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Got critter questions? The wildlife expert is in.

Print | Comments () Posted by Beth Daley January 12, 2009 01:56 PM

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By Beth Daley, Globe Staff

What should you do with a bat in your bathroom? Is it okay to leave rice crispy treats in a birdfeeder? For more than two decades, Massachusetts Audubon has sponsored a wildlife hotline for members of the public at 781-259-2150 to promote better wildlife/human interactions. Some 5,000-6,000 calls come in every year. Naturalist Linda Cocca, who has been manning the phone for about 20 years, recently took a break to answer some questions from the Globe.

Linda Cocca (photo by Jan Kruse)

GLOBE: What are the most common questions you get? How about this time of year? In the summer?

COCCA: In the spring and summer it's: I found a baby bird and birds nesting in dryer vents, in plants or on porches, also calls on how to protect gardens from woodchucks and rabbits. In the fall it's what can I do about the woodpecker that's drilling holes in my house? In the winter, many calls are from people who have sighted small flocks of American Robins or Eastern Bluebirds, or currently, a Bald Eagle. (Or there are) questions about the sighting of hundreds of crows seen at sunset heading in the same direction and many questions on how to feed birds and discourage squirrels.
Each season, Mass Audubon posts the most frequently asked questions on our website at www.massaudubon.org/wildlife. There, people can also read articles about behavior of different animal and submit an online question for Ask the Wildlife Expert.

GLOBE: I know that Mass Audubon is happy to answer all questions – no matter how unusual. But we can’t help but ask: What are some of the oddest calls you’ve gotten?
COCCA: Here are a few:
* A lady called because she had lured a male, wild turkey into her kitchen a few weeks earlier to feed it and now it was bringing other turkeys with it but she only wanted one!
* A woman called because there was an owl on the railing of her 3rd floor balcony and she thought it was frightened because it was up so high.
* A man asked if he scattered his dog's ashes in the woods where his dog liked to walk, would the birds eat the ashes?

GLOBE: How did you get started in your job?
COCCA: I was shopping in the Audubon Shop at Drumlin Farm in Lincoln 20 years ago, when I saw a “Help Wanted” sign on the check-out counter and applied. What I have learned, and continue to learn, about wildlife and the natural world makes my job incredibly interesting. I am a student and a teacher each and every day.

GLOBE: Did you ever get a question you couldn't answer?
I’m sure I did early on, but I couldn’t tell you what those questions were. I do know that I occasionally get questions that there are no answers to! Sometimes I get questions like how many robins are there in the U.S. or people will call and ask, for example, if birds will eat rice crispy treats or French fries. Well, this has never been studied or researched or tried. So I have to make a judgment call if a something would be good for a bird.

GLOBE: What is your favorite wildlife/human interaction story?
COCCA: Years ago I got a call from a woman living in an East Boston triple decker and she had a four-year-old son who said to her at breakfast he had an owl in the room. She thought it was an “unseen friend” and a few other times that day he talked about it. The next morning she went out to get him dressed and he said “mom there is my owl” and standing on the dress a saw-whet owl and she started to scream but then realized it was only 8 inches high. I gave her the name of the state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife who at that time would pick up something like that.
But she was just so thrilled. Here was a woman who never even paid attention to (wildlife) who found this little thing. Her attitude was great and she was one of the funniest people I have ever met.
It really was a life-changing event for her. I think she’ll be aware of nature in a way that she never was before.