From Raven Ridge Wildlife Center

We have been receiving quite a few calls, messages, and inquiries about updates on Frosty, the albino cardinal, whom we admitted back in July. We received a call from Brenda about a white bird she found under a car, which appeared to be injured and brought to our center, but it wasn't until we opened the box that we realized it was, in fact, an albino Cardinal. The chances of seeing an albino cardinal are extremely low. Albino cardinals are considered one of the rarest bird sightings, with estimates suggesting that the odds of encountering any cardinal displaying white feathers are about 1 in 30,000. True albino cardinals, which lack all pigmentation, are even rarer. Albino cardinals face significant survival challenges due to their conspicuous coloration, which makes them more vulnerable to predators.

Additionally, their lack of melanin can lead to poor vision. The rarity of albino cardinals is attributed to a genetic mutation that causes a lack of melanin, resulting in their distinctive white plumage and reddish- pink eyes. This cardinal is fortunate to have been rescued, as it has no camouflage and poor eyesight, which makes it nearly impossible to evade predators like cats and hawks. Unfortunately, this cardinal will need to be kept in captivity, as its chances of survival in the wild would be slim.

Not only is it rare to see one albino cardinal, but we also admitted a second albino cardinal; we couldn't believe that now we had two! The second Cardinal we admitted was already compromised due to a severe ear infection. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, the Cardinal did not survive, as these fragile albinos typically have a short lifespan. However, our team was pleasantly surprised and thrilled to have the opportunity to work with both Cardinals. Frosty is doing well and has developed quite the personality. He is starting to molt and is showing more color in different areas. This experience has been a valuable learning opportunity for our team, and we are grateful for the chance to work with this special Cardinal.

What a season here in southeast PA for albino birds! Our buddies at Raven Ridge are about an hour from us. The albino Robin we got this spring is doing well, I hear. We're also keeping our due to vision problems. Good luck, Frosty!

This post from about 2 weeks ago did kinda poorly. Maybe it was too grumpy, maybe it's just because it didn't apply to any of you, but I thought I'd follow up with their follow up, as this should show what a problem it is.

Not all of these (17) may not be unique individuals, but I wouldn't be surprised if they were.

Keeping them as one would a pet, they can't learn all the survival skills they'd need should you decide to release them later. They won't build social bonds and will likely be killed by other raccoons, or they will have to fend for themselves during winter, and they won't be afraid to come near humans, so people will often treat them as if they were rabid. If they bite you or your child, they most definitely will be treated as potentially rabid, and be euthanized immediately, even if they are perfectly healthy. States do not mess around with rabies.

Rehabbed animals will learn from their own kind, and leave with all the skills they need, a step-family, and a clean bill of health.

From Werling Wildlife Rehab Center

If you gave us a raccoon in the past two weeks that you raised as an illegal pet this summer, he or she is in this group. They are making friends, learning valuable life skills like fishing, foraging, and nesting, and are well on their way to wilding up. They've all had at least one of the vaccines in the series, been dewormed, had flea treatments, and had health inspections. Later this week is vaccine #2 for most of them, and vaccines #3 and #4 will be 2-3 weeks after that. That is the earliest we will begin evaluations for release, as they will only be considered once they have mastered skills, are fully vaccinated, and show appropriate fear of humans.

Today's raccoon menu: whole eggs hidden up high (to simulate raiding bird nests), dirt and leaf boxes filled with worms and crickets (foraging behavior), fish and shrimp in their pool (fishing skill development), as well as whole apples and squash hidden in puzzle feeders (mental stimulation). Raccoons are extremely intelligent and will pick up on skills quickly when they see others perform a behavior, so we expect they will master raccooning in no time.

Saw this little guy at the clinic today.

Flying squirrels are the living embodiment of chaos...but they sure are cute. This is the best look I ever got of one. They are usually asleep when I'm there, which makes opening their cages much easier, but this one came out to see me. Its card said it was named Noodles.

They are odd shaped little things. they remind me of a large mouse as.much as they do a small squirrel, with that very mousey face. The tail is a very interesting shape. It reminds me of a feather. The feet and its nose are sooo tiny!

Here's a random pick that shows off the body shape a bit better.

From John Saleda

Tool Time!!! Buzzy Bee Bait!

The intrepid Green Heron uses a snagged bee as bait for unsuspecting fish and frogs. He plops it in a calculated spot aka "fishing hole of choice" to lure the unsuspecting prey to get ambushed.

One of Earth's few creatures savvy enough to use tools! Various items of vegetation and insects are in his toolbox and he will manipulate them with beak pokes to further entice prey.

There's a mama squirrel with a new baby living near my house, and when I let my dog out this morning, he chased mom up a tree and the baby got left behind. Brought the dog in and spotted the baby like this.

The baby didn't know what to do and hadn't moved from there for a couple minutes, so I pulled the shovel handle out and it ran up my arm and leapt off my shoulder towards mom.

Fun morning :D

From Terry Martin

This is the first tayra I have ever seen in the wild. The tayra is an omnivorous mammal like a honey badger. It's found in parts of Central and South America. I was fortunate to observe it in Mashpi Amagusa, a nature reserve in Ecuador, and I was just captivated by its expression when it looked at me.

Tayra are long mustelids, somewhere between a marten and a wolverine.

They are dark brown to black except for an orange chest spot. Each individual's spot is in different and can often be used to identify distinct tayra.

From Stan Halen

Getting a photo of a Swainson's hawk catching a bat was quite the challenge, but so much fun! It's a little like gambling... We gotta go again! Next time we'll get it right!

Davis, CA, August 2026

From Jen Marie

Though listed as common by ODNR, most people don't realize that Ohio is home to a native ground squirrel. The thirteen-lined ground squirrel can be found mainly in the western half of the state, in open short and mid- grass prairies, cemeteries, golf courses, and other sites with expanses of mowed grass.

Fun fact: Unlike some animals that go into periods of winter inactivity, ground squirrels are true hibernators. This hibernation process starts in late summer or fall when they begin fattening up for winter. A ground squirrel nearly doubles its weight during fall feeding. Since no food is eaten while hibernating, this is key to survival. Ground squirrels lose between one-third and one-half of their weight during hibernation. Body temperature drops from a range of 86 to 106 degrees to 37 degrees. Their heartbeat falls from 200 to 300 beats per minute to a rate as low as five beats per minute. Breathing drops from a rate of 50 times per minute to four times per minute.

From Paul Ruszala

🚨 RARE BIRD ALERT 🚨

Crested Caracara 9/7/26 Outer Cape Cod

No, I am not currently in South America! After hearing rumors and some random reports about this bird being around the Outer Cape, I decided to put a little effort into tracking him down where eventually I crossed paths with him on two consecutive days. Each time he was way out in the middle of a marsh on windy days where getting a solid photo was tough. It pushed my gear to the limits for sure.

Very interesting bird to watch as even though it is part of the falcon family it surprised me by feeding on the ground almost the entire time I saw him. He would occasionally perch on a branch 2-3 feet off the ground and continue on. Saw him fly off to roost one evening and last sight of him he took off south and didn't look back. Hope he finds his way home!

Sony A7RV, 200-600mm with 1.4tc F9.0, iso400, 1/400

Caracaras are beautiful birds, but I haven't posted any since they're not uncommon. I've seen a bunch in sanctuaries. But seeing one in Cape Cod is very unusual!

There are also recent sightings in Maine, possibly the same bird.

Here is their range map. Anything north of Florida or the Mexico/US border is uncommon, let along way up in New England.

From Richard Jackson

Lumholtz tree kangaroo at Mt Hypipamee. This guy was 2 m from the crater lookout late at night. I took a few pics and he climbed down the side of the tree opposite me and ran off. Using a thermal viewer he hopped away like a typical wallaby.

From Martin Elliott

The laughing falcon is a striking tropical raptor known for its distinct call that sounds like human laughter.

Snake Specialist: Up to 90% of their diet consists of snakes, including dangerous pit vipers and coral snakes.

Ambush Technique: They hunt by waiting patiently on a high perch, then dive-bombing straight onto the snake's head with a powerful thud.

Precise Kill: They grab the snake right behind the head with their beak and bite it off immediately. - in Pantanal, Mato Grosso, Brazil.

From Pázsi Péter

Lake Balaton, Siófok, Hungary

Dice Snake (Natrix tessellata)

From Raymond G. Miñoso

Philippine Frogmouth with its little apprentice. - at Aningalan, San Remigio, Antique. (Philippines)

From Ashlyn Fowler

While your first instinct might be to take a step back from what looks like a massive wasp or hornet, this is actually a master of deception: the Barred Bee Fly (Exoprosopa fasciata). They are one of the coolest bee- mimic flies cruising right here through our NC yards!

4 Fascinating Features

Master Mimicry: To scare away hungry predators, these insects evolved a brilliant defense technique known as Batesian mimicry. Their stout bodies and bold black-and-tan striped abdomens perfectly trick the eye into thinking they possess a painful sting!

The Fly Giveaway: Unlike bees and wasps which have four wings, these guys only have two large, smoky -tinted wings. They also sport enormous, wrap-around "fly eyes" that nearly touch at the top of their head, instantly exposing them as true flies!

Precision Hovering: They are incredibly agile aerial acrobats. They can hover perfectly still in mid-air right in front of a flower and instantly dart sideways or backward faster than a blink if they sense a threat.

The Egg Flickers: Their reproductive process sounds like a sci-fi movie. Female bee flies will deliberately hover directly over the underground nests of beetles or wasps and physically "flick" their microscopic eggs right down into the entry tunnels!

3 Ecological Observations

Elite Native Pollinators: As adults, they are purely peaceful vegetarians. They spend their days drinking nectar and feeding on pollen. Because of their fuzzy bodies, they serve as highly effective pollinators for our late-summer wildflowers.

Natural Population Regulators: Once the eggs hatch underground, the tiny larvae act as natural biocontrols. They feed on the larvae of lawn-damaging pests like June beetles, keeping local insect populations perfectly balanced!

Core Food Chain Link: Even with their wasp-like disguise, experienced local songbirds and dragonflies see right through the trick. They rely on these large, chunky flies as a nutrient-dense food source to power through the late season.

How to use it

Finding these heavy-duty hoverers is a great indicator of a pesticide-free homestead! It proves you have a healthy plant mix to feed adults and a thriving soil insect web. Plant late-summer goldenrod or coneflowers to attract them.

Stay safe warning

While these bumpy neighbors look intimidating, their buzz and mimic markings are just for show! They are 100% harmless to humans and pets, with no stingers or bites. Give them respectful space to work and enjoy the aerial show!

From Tommy Munoz

The Gidgee Skink (Egernia stokesii). A beautiful desert skink from Australia.

Chonky reptile with a stubby and spikey tail.

Unusual for reptiles, they have live birth, and they are actually attentive parents.

When hiding from predators, they will go into a tiny space and swell themselves up with air. This, combined with that spikey tail, make them much more challenging to remove.

Came home last night and saw this chonky toad had been just far enough to the side it avoided a messy situation! It was a dark and rainy night here and I'm glad I noticed it.

Since it was so large and looked very nicely textured, I tried to find my phone as still as I could to get a nice long exposure shot. This was my best attempt.

Wild animal care is really complex and difficult, even for the pros. If you want your fuzzy or feathered loved ones to have a good life, get them real help as soon as you can.

From Werling Wildlife Rehab Center

It's "turn over the baby you have been illegally raising" season, where people who have been raising wildlife babies illegally all summer are now realizing they have no idea what to do with this wild animal who can't stay in their house any longer but also has no wild friends or life skills.

We get it.

There are not enough wildlife rehabbers to meet the need. Maybe you were frustrated that all of us were full. Maybe you didn't know it was illegal. Maybe you just wanted that magical Disney moment for the summer and figured it would all work out in the end.

We get it - our founder Kristen started much the same way. But now's the time to get those animals back on track for the wild.

This is our annual call for people to turn over the animals they have been raising that now need somewhere to go. No matter what has happened thus far, you have the opportunity to be responsible right now.

The raccoon pictured here was raised by a group of teenage boys this summer, but when school started back up, they needed somewhere for him to go. Rather than bring him to us, they dumped him in a park. He's still a baby and had no understanding of what to do. He tried to climb people's legs, was crying loudly... and that's not humane. Worse, his whiskers had been cut off with a pair of scissors, his legs had multiple wounds of what looked like cigarette burns, and he was covered in fleas.

Was that the best case scenario for him, to be dumped in a park, still a baby, after only knowing a life with human teenagers, where it appears he was abused?

Thankfully, some kind people saw this happen and scooped him up and brought him. Now he's adjusting to his new raccoon friends, learning life skills, and may be released this fall.

We would rather get those animals now while we have the space and the animals have the time to adjust to wild life before winter. We have a very high success rate for wilding up squirrels, raccoons, and turtles. When wilding up doesn't happen, we also have an excellent success rate with placing imprinted opossums as educational ambassadors (they don't "wild up" quite as well).

We would rather get them before they cause destruction to your house. We would rather get them before they are dumped somewhere without any life skills.

If you have an animal you have been raising this summer: thank you for caring about them and trying your best. We'd like to finish their rehab journey (or be their permanent placement home).

From Oaken Acres Wildlife Center

Well, our little raccoon BALDY is still little and still bald!

Here she is modeling her cool weather fleece pullover created by Desiree. We're going to try some nutritional additives to see if that might stimulate hair growth. She has started to grow hair a couple of times but it always falls out.

We're still trying little girl. You have your own little fan club here at Oaken Acres :)

We first looked at Baldy a month ago, and she looks just as hairless now. Oaken Acres said their vet said it isn't alopecia, so hopefully they will get something figured out so she can get nice and fluffy. She's still cute as a button through!

It memes itself!