Magic and Nature

Magic 99 and the Wildlife Rehabilitation Society of Edmonton (WRSE) have partnered to give listeners ‘Magic and Nature.’ The WRSE is Edmonton’s only wildlife shelter, treating over 1,000 patients and educating over 5,000 students each year. Every month, we will feature a different wildlife patient’s story, detailing its history and recovery.  This month stars the Ruddy Duck.

Ruddy Duck

The bright blue beak of a male Ruddy Duck is surreal—it makes for an exotic-looking bird that you’d think was from a far-off country, but it’s not. The water bird is native to our province and one was recently brought to the Wildlife Rehabilitation Society of Edmonton (WRSE) after it was found wandering by a city mall.

Its unique Robin’s egg coloured beak distinguishes it as a male, while females have a more modest brown colouring all over.  The male also sports tail feathers that can be held upright in the water, creating a flashy fan. It’s like the prairie’s equivalent of a peacock, though all the bright colouring remains on the beak.
And they make an interesting noise too—their heads bob as a repetitive jack-hammer type sound is punctuated by a final nasal quack.

The Ruddy Duck was treated at the Wildlife Rehabilitation Society after a wind storm displaced the bird, creating a ‘duck-out-of-water’ situation. And the little guy needed to be treated for some superficial wounds on his legs from a rough landing in the storm.

After one week, the feisty water bird was ready to be released. But during this short time, he made an impression on staff and volunteers at the WRSE. He was known for being tough and even coming towards staff with a menacing hiss. In the wild, though, these birds are generally very shy and reserved.
With his dashing good looks and sassy personality, he became a favourite for many. And everyone was happy when it was clear his injuries were minor. He was set free into a pond that had other feisty Ruddy Ducks already in it.

Unique Characteristics of a Ruddy Duck:

*Males have bright blue beaks and tail feathers that can be held upright
*Females can lay a clutch of eggs per day, which sometimes exceed her own body mass.
*They like to dive deep into water, dining on insects, seeds, and aquatic plant roots.
*During courtship displays, males beat their bills against their chest, which makes a tapping sound, forces air out through the feathers, and causes bubbles in the water. At the end of the display, the male makes a strange burping sound.

The Wildlife Rehabilitation Society of Edmonton is a non-profit society that relies on the donations in order to care for injured wildlife. If you would like to help animals like the Ruddy Duck, currently at the WRSE, please go to our CanadaHelps profile to donate: http://www.canadahelps.org/CharityProfilePage.aspx?CharityID=s74382  Or, check out our website: wildlife-edm.ca, which features information about wildlife and about opportunities like the Foster an Animal donations program.

www.stollerykids.com

 A Bad Heart Was Only the Start

This campaign is focusing on a little boy named Ethan who has needed to go to the Stollery many times throughout his life for different reasons.

Some tidbits:
*150,000 patient-visits annually – infants, children, and youth
*40% of patients from outside Edmonton area
*Over 1,300 dedicated staff
*Only one of two centres in Canada that can provide any pediatric health care service needed for critically ill and injured children (other is Toronto Sick Kids)
*Home to Canada’s largest heart transplant centre & is the Western Canadian Referral Centre for complex pediatric heart surgery and organ transplantation
*Last year, over 600 heart surgeries and 11 heart transplants were performed
*Home to the only specialized pediatric Emergency Room in central and northern Alberta
*Neonatal Intensive Care Network – treated over 3,200 critically ill newborns last year.
*Last year, over 8,000 surgical procedures were performed.

For more information: www.stollerykids.com or call 780.433.KIDS (5437)

Christmas Bureau of Edmonton

In 2009, Magic 99 again held a 12-hour radiothon & staged a separate charity Jazz concert and silent auction, at The Yardbird Suite.  The proceeds from these efforts went toward the Christmas Bureau of Edmonton, our city's oldest charity.  Donations to the radiothon this past year were triple that of 2008!  That generosity shown by our listeners helped The Christmas Bureau of Edmonton raise over $1.6 million.