• These North State volunteers rescue at least 800 orphaned and injured animals each year
• Shasta Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation offers annual tours before it’s inundated with animals

Shasta Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation volunteers are about to host their annual open house/baby shower in Anderson before spending April through September caring for orphaned and injured animals.

The most needed gift on the registry: Toilet paper. It makes nifty disposable bird “diapers” — disposable paper “nests” tucked in plastic margarine bowls. Baby birds eat every 10-15 minutes during daylight hours, so volunteers use a lot of toilet paper, organization spokeswoman Karlene Stoker said.

Each year, wildlife rescue volunteers care for more than 800 baby songbirds, raptors (eagles, hawks and owls), foxes, rabbits, hares, raccoons and other creatures who are orphaned or injured by dogs, cats, people or cars, said Stoker, who’s cares for small mammals. Stoker bottle or pipette feeds orphaned squirrels, opossum and other babies and then releases them into the wild when they’re able to care for themselves.

If a baby animal can squeeze its head through a cage hole, “the rest of the body can follow,” Stoker said, pointing to tiny animal carriers stowed in her truck.

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In April, before songbirds hatch, volunteers host the family-friendly open house/baby shower at the rescue’s Anderson River Park facility at 3752 Rupert Road in Anderson.

From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 6, guests can make backyard bird feeders, meet animal book publishers and go wild with animal face painting. The first 75 children receive a gift.

Guests also meet “wildlife ambassadors”: Disabled animals who couldn’t be released. Handlers will explain how they hunt, fly and other facts.

Early April is the only time people can tour the center. After that, mating seasons start and the center fills with infants who can’t be disturbed, Stoker said.

Admission to the event is free. Volunteers request shower gifts to help stock the center, in the form of cash donations, paper towels, unscented laundry soap, Dawn dish-washing liquid ― and toilet paper.

For a needs list, call 530-917-0930.

Jessica Skropanic is a features reporter for the Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. She covers science, arts, social issues and news stories. Follow her on Twitter@RS_JSkropanic and onFacebook. Join Jessica in the Get Out! Nor Cal recreation Facebook group. To support and sustain this work,please subscribe today. Thank you.