((PKG)) URBAN WILDLIFE   
((TRT: 07:30)) 
((Topic Banner: Urban Wildlife))  
((Reporter/Camera: Jeff Swicord)) 
((Map: Washington, D.C.))    
((Main characters: 3 Female))  
((MUSIC/NATS)) 
((Text on screen: 
The non-profit City Wildlife runs several programs to protect 
wildlife in Washington DC))
     ((Lisbeth Fuisz, Lights Out DC, City Wildlife))
I got interested in wildlife because I grew up in a household 
full of animals.  
((Text on screen: 
LIGHTS OUT DC))  
((Lisbeth Fuisz, Lights Out DC, City Wildlife))
My father was a veterinarian. We did a lot of birding as a 
family and camping.  
((NATS/MUSIC)) 
((Lisbeth Fuisz, Lights Out DC, City Wildlife))
What Lights Out DC does, we are looking for birds that have 
collided with windows. The birds that we find are typically 
neo-tropical migrants.  
((Lisbeth Fuisz, Lights Out DC, City Wildlife))
They winter over in the Caribbean, Central America and 
South America. And then, in the spring, they are flying North 
to there where they breed. The birds are migrating at night. 
The light is distracting to them. It draws them into the glass.
((NATS)) 
((Lisbeth Fuisz, Lights Out DC, City Wildlife))
So, this is a building that we were finding a significant 
number of birds colliding with the glass. And we talked to the 
building managers and they agreed to dim certain lights. And 
we noticed last fall, we didnÕt monitor for the whole year last 
year because the pandemic, but in the fall, there was a 
significant reduction at this building because they had turned 
off the lights, we found less birds.  
((NATS)) 
((Lisbeth Fuisz, Lights Out DC, City Wildlife))
When we find a dead bird, we want to be sure to document 
what we can about it.  
You can see it is bleeding from its beak. 
((Lisbeth Fuisz, Lights Out DC, City Wildlife))
Obviously the date, the time in the morning we found it, 
something about the location, particularly of the bird.  
((NATS)) 
((Lisbeth Fuisz, Lights Out DC, City Wildlife))
     ItÕs the state bird of D.C. 
Because usually itÕs a particular piece of glass or part of the 
building that is problematic to birds.   
((NATS)) 
((Lisbeth Fuisz, Lights Out DC, City Wildlife)) 
Okay, can I grab yourÉ 
((Lisbeth Fuisz, Lights Out DC, City Wildlife)) 
And then we record all this information to use for advocacy 
purposes. 
So, if it is injured, if it is stunned, if itÕs hit the glass, then we 
transport the bird to City Wildlife where there is a veterinarian who 
examines the bird.   
((NATS/MUSIC)) 
((Lisbeth Fuisz, Lights Out DC, City Wildlife)) 
Since 1970, we have lost a huge number of birds in North and 
South America. So, we are really trying to sort of work with people 
to change patterns of building, to have them turn off their lights at 
night, to treat the windows. ThereÕs ways that you can mitigate. 
You can make glass visible to birds. So, there is a whole range of 
things that we can do to solve this problem. 
((NATS/MUSIC)) 
((Text on screen: 
CITY WILDLIFE))  
((Cheryl Chooljian, Clinic Director, City Wildlife)) 
IÕve always been interested in helping animals since I was very 
young.   
((NATS)) 
((Cheryl Chooljian, Clinic Director, City Wildlife)) 
Yeah, itÕs bad. IÕm sorry little buddy. 
Being a wildlife veterinarian in particular allows me to help 
conservation efforts and preserving natural wildlife that we have 
here in the District.    
((NATS/MUSIC)) 
((Cheryl Chooljian, Clinic Director, City Wildlife)) 
We currently have 96 patients. Fortunately, most of our problems 
that we see are directly human-related. We do see a lot of trauma 
cases, hit by cars, birds that have flown into windows, attacks by 
domestic animals, cats, dogs. 
You can see around the edges of her shell right here where itÕs 
really irregular. Those are dog bite injuries.   
((NATS/MUSIC)) 
((Cheryl Chooljian, Clinic Director, City Wildlife)) 
We also do see toxicities, lead. The pigeon that we are treating 
for lead toxicity, the pigeon came in not able to walk, definitely not 
able to fly. Took some x-rays, didnÕt see any evidence of broken 
bones or any other injuries. 
So, we took some blood, did a test for lead and came back 
extremely toxic dose. Treated for chelation therapy. The bird can 
now walk, still a little bit wobbly, and can fly, which is an incredible 
improvement over when he first came in.   
I think restricting access to pesticides is a big step that we need to 
start taking. Less of these toxic products in the environment would 
be a good next step. 
((MUSIC/NATS)) 
((Text on screen: 
DUCK WATCH))  
((April Linton, Duck Watch, City Wildlife)) 
IÕve always been interested in ducks. My mother would take me to 
a lagoon to visit ducks and geese and swans when I was little. 
Duck Watch is one of City WildlifeÕs community programs. And 
our main purpose is to facilitate our urban waterfowlÕs natural 
behavior. 
((MUSIC/NATS)) 
((April Linton, Duck Watch, City Wildlife)) 
For instance, we escort mama ducks and their ducklings from 
their urban nesting sites to water. The duck doesnÕt see urban 
and rural. The duck sees habitat and here in D.C., we have a lot 
of it. We have landscaping. We have lots of planting around the 
city. 
((MUSIC/NATS)) 
((April Linton, Duck Watch, City Wildlife)) 
When we see a nest or somebody alerts us of a nest, we first 
assign a volunteer to just take a look. When it gets close to 
hatching time, they can be around to provide an escort, which just 
means walking behind or to the side of the ducks, stopping traffic, 
maybe helping the ducks get up curb. 
We want to build a community of people who know how to 
appropriately interact or not interact with the wildlife.   
((NATS)) 
((Cheryl Chooljian, Clinic Director, City Wildlife)) 
She is brooding her ducklings. They have been swimming and 
she probably brought them up that ramp right there and now she 
wants to get them dry and warm. She also has a brood patch from 
when she was nesting. And so, she can generate quite a bit of 
heat and make like a little warm-up space for them.   
((NATS)) 
((April Linton, Duck Watch, City Wildlife))  
Ducks are very charismatic animals and people think they are 
cute. They like to watch them. They like to take their children to 
watch them. And we think that by providing a little more education 
about what the ducks are doing, people will enjoy their bird 
watching experience more. And I think it will also translate to the 
way they look at other wildlife and the way they see the, you 
know, abundant wildlife that actually share the city with us.    
((NATS/MUSIC))