Diversity in the Workplace
by Kevin Mack, PAWS Wildlife Naturalist

One of the first questions that I am asked whenever I tell someone that I work at the PAWS Wildlife Center is, "What kind of animals do you work with?" My standard answer to this question has always been, "We work with over 200 species of wild animals. We have handled everything from hummingbirds to eagles, and from chipmunks to bears and cougars." I've been repeating that answer for about ten years now, but it occurred to me recently that I have never seen the full list of species that the PAWS Wildlife Center has worked with written in one place. This realization prompted me to try to create a list, and it quickly became clear to me that the "more than 200 species" estimate was actually fairly conservative.

Recovering from a fractured wing, a Bufflehead dives for food in a pool at PAWS.

The species list below reflects all species that I can remember having worked with during my time at PAWS, in addition to all species included in the PAWS database for the years 2000-2004. The creation of this list relied on the accuracy of my memory, and only five years worth of PAWS intake data, so although it contains more than 240 species, the list is by no means complete. A more thorough search including all records dating back to the wildlife center's beginning in 1981 would undoubtedly uncover dozens more species not included here. Note that some of the non-indigenous species on this list, especially in the reptile section, do not have established populations in Washington State. The individuals of these species that PAWS has received were likely escaped or abandoned pets.

In order for a species to be included on this list, a member of the species had to be injured, ill, orphaned, or compromised in some way; otherwise, they would not have come in to PAWS. As amazing as it is to work with such a diversity of wild beings, I would definitely prefer it if the page below this sentence was simply blank.

Birds
Red-throated Loon, Pacific Loon, Common Loon, Yellow-billed Loon, Horned Grebe, Eared Grebe, Red-necked Grebe, Pied-billed Grebe, Western Grebe, Clark's Grebe, Black-footed Albatross, Laysan Albatross, Northern Fulmar, Sooty Shearwater, Manx Shearwater, Leach's Storm Petrel, Brown Pelican, Red-tailed Tropicbird, Brandt's Cormorant, Pelagic Cormorant, Double-crested Cormorant, American Bittern, Great Blue Heron, Green Heron, Trumpeter Swan, Canada Goose, Brant, Wood Duck, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Gadwall, American Wigeon, Northern Shoveler, Blue-winged Teal, Green-winged Teal, Lesser Scaup, Greater Scaup, Canvasback, Surf Scoter, Black Scoter, White-winged Scoter, Common Goldeneye, Barrow's Goldeneye, Bufflehead, Common Merganser, Red-breasted Merganser, Ruddy Duck, Hooded Merganser, Turkey Vulture, Northern Harrier, Cooper's Hawk, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Northern Goshawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Rough-legged Hawk, Osprey, Golden Eagle, Bald Eagle, American Kestrel, Merlin, Peregrine Falcon, Ring-necked Pheasant, Chukar, Ruffed Grouse, Wild Turkey, Northern Bobwhite,

A Cooper's Hawk exercises his wings in the PAWS Wildlife Center flight pen.

California Quail, Virginia Rail, Sora, American Coot, Killdeer, Spotted Sandpiper, Wilson's Snipe, Red-necked Phalarope, Mew Gull, Ring-billed Gull, California Gull, Herring Gull, Thayer's Gull, Glaucous-winged Gull, Western Gull, Caspian Tern, Common Murre, Marbled Murrelet, Ancient Murrelet, Cassin's Auklet, Rhinoceros Auklet, Tufted Puffin, Rock Pigeon, Band-tailed Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Ringed Turtle Dove, Barn Owl, Long-eared Owl, Short-eared Owl, Western Screech Owl, Great Horned Owl, Snowy Owl, Spotted Owl, Barred Owl, Northern Pygmy Owl, Burrowing Owl, Northern Saw-whet Owl, Common Nighthawk, Common Poorwill, Belted Kingfisher, Black Swift, Vaux's Swift, Anna's Hummingbird, Calliope Hummingbird, Rufous Hummingbird, Northern Flicker, Downy Woodpecker , Hairy Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Red-breasted Sapsucker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Willow Flycatcher, Western Kingbird, Hutton's Vireo, Warbling Vireo, Steller's Jay, Western Scrub Jay, Black-billed Magpie, American Crow, Common Raven, Tree Swallow, Violet-green Swallow, Bank Swallow, Barn Swallow, Cliff Swallow, Purple Martin, Black-capped Chickadee, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Bushtit, White-breasted Nuthatch, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Bewick's Wren, Winter Wren, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Western Bluebird, Townsend's Solitare, Varied Thrush, American Robin, Swainson's Thrush, Hermit Thrush, Cedar Waxwing, European Starling, Orange-crowned Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Wilson's Warbler, Western Tanager, Black-headed Grosbeak, Spotted Towhee, Chipping Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Fox Sparrow Song Sparrow, Lincoln's Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, White-crowned Sparrow, Golden-crowned Sparrow, Bullock's Oriole, Red-winged Blackbird, Brewer's Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, Red Crossbill, Evening Grosbeak, House Finch, Purple Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, American Goldfinch, Pine Siskin, House Sparrow

Mammals
White-tailed Deer, Black-tailed Deer, Mule Deer, Rocky Mountain Elk, Roosevelt Elk, Cougar, Bobcat, Striped Skunk, Short-tailed Weasel, Long-tailed Weasel, Mink, River Otter, Raccoon, Black Bear, Coyote, Red Fox, Harbor Seal, Northern Fur Seal, California Sea Lion, Dall's Porpoise, Mountain Beaver, Porcupine, Pacific Jumping Mouse, Deer Mouse, House Mouse, Norway Rat, Black Rat, Bushy-tailed Woodrat, Townsend's Vole, Muskrat, Beaver, Townsend's Chipmunk, Yellow-bellied Marmot, Hoary Marmot, Eastern Gray Squirrel, Fox Squirrel, Douglas Squirrel, Northern Flying Squirrel, Eastern Cottontail, Snowshoe Hare, White-tailed Jackrabbit, Big Brown Bat, Little Brown Bat, Silver-haired Bat, Long-eared Bat, Townsend's Mole, Shrew-mole, Masked Shrew, Virginia Opossum

Reptiles
Common Snapping Turtle, Spiny Softshell Turtle, Red-eared Slider, Western Painted Turtle, Gopher Tortoise, Box turtles (multiple species), Western Rattlesnake, Garter Snake (multiple subspecies), Black Rat Snake, Northern Alligator Lizard

Amphibians
Bullfrog, Pacific Tree Frog, Long-toed Salamander, Oregon Ensatina, Eastern Tiger Salamander

Crustaceans
Crayfish

Insects
Butterfly (I don't recall the species)

Wild animals released between March 9th and March 22nd, 2005:

2 Eastern Cottontails
1 Steller's Jay

31 wild animals have been released since the beginning of 2005.