Where have all the male Mallards gone?

Are you wondering where all the male Mallard ducks have gone? Read on......
"In mid-summer after breeding, the male Mallard has a complete molt, producing a dull-colored basic plumage, aptly termed the eclipse plumage. Male Mallards in eclipse plumage look remarkably like females, but their bills are light olive green, while females' are orange marked with black. Because flight feathers are also molted at this time, the birds become temporarily flightless and tend to be very secretive. The male Mallard's basic plumage is kept only a few weeks; it is soon lost in a molt of the body feathers which produces the brightly colored head and other distinctive features of the breeding plumage. The timing of this molt is related to courtship in Mallards, which begins in the fall." ~ The Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Male Mallard in eclipse plumage

Female Mallard

Go gentle into that good night....

The majority of the orphan raccoons have been released from the Refuge, so it is really quiet around here. All raccoons here are vaccinated against rabies and then they go through what is called a "soft release."
Their pen is kept open so they can come and go as they please. Bottle feeding has been stopped and human contact is limited. Food is put out at night but that's it. They gradually disappear into the wild and become wild raccoons.
But, it's been a very hot summer here in Virginia, so we still get visits on occasion. Sometimes we find them napping on top of their pens. Sometimes they climb on Evelyn's deck and peek into her sunroom!
We miss these awesome little coonies, but we know they will love being wild and free! Go gentle into that good night........

Elliott is free

After some soul searching, it was decided that it was time for Elliott, the gray fox kit, to be set free. Elliott had been here since May and we had been trying to find him a foster home with some other grays, but it was not to be. Elliott's interaction with humans was very limited, in the hopes that he would regain his instinctive fear of them. It appeared to be working: he actually growled at Evelyn!
Elliott had been vaccinated against rabies and had been in an outside enclosure for a while, when Evelyn noticed he had started pacing. It was time for him to be released. The door was opened, and he was give his freedom.
Goodbye, Elliott. We will miss you. All good things are wild, and free.

Prelude to Release

This is a short video of a group of baby raccoons that came to EWR from the Virginia Beach SPCA. They were brought there by a wildlife exterminator who had trapped the mother raccoon who was nesting in someones attic and then "relocated." her. The babies were discovered several days later. They have received rabies vaccinations. The door to their pen is now open during the day. This video was filmed on the first day they were allowed to explore the great outdoors which will soon become their permanent home.

The first Raccoon babies of 2011 move outside

The first raccoon babies of the season have been moved to a spacious pen outside. They are still receiving 2 bottle feedings a day and enjoying a more natural diet. They have been exploring some small trees to sharpen their climbing skills and doing some swimming to hone some fishing skills. They have received rabies vaccinations and will be ready to be on their own very soon.

Elliott, gray fox kit

Evelyn's Wildlife Refuge

An interview with Evelyn. Please watch and consider what you can do to help wildlife, improve our environment, and save our planet for future generations.