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A pigeon named Jonas, rescued from the blizzard of 2016 February 20, 2016

As winter winds blew into the Mid-Atlantic at the end of January, burying Philadelphia in more than 20 inches so snow, the wildlife clinic at the Schuylkill Center was opening and hard at work. With animals to care for, the clinic seldom closes and this storm was no exception � Wildlife Clinic Director Rick Schubert stayed at the clinic for the duration of the storm. As the city shut down, Rick prepared for the coming blizzard.

During the height of the blizzard, one baby pigeon was blown from his nest on Shurs Lane. A dedicated Manayunk resident found him in the street on Saturday, January 23, as the snow was pouring down, but was unable to get him to the clinic during the storm. Two days later, when the roads were clear, this resident made his way to the Schuylkill Center clinic, bringing the young pigeon. At the clinic, the pigeon was immediately named Jonas, after the storm.

Pigeons have a strong urge to snuggle up to their nest mates, so Jonas alone in his cage at the clinic, was given a mirror. Indeed, he snuggled right up to his own reflection. Happily, another pigeon soon arrived and Jonas now shares a cage with that pigeon who is acting as a surrogate parent. Jonas is recovering well and Schubert expects to release him in March.