On Tuesday, August 2, a firefighter fighting the Soberanes fire arrived at the SPCA Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Center with a Starbucks cup. Inside the cup was a tiny fledgling Pacific Slope Flycatcher.
The firefighters found the tiny bird at the fire line near Old Coast Road in Big Sur. The fire team believed the tree containing the young bird’s nest had burned in the fire, so they rescued him and brought him to the SPCA.
Fledgling Pacific Slope Flycatcher is improving
When the flycatcher arrived, he was holding his left eye closed, likely due to irritation from the smoke. Today, he is bright, alert, and responsive, eating well, and perching. SPCA Wildlife Rehabilitators expect him to recover and be successfully released back into the wild.
In addition to this young flycatcher, the SPCA is sheltering 180 pets displaced by the fire, including 44 cats, 33 dogs, 65 chickens, 6 goats, 6 ducks, 5 turkeys, 4 guinea hens, 5 horses, 3 donkeys, 3 parakeets, 1 rabbit, 1 lamb, 1 turtle, 1 tarantula, 1 king snake, and 1 leopard gecko. An additional 13 cats and dogs were sheltered and have been returned to their owners. We are also providing free food, supplies, and emergency evacuation services to hundreds more. As needed and when conditions allow, our disaster team is working to rescue animals from evacuated areas. SPCA dogs are also visiting firefighters at Rancho Canada and Toro Park to give kisses, snuggles, and love.
The SPCA Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Center is the only full service wildlife rehabilitation center serving Monterey County. We operate under permits from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Your support is extremely important to us, as we do not receive funding from any federal, state or local government agency. Each year, The SPCA Wildlife Center admits over 2,500 animals for treatment and care.
How You Can Help:
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Cash donations are extremely helpful as they can be used for the most dire needs, which is important in a fire like this where needs can change in a moment: www.SPCAmc.org/fire
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Towels, pet food, pet toys, pet supplies and pet beds are also gratefully accepted. Donations can be brought to our shelter located at 1002 Monterey Salinas Highway, across from Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
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Sign up to foster non-evacuated pets to make room for evacuees: www.SPCAmc.org/volunteer
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Prepare for a disaster: www.SPCAmc.org/soberanes
For more information, please call The SPCA at 831-373-2631 or visit www.SPCAmc.org.
The SPCA for Monterey County is your nonprofit, independent, donor-supported humane society that has been serving the animals and people of Monterey County since 1905. The SPCA is not a chapter of any other agency and does not have a parent organization. They shelter homeless, neglected and abused pets and livestock, and provide humane education and countless other services to the community. They are the local agency you call to investigate animal cruelty, rescue and rehabilitate injured wildlife, and aid domestic animals in distress.
