rustling around inside the bag, but figured they were pretty toasty. I also went through the drive through at the bank with my insect addition, wondering if anyone had a clue to what I was hiding away under my coat. Some might think me crazy, others might see me as dedicated, but really I just do what needs to be done at the time it all needs to happen.

Other humorous and not so funny things that I can recall happening include:

• Spilling worm juice all over my jacket, scarf and pants while moving the vermiculture bin (yes, the stains did come out in the wash!)
• Warning the family not to open a certain bag in the freezer because it contained frozen mice intended for the corn snake (there have been numerous other "surprises" in the freezer that I won't even mention!)
• Walking through tall grass and coming out the other side covered in stick tight weed seeds – (that took some time and patience to remove!)
• Taking kitchen scraps from my house out to the chickens and having the scrap bucket end up on the floor of my car (of course the lid came off!) 

I’m sure there are many more, and I will add to the list as they either happen or I remember.

Meet Mr. Magoo

Marsh Haven Nature Center is home to animals of all sizes and species. It all started with a live quail room and transitioned into our animal ambassador program. Mr. Magoo is a ring-neck dove retired from a magic show. When we acquired Magoo in October of 2014, I was told he was blind in one eye. I could tell, because of his behavior, that his eyesight was rapidly declining. A visit to our exotic vet at Spartan Animal Hospital in McFarland, confirmed that Magoo has no sight in his right eye and only a sliver of sight in his left. Otherwise he is in very good health with a body condition score of 5, which is excellent. The loss of sight is due to cataracts and our vet said there is no feasible treatment for it at this time. 

I’ve tried some different housing arrangements for Mr. Magoo to enhance his quality of life and work with his loss of vision. Finally I think we’ve stumbled upon the best situation. I put him in with one of our other doves, Mac, who came from a bird rescue. As far as I know, Mac has never been with another bird, he was surrendered by a family who could no longer keep him. Mac is very friendly and is usually the one to travel to programs representing the bird species. Mac has a large cage and has shown lots of interest in the other birds. I put the two together under supervision and it has worked out well. Mac is quite keen to have a roommate and Magoo knows there is another bird with him. 

Since Magoo does not fly because he can’t tell where he is, he is content to stay on the bottom of the cage, Mac has all his toys, perches and food/water at the top of the cage and Magoo has a low perch, food and water and several other perchable items on the ground and both birds seem quite content. Magoo had been experiencing what the vet called seizures – we were not sure if it was neurological or behavioral episodes, but so far in these new living conditions he has not had any. Let’s hope Magoo continues to do well, I’ve grown quite fond of this bird!