Swans Annual Visitors
Tundra Swan Rescued From Marsh Swans annual island visitors BY JAMIE MARS Supervisor of wildlife care, Reg Westcott, got more than his feet wet rescuing a weak and injured trumpeter swan from a pond on the edge of Comox Lake on Vancouver Island, BC. A concerned...
Barn Owl Evasive
Barn Owl Hides From Rescuers Nocturnal hunter turns up in broad daylight BY BRIAN Nocturnal British Columbia Barn owls are seldom seen and are never on the ground in the daytime unless something is terribly wrong. A local resident walking her dog in the Comox Valley...
What’s For Dinner?
What’s For Dinner At MARS? Raven favours scrambled eggs! BY RAY What’s on the menu for patients at the MARS Wildlife Rescue Centre really depends on what’s available in the wild. Last year for instance, Fisheries and Oceans Canada dropped off a load of herring to our...
A Kestrel’s Cautionary Tale
A Kestrel’s Cautionary Tale Bird listed as climate threatened BY BRIAN American kestrels are usually spotted on high perches or hovering in open landscapes where the hunting is good. Rarely is North America’s smallest falcon found inside a fireplace in a Vancouver...
Local Vets Help MARS
Local Vets Help MARS Help Wildlife 700 treated each year BY RAY A duck with a broken leg, an owl with a damaged wing, or an eagle hit by a car all need emergency medical attention. Birds and animals with serious, life-threatening injuries require professional...
Helicopter Volunteer
Lucky Auklet air-lifted to safety BY BRIAN Norm Snihur, a helicopter owner and pilot, is a volunteer wildlife ambulance driver on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. When the former Air Canada pilot retired to the Comox Valley he became a wildlife volunteer and...
This Time Its Personal
Throughout the year MARS hosts volunteer student interns for six week work placements. Students come from across Canada, the United States, Europe and Asia. Typically, student interns come to MARS for hands-on experience working with injured wildlife. Florence Norton...
Rare Patient at MARS
We have a rare patient at MARS. On Monday this beautiful juvenile Golden Eagle was rescued in Bear Creek Park. This is only the second one at MARS in the last ten years! The bird was not injured but was soaking wet and quite thin. Golden Eagles are very powerful and...
Eagle Release Nov 28 2015
On November 14th we were called about a sick or injured eagle found on a homeowners property. Upon our arrival the bird looked as though it might be dead but when Reg approached she jumped up to defend herself. This eagle was very large and
