IN THE PIPELINE:Wetlands center helps wildlife during ‘orphan season’

It is a postcard morning in Huntington Beach: bright yellow sunshine, salt-scented breezes, a few wispy clouds and deep blue waves studded with surfers. Here, where Pacific Coast Highway meets Newland Street, a brown pelican cruises by overhead, pumping silently along a warm breeze toward the wetlands. I wonder if the bird senses the trouble directly below — where fellow pelicans are fighting for their lives.

I had wanted to visit the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center to document some of the excellent work done there caring for injured and orphaned wildlife throughout Orange County. Tucked in the shadow of the twin power-plant smokestacks, it’s easy to miss the small structure as one drives the coast. What I hadn’t counted on was the recent severe outbreak of the toxin called domoic acid, a naturally occurring poison that is produced by microscopic algae in the ocean (the acid accumulates in fish and shellfish and is passed on to other animals as the fish are eaten). I watch as workers treat sick pelicans, feeding them, cleaning them, testing them and keeping them comfortable under soft blankets and warm lamps. With dozens of lifeless birds (including seagulls, loons and cormorants) washing up on shore every day now, it seems these are the lucky ones, because they have made it to this soothing sanctuary alive.

Lisa Birkle, the assistant wildlife director at the center, can’t recall a domoic acid outbreak this lethal, and she and her volunteer staff have been pushed to the limit. As to why it’s so bad this year, some scientists theorize that factors such as overfishing and pollution have allowed the suspect algae to thrive. Regardless, it is reaching crisis levels. This is on top of what center regulars call “orphan season,” the time of year right now when many animal moms are hit by cars, when babies fall from trees and other unfortunate circumstances happen that result in hundreds of orphaned baby animals. This is worst case on top of worst case. There’s also the regular flow of opossums, raccoons and ground squirrels to tend to.

Wandering through the small, clean facility, one feels like a doctor doing hospital bed checks. Tired, recuperating pelicans rest patiently and nod a bit as if to acknowledge you.

Outside, dozens of orphaned baby ducks swim together in pristine water and gather to nuzzle an old feather duster — their surrogate mommy. As they grow, they’ll graduate to bigger pools, they’ll be conditioned to eat properly as they would in the wild, and then they’ll be released — strong, healthy and eager to get back to their lakes and nests (though they will leave some broken hearts back at the center).

A huge mute swan shares an open space with both a pelican that’s nursing a broken wing and some adult ducks; in a nearby cage a group of feisty ground squirrels climb, crunch nuts and seem to be playing a form of “squirrel tag.” Several rows down, seven silent, curious raccoons spill out of their domed house to greet this visitor.

The sunshine and ocean air seem to add to the therapeutic nature of the center, and all of the animals out here appear to be thriving.

For more than 17 years, the center has cared for around 20,000 critters, thanks in large part to a seasoned volunteer staff, people like Lisa and Greg Hickman.

Hickman, the center manager, has a storied career of caring for wildlife. It goes back to the old Lion Country Safari in Irvine, then to Anaheim and eventually this renowned educator wound his way here to Huntington Beach in 1990. That was the year 400,000 gallons of Alaskan Crude spilled off the Surf City coast. A makeshift facility was set up here to tend to the many sick birds and then in 1998, the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center was officially christened.

The burly, affable Hickman doesn’t want to talk about the past, though. For him it’s the future that matters, and with good reason. This summer, adjacent to the center, their new animal hospital and interpretive center opens. In what will certainly become a much-visited place, the state-of-the-art facility will blend science, medicine, technology and public learning in a manner that’s unprecedented for the area. Hickman smiles as we tour the soon-to-open building, and he’s clear about what this center means, beyond functioning as a world-class hospital.

“We’ll take care of lots of wildlife here with some of the world’s best experts,” Hickman said. “But this is where generations of kids will learn why these things are so important. Hopefully, this will shape their view of nature now so that when they grow up they’ll be able to do the right things. We’ll have displays, incredible information, teaching areas — we’ll want people to come here as much as they’d like. And we can’t wait for the field trips.”

It’s clear that this center is destined to become one of our city’s most important centers.

Back at the old building, volunteers work calmly and carefully, feeding and washing sick pelicans while Lisa feeds an injured hummingbird. Out back, ducklings huddle around their momma feather duster and splash in the water. A volunteer on the phone advises a caller not to feed ducks in her pool or to pick up ducklings because mom might to abandon them. (The questions regarding how to deal with backyard wildlife are too numerous to cover here, but the center will be happy to help you.)

It’s business as usual at a place you might not have noticed before — a small shelter by the side of the road that’s full of big hearts; a place where orphans are mothered, the injured are mended and the sick are healed.

(See my visit to the center at www.hbindependent.com/ video.)