Another Great Horned Owl baby

While enjoying the warmth of the heat lamp, this turkey vulture will spend the winter recovering at Dayton Valley Wildlife Reststop.

This orphaned 8-day-old baby sparrow is one of many birds that are receiving care especially during this time of year. At this stage the chicks are extremely fragile, must have an external heat source and are fed very frequently. They are kept in incubators with make shift nests sometimes created by just using the toe of a sock. 

Many baby Desert Cottontails are brought to DVWR in the spring for various reasons. Their round tails are dark on top and white underneath resembling a cotton ball and their large ears radiate body heat, cooling them during the hot summer months.

Injured in a collision with a semi-truck  this Golden Eagle appears to be making a good comeback. Great horned owl babies are growing fast  and although not readily seen in the image a young hummingbird is the smallest guest at DVWR.  

American Kestrels are fledging now and sometimes they need some extra help like this young one.  They eat spiders, moths, cicadas and grasshoppers to name just a small portion of their diet, which is a good reason not to spray pesticides. Mike and the kestrel exchange information at intake.