Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary Bay Beach Sanctuary News

Wild wolverine said:
It is to prevent starvation. The sanctuary is wildly over populated with deer right now. With winter coming and food sources about to plummet, I think it's a healthy option, and would only be allowed in certain areas of the park, if it happens at all.
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No problem with wildlife regulation here, but what is the status of wild predators around there? A potential imbalance explained???
 
Kifaru Bwana said:
No problem with wildlife regulation here, but what is the status of wild predators around there? A potential imbalance explained???
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There are essentially no predators here, hense why they mush have a hunt in the first place! The only animals in the area that would eat a deer would be a Coyote or a Bobcat, and they only go after sick or injured deer, and even then only very rarely.
 
birdsandbats said:
There are essentially no predators here, hense why they mush have a hunt in the first place! The only animals in the area that would eat a deer would be a Coyote or a Bobcat, and they only go after sick or injured deer, and even then only very rarely.
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Which is the obvious I meant. Seems you have a serious lack of a healthy predator population! You have a task for redress, so how come nobody talk the talk?
 
Updates from my visit today:

  • There was an empty tank in the nature center with the words: "Bull Snake coming soon".
  • I saw 8 species of wild ducks here today, plus two Mallard x Black Duck hybrids!
  • I got the best views of the Southern Flying Squirrel and White-footed Mice I have had for quite some time.
  • I'm not entirely sure, but I think they may have gotten a new Coyote.
  • The Black Rat Snake is no longer on exhibit.
  • There is now a second Virginia Opossum on exhibit today.
  • The river otters were off-exhibit today, a sign said they will return soon.
  • There is now a Common Garter Snake on exhibit in the Observation Building.
  • Lots of changes to the aviaries! It woulod take too long to list them all here, so here is a species list for all of them:
Woodland Aviary: Horned Lark, American Goldfinch, White-breasted Nuthatch, Dark-eyed Junco, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Baltimore Oriole, Northern Cardinal, Cedar Waxwing, Hermit Thrush, Swainson's Thrush, Red-bellied Woodpecker, White-throated Sparrow, Common Yellowthroat

Prairie Aviary: Black-billed Cuckoo, Brown Thrasher, Eastern Bluebird, Mourning Dove, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Three-toed Box Turtle, Ornate Box Turtle, Blanding's Turtle

Wetland Aviary: Killdeer, Franklin's Gull, Caspian Tern, Bonaparte's Gull, Blue-winged Teal, Ring-necked Duck, Green Heron, Domestic Mallard, American Coot, Wood Duck, Redhead, Common/Forster's Tern (not sure which)

  • This trip was kind of mind-blowing, as well. I have been coming to this facility for years, and today, in the observation building, I saw a pair of Wood Ducks just walking around the building! The Wetland Aviary is open-air, but I assumed that none of the birds could get out! I asked a keeper and they said that three species specifically (Wood Duck, Green Heron, and Black-crowned Night Heron) can leave the aviary and free-roam the building, but usually don't when visitors were present (If your wondering why the night-heron wasn't in the list above that's because he was off-exhibit today).
  • In less exiting news, the infamous swallow cage is back.
 
Updates from my visit today:

  • The Bullsnake is still coming soon.
  • All of the animals were super active! Every single one!
  • Still no Black Rat Snake.
  • Downy Woodpecker and Scarlet Tanager have been added to the Woodland Aviary.
  • Lots of changes to the wetland aviary superficially. Here is a new species list:
Killdeer, Franklin's Gull, Bonaparte's Gull, American Coot, Ring-necked Duck, Blue-winged Teal, Redhead, Wood Duck, Black Scoter, Domestic Mallard, Common Tern, Greater Scaup

  • The porcupine was back, but not the crows.
 
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Updates from my visit today:

  • While Bay Beach has been open this whole time, previously only two exhibits were viewable - White-tailed Deer/Sandhill Crane and Gray Wolf. Now all of the exhibits are viewable with the exception of the indoor areas.
  • You can no longer enter the free-flight waterfowl aviary but you can see it from the outside.
  • Oddly, the bridge that connects the nature center and the observation building has closed. In order to reach the raptor loop, you have to walk through a normally behind-the-scenes area between the Bald Eagle and owl exhibits.
  • The Turkey Vultures are gone, and their exhibit is now occupied by the Snowy Owl.
  • The old Snowy Owl exhibit is empty, but is now planted with ferns.
  • The Northern Saw-whet Owl is gone, I suspect it died.
  • Prothonotary Warbler nest boxes have been put out all over, I even saw one (a lifer).
 
birdsandbats said:
Updates from my visit today:

  • While Bay Beach has been open this whole time, previously only two exhibits were viewable - White-tailed Deer/Sandhill Crane and Gray Wolf. Now all of the exhibits are viewable with the exception of the indoor areas.
  • You can no longer enter the free-flight waterfowl aviary but you can see it from the outside.
  • Oddly, the bridge that connects the nature center and the observation building has closed. In order to reach the raptor loop, you have to walk through a normally behind-the-scenes area between the Bald Eagle and owl exhibits.
  • The Turkey Vultures are gone, and their exhibit is now occupied by the Snowy Owl.
  • The old Snowy Owl exhibit is empty, but is now planted with ferns.
  • The Northern Saw-whet Owl is gone, I suspect it died.
  • Prothonotary Warbler nest boxes have been put out all over, I even saw one (a lifer).
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Updates from my visit today:

  • The waterfowl aviary was completely empty today.
  • The Turkey Vulture exhibit is again occupied by Turkey Vultures, there is no longer a Snowy Owl on exhibit.
  • I can confirm there is still a Northern Saw-Whet Owl.
 
Updates from my visit today:

  • The Snowy Owl is back in its former exhibit.
  • I saw around 1000 wild Tree Swallows.
  • A few birds have returned to the waterfowl aviary, including the Northern Pintail and Ring-necked Pheasant, but there aren't as many birds as there were.
  • The waterfowl aviary is now open for the first time in over a year, but there is a five person limit.
  • The Nature Center and Observation Building are technically open again but don't get your hopes up. I'm honestly not even sure why they are open now.
  • In the Nature Center, the only accessible things are the bathrooms, the gift shop, a couple of displays, the cockatoo exhibit, and the Fox Snake terrarium (which was moved more towards the entrance).
  • In the Observation Building, the only things you can do is buy corn to feed the wild birds or look in the rehabilitation window. Currently, they are caring for an American Robin, a Northern Flicker, and a Killdeer.
  • Clover the Four-toed Hedgehog is now on exhibit and may be seen through the rehabilitation window.
 
Updates from my visit this weekend:

  • The Snowy Owl is back off-exhibit.
  • There were even less birds in the waterfowl aviary than there were last time.
  • The Nature Center and the Observation Building remain mostly closed.
 
Updates from my visit today:

  • The Snowy Owl is back, but the ferns in the exhibit are gone. What was the point of planting them?
  • All the birds are back in the waterfowl aviary but the aviary is now closed again.
  • The Nature Center and Observation Building are closed again.
  • The new bridge from the Nature Center area to the Observation Building area is almost done, but given that it is less wide than it was before it will probably not open for a long time.
  • I saw the Coyote almost catch a squirrel that wandered into its exhibit, but the squirrel got away.
 
Updates from my visit today:
  • The new bridge from the Nature Center/Habi-Trek area to the Observation Building/Raptor Trail area is now complete and open!
  • The squirrel is back in the waterfowl aviary.
 
Updates from my visit today:

  • When I first arrived the Raptor Trail was closed, but I checked back later and it was open again.
  • Climbing branches has FINALLY been added to the porcupine exhibit, which previously had no climbing opportunities at all.
 
birdsandbats said:
  • Climbing branches has FINALLY been added to the porcupine exhibit, which previously had no climbing opportunities at all.
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Fun fact: this porcupine is actually blind! Thus why she lives at the sanctuary, and probably why it took a bit longer for her to get climbing branches added :)
 
After a little over a year, the Observation (main) Building and Woodland Building will be opened to the public on April 7. Masks will be required in the buildings. There have also been plenty of small-scale changes that the sanctuary has made over the past year while closed. *I feel lucky to have seen these changes happening as I work there through a school work-study* Some of these changes include but are not limited to; the loss of the Franklin's Gull in the shorebird exhibit, and the addition of the Common Goldeneye and Muscovy Duck. There are several new additions that live behind the scenes as well. The ring-necked pheasant is no longer in the outdoor duck exhibit, and a new possum has moved into the Woodland Building
 
Updates from my visit today:

  • The free flight aviary was empty except from for the Snow Goose and Northern Pintail.
  • All of the seasonal birds of prey are back on exhibit.
  • It was great to see the nature center open again. The White's Tree Frog seems way bigger than the last time I saw it over a year ago.
  • Despite what it says on their website and @Wild wolverine's post above, the Woodland Building is NOT open.
 
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