I'd like to share some information about wildlife rehabilitators in our area. We exist, we're all licensed volunteers, and it's sometimes hard to reach us at the exact moment you need us.

Let me help. Shortest step: go to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation website, search for "wildlife rehabilitators." A search engine pops up, click on the county you are in and the critter you are concerned about. A list of rehabbers with contact information will appear. Print it out and keep a copy in your vehicle or take a photo so that list is on your phone. Best way to contact rehabbers is to take a photo or very short video of the animal/bird you want to help, text that to the right rehabbers with your location and a couple sentences about your concern.

Not all critters need to get to a rehabber. Some situations can be resolved by just communicating with one of us. For example: Yes, you can pick up a healthy baby bird that fell out of its nest and put it back in the nest, or make a substitute nest using an empty flower basket hung up near the original nest, or move a fledgling bird out of a road into a safer location in bushes nearby. Birds (other than vultures) really have no sense of smell and won't reject a nestling that you've touched.

There are around 50 NYS-licensed wildlife rehabbers in Ulster County. A plethora of small mammal rehabbers as well as some who rehab fawns, foxes, coyotes, reptiles and amphibians, and one who rehabs raccoons. There are no bat or skunk rehabilitators in our county, unfortunately, so those orphaned or injured critters would have to go to rehabbers with RVS (rabies vector species) permits in other counties.

For concerns about large mammals such as adult deer or black bears, it’s best to contact the NYS-DEC directly to ask who to contact or what to do or not do. Call the DEC’s 24/7 number (which is answered in Albany): (844) 332-3267. Another reason to call that number is if you have no internet access.

There are five wild bird rehabbers (me included) in Ulster County; all of us hold NYS as well as U.S. Fish and Wildlife permits to work with wild birds from owls, hawks and falcons to robins, bluebirds and wrens. Nearly all wild bird species are federally protected by the Migratory Bird Act, which is over 100 years old, so federal permits to rescue and rehab wild birds are required. Many NYS counties don't have any wild bird rehabbers, so Ulster County is fortunate to have five experienced and qualified bird rehabbers right here.

I routinely get calls concerning injured or orphaned wild birds from Long Island, New York City, surrounding counties and even other states. The best action for these birds is to get them to the closest wild bird rehabber in the shortest amount of time. Some folks drive quite a distance to meet me part way with an injured wild bird because they live in counties with no federally licensed rehabbers. Concerning raptors, your safety is the priority, so contact one of us before you try to pick up an injured raptor.

Wildlife rehabbers are volunteers doing what we can with our resources to help wildlife. No state or federal dollars trickle down to us. We can accept donations of cash or goods. The DEC does not assist us in the rehabilitation of wildlife, and we are not employees of the DEC.

In regards to the blurb about an injured owl in last week's issue: There are no spotted owls east of the Rockies. That species is highly endangered and found in the Northwest U.S. and western Canada. The owl in the article was a barred owl, the most common owl east of the Rockies.

Last year I took in nearly 500 birds. This year so far, 425. Roughly 65 percent are released back to the wild. If you're interested in seeing some of the rehab work I do, my Facebook page is Wild Mountain Birds. Or come to one of my public live raptor programs which I post on that page.

Annie Mardiney

Rosendale