Dozens of chicks and bird eggs were receiving treatment at the International Bird Rescue Los Angeles Wildlife Center in San Pedro on Wednesday, March 26, after being rescued from a wind-damaged eucalyptus tree that was close to collapsing in Marina Del Rey.
Some 47 eggs and 12 live birds were getting care on Wednesday, said center spokesperson Ariana Gastelum. Some 70 eggs and birds were initially brought in, she said, but 10 have died.
The center held a news conference about the new residents on Wednesday.
“These chicks are extremely difficult to raise,” she said, adding that those under care will be there for probably around three months before they are able to be released back into the wild.
The birds, which arrived on March 10, are a tree-nesting species called double-crested cormorants.
Some of the birds have already hatched and more are being incubated after 20 nests were removed from the tree — which appeared ready to fall — in Chase Park. The coordinated effort between the Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors, and Bird Rescue involved gently removing the eggs and chicks from the nests by a trained wildlife biologist.
The tree was a popular nesting spot for cormorants but growing cracks along what remained of the trunk made it unstable.
It was was located next to a public walkway and parking lot, so the nests were vulnerable to being disturbed.
Bird Rescue is asking the public to provide financial support to help feed and care for the wild birds. Suggested donations are $25 to save a cormorant egg and $50 for a cormorant hatchling.
The goal for getting the birds reading to return to the wild is for them to have fully grown flight feathers, to not show any attachment toward humans and to be able to feed themselves.
The chicks, though, still need hand feeding, Gastelum said, but to prevent attachment, staffers must refrain from talking, dress all in black — the same color as the birds — and use puppets and tongs to handle the babies and food. Audio of a cormorant colony is also played.
“These types of birds heavily rely on their parents to feed them,” Gastelum said.
At first, “they are not able to open their eyes” and have no feathers, she said. Such “extreme measures” in the early feeding process is intended to keep the birds in as natural a setting as possible, Gastelum added.
As the for tree, Gastelum said, it was taken down. Heavy rains and winds had put it in danger of falling.
“Strong winds damaged a eucalyptus tree in Burton Chace Park in early March, leading to the collapse of a large trunk and the impending failure of the rest of the tree,” the Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors said in a previous statement. “Unfortunately, the tree was a popular nesting spot for cormorants, but the growing cracks along its remaining trunk, instability at its base due to the recent trunk collapse, and location next to a public walkway and parking lot meant it needed quick removal to protect visitors and wildlife.”