SYCAMORE – For Oaken Acres Wildlife Center founder and President Kathy Stelford and her staff, spring is a time for several hundred new beginnings.

Also known as “baby season” at Oaken Acres, 12140 Aldrich Road outside Sycamore, spring is the busiest time of year at the center. Several baby squirrels, raccoons and birds are just some of the animals Oaken Acres fosters during this time.

“They’re a challenge,” said Stelford, who founded the wildlife center in 1984. “But boy, does it feel good when you take one that came in at two inches, and 14 to 18 weeks later you’re watching it climb a tree.”