The volunteers and staff at The CROW have spent the last three years in a fund-raising effort to secure the funds needed to purchase a permanent home for its wildlife rehabilitation facility - a 4 room cabin situated on 73 acres in Hawley, MA.
We are happy to report that after a rough start - due in part to the current economic conditions - we are almost 3/4 of the way to our goal! With the help of some very generous donations, we hope to complete the fund-raising for the property by the end of the year.
To further that goal, we are planning several fund-raising events; a tag-sale, raffles of items and art from local crafts people, and on-line auctions on e-bay. If you have items that you would like to donate, we are in the process of collecting things - please see the section "Contact Information" for contact information.

The CROW used the 'slow' time before the baby bird storm to get everything prepared for Spring. Last Spring hit us fast and somewhat unprepared due to the heavy late May snowfall. Last Summer then proved to be our busiest yet - as more people are learning of The CROW's wildlife rehabilitation efforts.
This Spring/Summer season was even busier than last year. In an effort to increase our patient care abilities, The CROW has set up an internship program with the Animal Science Dept. at UMASS. We hope to have 8-10 pre-vet or other interested students helping out feeding, caring for, and learning about our wild patients. The CROW's staff will appreciate the much needed help, and the students will gain 'hands-on' experience in treating wildlife - experience that will be useful as they proceed through veterinary school, and then on to future veterinary practice.

As always, we welcome volunteers - and have a particular need for people that can occasionally transport animals for pick-up or release. During the height of the baby-bird season we often receive 20+ birds per day! With our incubators full of hungry nestlings that demand to be fed every 15 to 20 minutes, we are not able to go out to pick birds up. Fortunately many people who find injured / orphaned birds are willing to deliver them, but sometimes they can't - or won't. So if you can spare some time to help out with transportation - The CROW would love to hear from you!
For those who prefer 'hands-on' volunteer experience - we also need feeders, cleaners, builders, fund-raisers, writers, etc.
After the snow melts off (happy day!), we are planning to build a water-bird enclosure for baby ducks and geese. Volunteers with construction experience and/or tools please call! Those with experience building small ponds would also be a great help.

We have several fund-raising events planned - tag sales, auctions, raffles, etc. Items are now being accepted for our fund-raising efforts. Last year's tag sale was a success - many thanks to all who donated interesting items and volunteered time for the sale. We have one request for tag sale donations. A few people took the opportunity to save themselves a trip to the dump by dumping on us instead! This causes us to spend time and money that could be spent caring for the animals - we have to spend time sorting through everything and also pay to take trash items to the dump. Please make sure donated items are in salable condition - Thanks!

Last - but far from least - The CROW gladly accepts financial contributions. Pocket change, winning lottery tickets, Swiss bank accounts, every bit helps!
Credit-card donations can be made at our web-site via your secure PayPal account. Not a member? - see http://www.paypal.com to sign up for an account.

Feed & supplies: Birdseed, bread, crackers, frozen or fresh fruits/vegetables - call for full list of needs.
Equipment & Materials: medium sized wood-stove, 2x4 lumber, 1/4" or 1/2" hardware cloth, aluminum screening, big nails, plywood, pine 'shelving', assorted construction tools & materials - FIREWOOD!!
Bird Care Items: T-shirts, pillow cases, towels, fish tanks, tweezers, surgical supplies, incubators, scales, examination tables, lighting fixtures, heat lamps, etc.
Office/Publishing Supplies: Recent computer hardware or software (PC or Mac), photo equipment (digital or 35mm film), slide projectors, video cameras, color copier, good answering machine, portable phones.
Miscellany: Food processors! Have something you think might be useful - or a nice, saleable item?? - Give us a call, you never know!

Large greenhouse for aviary, solar power equipment, brand-new/used wildlife rescue vehicle, new computer
system, quonset huts, donations to help purchase our permanent home (see above), round-trip tickets to Kenya for... err... umm... a rehab training conference!

Early winter brought an
unusually large number of Brant migrating through our region.This unfortunate individual hit a power
line and sprained a wing. Unable to fly, it could not find food or water. When it was finally captured and brought to The CROW, it was underweight and suffering from mild dehydration. After 10 days of treatment and "all you can eat" feeding, the bird was back up to normal weight and had regained full use of its injured wing.
A concerted effort of volunteer transporters was arranged in order to deliver the brant to the coast. This removed the need for the normally social brant to fly solo from Hawley to the coast, where brants spend the winter fattening up on marine vegetation.
Brant look like miniature Canada geese from a distance, but up close the markings are strikingly different. Typically found in the far North (breeding), or off the coast (winter), brants are becoming more commonly sighted in our region, as their favorite food - eel grass - is slowly being killed off by coastal pollution, and they switch to other sources of food.

1-413-625-BIRD (2473) Please do not attempt to care for injured / orphaned wild animals on your own. It takes a lot of time and experience to rehabilitate an animal successfully so that that it can be released back into the wild and have any chance of survival. Check the rest of our web-site for on-line emergency care information: http://www.crow.cc

Doctors Schmitt & Burand and the staff at the South Deerfield Veterinary Clinic for their support and advice. http://www.sdvconline.com
Doctor Berens and staff at the Animal Hospital in Northampton, MA. for their help with wildlife.
Keystone Market in Shelburne Falls for the donations of fruits & produce - keeps the birds Healthy and Happy.
Frank for the continued generous support, and allowing us to release animals at his property!
Thanks to the following for volunteer help:
Linda Danielson in the Amherst area.
Madeline Nagy
Kate Emery in the East Hampton area.
Quivers mom - Thanks for the help!
Everyone who made a donation to support our efforts and all the donations for our tag sale!

For volunteer information, donations, etc:
Phone: 1-413-625-BIRD (2473)
E-mail: thecrow@crow.cc (yes - .cc - not .com!!)

The Whistling Crow is a sponsor of The Center for Rehabilitation Of Wildlife (The C.R.O.W.). Visit
The Whistling Crow at 10 Bridge Street in Shelburne Falls, MA - or check out their web-site at:
http://www.crow.cc - Yes, that's .cc
The Whistling Crow's retail store and web-site offer a wild selection of nature-related items - T-shirts, toys, pottery, stained glass, puppets, jewelry, stationery and much more! There's also a selection of candies to choose from - yum!