by Jayne Winters Although spring always brings admissions of injured, sick and newly-orphaned wildlife to the Wildlife Care Center, May and June are also the months that find Don and his volunteers releasing rehabbed critters back to the fields and woods where they belong. The animals have depended upon human assistance to regain their health […]
by Jayne Winters You never know what you’ll find in Don Cote’s living room at the Duck Pond Wildlife Rehab Center, in Vassalboro. When I visited him a few weeks ago to decide on a topic for this month’s article, as soon as I walked in, I knew what it would be: weasels. I’ve never […]
by Jayne Winters When visiting at the Duck Pond Wildlife Rehab Center a couple of weeks ago, I asked Don Cote if he had any thoughts about what we should submit for the April column. Without missing a beat, he said spring is the time we need to alert people that not all young animals […]
by Jayne Winters While the recent signs of an early spring encourage most of us to anxiously look forward to warmer days and more outside activities, this time of year is one of mixed emotions for Don Cote and the volunteers at Duck Pond Wildlife Care Center. These last weeks of winter still require shoveling, […]
by Jayne Winters After reading Roland Hallee’s recent column (The Town Line, Scores and Outdoors, February 3, 2022) about his groundhog buddy, Woodrow Charles, and his prediction of six more weeks of winter, I wondered if the Cotes have had many groundhog visitors over the years. I found an article Carleen wrote in 1997, […]
by Jayne Winters It is with much sadness and great appreciation that this month’s column is written in memory of Amy Messier, who passed away unexpectedly on December 4, 2021. Amy had been a volunteer at Duck Pond Wildlife Rehab Center, in Vassalboro, for almost 20 years. Although unable to work most of this past […]
by Jayne Winters Chatting with Don Cote at the Duck Pond Wildlife Center is always enjoyable. Don has years of interesting experiences and his stories are touched with a sense of humor, as well as extensive personal knowledge and an obvious love for animals. I thought I’d mention a few of them this month. Earlier […]
by Amy Messier When I stopped by to talk to Don Cote at the Duck Pond Wildlife Center today about this month’s column, I was surprised to find all but one carrier empty of critters! Usually there are a variety of newly-admitted chipmunks, squirrels, skunks, possums, and young porcupines or raccoons in small cages or […]
by Jayne Winters This is the time of year many critters are released from the Duck Pond Wildlife Center, although if animals are old enough and sufficiently rehabbed, releases also take place throughout the summer. Chipmunks and squirrels are usually not turned out after mid-October, as their primary natural food sources have dwindled. This year’s […]
by Jayne Winters This month’s column about the Wildlife Care Center in Vassalboro was going to be about fox releases, but before we got too far into the conversation, caretaker Don Cote mentioned he had three bobcat kittens on site. I “pounced” on the idea of writing about the bobcats, so we’ll address critter releases […]