Woodlands Wildlife Sanctuary
2146 Duck Lake Road K0M 2K0 Minden, ON, Canada

Our BID WILD 4 WILDLIFE online auction is happening right now! https://www.biddingowl.com/Auction/home.cfm?auctionID=19476 Over 230 amazing items to bid on - there is something for everyone. Help Woodlands Wildlife Sanctuary raise funds for medicines, foods and housing for the 100's of orphaned and injured wildlife they admit each year. Thank You in advance for your support!

Only 3 more sleeps and our BID WILD 4 WILDLIFE online auction is live! Many more items still to be added but you can take a peek now and make sure to pre-register! This is our only big fundraiser of the year and will help us greatly to care for the 100's of wild ones we admit each year. https://www.biddingowl.com/Auction/home.cfm?auctionID=19476

It was a volunteer transportation effort but this beautiful juvenile Barred owl finally made it to the sanctuary after colliding with a car. He had been sitting by the road for several hours and didn't even budge when his rescuer arrived. During his initial exam, he clacked his beak (which is a really good sign) and then proceeded to sing like a canary! I have never heard an owl singing like this...but this one chirped and chittered to us a sweet-sounding song! He did t...his on several occasions, but of course, would stop as soon as the recorder was on. Who would have thunk an owl can sing! Maybe he is reminding you to check out our incredible online auction BID WILD 4 WILDLIFE https://www.biddingowl.com/Auction/home.cfm?auctionID=19476

Tom Burke is for the birds! Since the spring, Tom has been building flocks of colourful birdhouses and donating all the proceeds to local charities. He's raised over $2000 so far and we are honoured that he chose our charity to receive a $500 donation to help us care for the wild ones (previous recipients were the Minden and Haliburton Food Banks, and SIRCH). Thank you, Tom Burke, for making a difference! ... You are not only helping charities and our community but our wild birds benefit too! If you would like to help Tom support local charities by purchasing a birdhouse or two, you can reached him at 705 286-4168. See more

BID WILD 4 WILDLIFE Online auction is happening now! Over 230 awesome items to bid on. Your support will help us care for the hundreds of wild ones we receive each year. Have fun bidding! There is something for everyone!... https://www.biddingowl.com/Auction/home.cfm?auctionID=19476 See more

It took a week to live trap this little girl, who was seen scampering around the Lindsay area, emaciated and nearly blinded by the thick crustings on her face. She has a very bad case of mange but is now in our care, safe and on the mend. She's reminding you to check out our online auction, starting tomorrow, at https://www.biddingowl.com/Auction/home.cfm?auctionID=19476 and BID WILD 4 WILDLIFE!

This little vole and its sibling were found on the grass. They were likely dug out of their nest by a cat. Sadly the sibling died but this little one is doing very well, growing in leaps and bounds and now is eating all on his own!

It is with great sadness that I share this news with you. Our magnificent girl has passed away. If you recall, I shared a video with you about how we rescued and rehabbed a severely emaciated Bald Eagle.... I was hoping to show you her exciting progress. This photo is from the day she was transferred to a centre in southern Ontario. She was on a fast road to recovery. Catching her own fish now, she had gained well over 1 kg during the time she was with us. She was so much stronger and really wanted to start spreading her wings in flight. Since our flight cage was not ready, we decided to transfer her for her final rehab steps to the best raptor and owl facility in Ontario, The Owl Foundation. There she would receive flight and feeding training. We were so looking forward to next spring when she would have been released back to where she was born. Margaret and Christina, our two senior volunteers, made the 8-hour round trip and delivered her into their care. A few days later, we received an update...all was well and she was bright, eager and eating very well but was still being housed indoors for further observation. Then a few weeks ago we received the ominous phone call. Our eagle had passed away. The caregivers at the Owl Foundation were devastated. Our eagle had been sent to the University of Guelph for a diagnostic necropsy and the results are now back. She passed away from the West Nile Virus. There is a high incident of West Nile in the Niagara Region, and the Owl Foundation had admitted several birds this year that had it, more recently a Great Gray Owl that was temporarily placed in the same area as our eagle. The West Nile virus is spread by biting insects, like mosquitoes or flat flies, which are not uncommon on most raptors. It is probable that one of these flat flies jumped on our eagle, biting her and then within 3 days she was gone...just like that and that fast. As wildlife rehabbers, we experience these rollercoaster rides with our patients more often than you may think. We hold tight to our great successes but can never forget our heartbreaks. This one is my greatest heartbreak. The Owl Foundation is still, in my opinion, the absolute best rehab centre. They are highly trained and experienced and have amazing facilities for the hundreds of birds they care for each year. I would not hesitate to transfer another patient to them.

Kevin and Robert were at their cottage this summer and found an orphaned duckling. They knew it wouldn't stand a chance surviving on its own so they brought it to us. We introduced it into a mish-mash of other orphaned ducks. Over the summer they all grew up together as one happy family. When they were ready to be released, these two young boys were super excited to help us out. With great anticipation, they opened the crate and watched as one after the other, they waddled into the water, splashing and flapping their wings with joy.

Smart as a _____________! We’ve been trying to catch this fox so she can be released but she keeps outsmarting us. She seems to like it here at Club WWS!

They sure are a photogenic bunch!

Mange be gone this girl is moving on!

This bouncy (hence the blurry photos) little nuthatch wasn’t too bouncy when he first arrived. He was caught by a cat that did damage to his wing, destroyed all his tail feathers and some of wing feathers. He is healing well so we expect him to make a full recovery.

Thank you, Tanya, Hank and our mutual volunteer Barb for helping us with this perfect release of our beloved PorkChop!

We've added a whole lotta puzzles to our Go Wild for Puzzles Fundraiser page. Head over and check 'em out. Great time of the year to put on a fire, pour yourself your favourite beverage and piece things together!

Not a duck... While duck hunting, this juvenile Bald Eagle was shot (unintentionally) as he perched unseen in a tree by the lake. The hunters were devastated and quickly retrieved him from the water and brought him to us. Feeling a bit better now that he is on I.V. and pain meds, he will be transferred to our colleagues at Shades of Hope for surgery to his broken wing. Fingers and toes crossed that all goes well.... Accidents can happen and we are comforted by the fact that the hunters responded quickly and took responsibility for this tragic hunting mishap.

In the battle of wildlife vs. automobile the wildlife never does well as this porcupine can attest to. Fortunately, he came away with a really bad case of road rash. Should be back home soon!

I’m so hungry I could eat a____________. This little long-tailed weasel’s answer was a porcupine. She was found dehydrated and starved in Fenelon Falls. Desperate times called for desperate measures. Ugh. Here’s a photo from when she first arrived, and one from yesterday. She’s feeling so much better. ... She’ll be released very soon. Hopefully she’ll be wiser with her food choices.

My, what big ears you have...

Wow! Thank you, Ryan, for supporting us in this way <3 Wishing you a very Happy Birthday!

Pork Chop has been in our care since the beginning of May. He was orphaned and was barely a week old when he arrived at WWS. Just look at him now! Ready to take on the world!

They’re getting ready to leave the nest.

Yes, we’re at it again. This late summer litter of orphaned baby squirrels have made their way to us. They look like gargoyles don’t they? True to their squirrel nature they don’t stay still very long even as babies.

We've been busy saving the life of this magnificent bald eagle. Make sure to turn the sound on.

It seems baby snapping turtles are not fond of photo shoots. It took 15 shots to get a decent one of this wiggly little guy. And, apparently they have very long necks.