Our permits from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service have arrived! We were floored! The region we are in is probably the busiest region in the country and it often takes quite a while for responses from them. We are so beyond excited to have gotten our permits approved in less than 30 days!
Now, we are just waiting on the permit approval from the Wyoming Game & Fish Department. Once we have those, we can begin to arrange transport of the birds to Cody. It may not seem like that big of a task, but considering the birds are all coming from different states, and three of the four are coming from rehabilitation centers that rely on their volunteers to help out, it is going to be quite a challenge.
First, each bird will need a health certificate from a veterinarian. These are only good for ten days, so there is no point getting one far in advance. Next, a meeting place (usually the halfway point between the bird and us) and time must be arranged. Traveling with birds is not a glamorous job. The birds are nervous, the people are nervous, and it is critical to keep the birds at a comfortable temperature during their entire journey. In August this can be a real problem, so folks on both ends have to be careful to keep the vehicle cool and, like having a dog in the car, can never leave the birds unattended.
Fortunately, I have friends in Colorado who have already offered to help with transporting the birds. They are willing to drive either all the way to the birds (in New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Kansas), or to a meeting point and bring the birds back to Denver. From that point, I can pick up the birds and finish the journey to Cody.
The employees here at the Center are getting excited about finally seeing the birds I’ve been talking about for months. We’re giving them a special treat this week, too—an open house in the mews so they can all come and see where the birds will be living.
Stay tuned for more updates. I’m hoping that within the week I will be reporting that our state permits have arrived, but you just never know!
