Foxfeather Zenkova

@foxfeather.bsky.social

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Birds! Licensed wildlife rehabilitator and educator in Minnesota, focusing on vulture conservation. Also an artist, falconer, yak-wrangler, beekeeper, and owned-by-emus.
Foxloft.com - Vultureconservancy.org

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We are rehabilitating a small army of wild turkeys again this year. They come to us from all around the state, often found as lost singletons or little groups when the mother is known to be gone (usually from car strikes). These kids will soon get a second chance to be wild! 🪶

Siri and Stomp like to plop down and watch me being busy cleaning and bustling about. Pretty sure I'm often some sort of entertaining human aquarium exhibit for these cutest black vulture kids (and our other birds), who seem to enjoy observing me as much as I do them.

Not all bats live in colonies! Eastern red bats are a solitary, migratory bat that lives in trees. They often snuggle down into leaf litter to keep warm, which makes them vulnerable to being grabbed by dogs or cats. That's what landed this young one in rehab with us.

I got you, babe 🪶

#1 dad 🪶

Once again I'm not quite sure about these contractors we keep getting. This one was seemed very eager, but kept stealing zip ties. I think they delayed aviary construction more than helped it.

Appa the highland coo rockin' her summer bikini look

A very uncommon patient for us! Only a few turkey vultures come into rehabilitation each year from across the whole state! Hopefully this poor wayward kid can be renested, but if not will be raised by foster parents.🪶

A big thanks to Dr. Ford @[email protected] (Mastodon) for also being willing to share his time to help the multiple wildlife patients (like this young eagle and mourning dove) who came in while he was here. His knowledge and expertise make such a difference for the birds he cares for.

Compass the burrowing owl looks exactly how I feel whenever I have to go to the doctor. This weekend our veterinarian came out to do yearly medical exams on all our ambassador birds. It's a big undertaking, but is an important part of making sure they stay in the best health. 🪶

Not really sure of the competence of these new cleaners we hired...

We've had crazy amounts of rain this year, and a solid week of it is forecasted again. Minerva is enjoying the short windows of sunshine, using them to dry off and soak up the summer warmth. While she doesn't mind a bit of rain, this nonstop sky sprinkler isn't her favorite. 🪶

Zal always looks so confused at the appearance of mini-mus when the kids are first let to wander freely outside.

Having another record busy year for wildlife rehab; getting so many calls every day and new birds in a constant flow. This young hawk was out of the nest early & starving; oddly not being attended to by the parents in the nest above. Time for a vet check to see what's going on! 🪶

Incredibly thankful to our volunteers who are so generous with their time; we are finally replacing some of our temporary wildlife rehab building aviaries with really nice ones, I'm so excited! Also a big thank you to everyone who sent wire mesh and supplies from the birdie baby shower!!

That's not what I ordered on Amazon.. #wildliferehabproblems

Bath pants, bath dance! It's been super rainy here lately and Sev is thrilled, dancin' in the rain is one of his favorite pasttimes. 🪶 #lovevultures

Oni the Tibetan Mastiff is so kind and patient with puppies, she adopted Xena right away

This level of cuteness should not be allowed. (Don't let the cute fool you, baby wood ducks are crazy ninjas. This tiny warrior was found wandering alone but has now joined other orphans being raised for a second chance at life in the wild.) 🪶

Baby emus grow so fast! 🪶

I can't seem to shake the feeling I'm being watched... 🪶

Many people mistake other birds for baby eagles; there's no mini eagle stage where they look like small adults. Why? Feathers are resource-expensive to build and only replaced once a year, so a fluffy raptor chick gets full size super fast then makes full size feathers! 🪶

Cloudy with a chance of emus 🪶

Diva is in the middle of her glow-up, blushing out into the bright colors that give yellow-headed vultures their name! 🪶

I got the noodle dragon and potato boys a little sister (who immediately took over as boss); they are over the moon

We had to move everything in the wildlife hospital so the insulation and finished PVC walls could go in - so excited! The ceiling is completely done; hopefully in the coming weeks it will be completely ready to go again in time for busy season!

This little eaglet, found on the ground without parents in attendance, was in really rough shape when brought in. With intensive care overnight, he was much more perky this morning, much to my relief! He's up at the UMN Raptor Center for further evaluation.

Spring here, when it finally comes, is exceptionally beautiful; a riot of greens and blues. It brings with it new yak calves, so far two more have joined our herd already!

A plea: If you're going to cut down a tree, make sure no one's home! If at all possible, wait til late summer/fall (or whenever avoids nesting season in your area) to cut or trim, and check trees carefully. Many birds, like these barred owls, are cavity nesters and can be well hidden. 🪶

It's crazy the difference a few days make when it comes to baby emu growth; the larger chicks here are not even a week older than the smaller ones!