The eagle is being really good (knock on wood) about tolerating his wing wrap. Honestly, these two juvie eagles have immeasurably improved my opinion of eagles…the juvies, at least. Being so young, they haven’t had time to become quite so…ummm…eagle-like (ill-tempered, aggressive, unpredictable), and so they’ve actually been a bit endearing. Thanks to colleague Kathryn Dudeck for identifying last week’s “not red shoulder” as a juvie broadwing hawk. I so seldom see broadies that I just don’t recognize them; in fact, the last broadie at LWR was about 10 years ago, and I had to call on Kathryn and Steve for identification on that one, as well. Since I had broadies on the brain, this week’s only new intake looked slightly broadie-ish to me until he opened his beak and that definitive black tongue identified him as a juvie Mississippi kite (MIKI). And then he let loose with the signature MIKI “pip-pew” call…He refused to eat for two days, until I put his food in a dish; then he went to town on it. They can be strange little birds. The second-year red tail continues to heal from his coracoid fracture and should be ready to flight-test in a week or so; if he can fly well at that point, he’s good for release. The juvie red tail is getting quite food aggressive, and I did manage a couple of not-great shots of him mantling over his food. To hear him tell it, he’s starving to death. Hah! Not likely on a diet of 6 large mice a day! And the poor barnie desperately needs to be in a pen for flight conditioning and live prey testing before release, but both flights remain occupied. The anticipated transfer of the juvie red tail to colleague Steve Hicks, which would’ve freed up a flight for the barnie, has suffered weather delays: it’s been too hot and dry or too humid and rainy (or that lovely trifecta of too hot, humid, and rainy), so he hasn’t been able to properly prep a flight pen for the bird. We’re hoping maybe this week; we shall see…The barnie certainly hopes so, I’m sure!
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Mid-July means baby season is beginning to wind down—but we still have to get through August! This month also marks the overlap between late red shoulder nests and Mississippi kite (MIKI) nests, so when LWR received a call about a small hawk who was grounded in a less-than-safe location, it took actually seeing the bird to determine whether we had a MIKI or a red shoulder…and while I’m sure it’s not a MIKI, its silence makes me question my identification of the bird as a brancher red shoulder. I mean, red shoulders are notoriously mouthy and this fellow hasn’t uttered a peep…but he definitely knows how to eat! As colleague Steve Hicks is fond of saying, we know his last name is Hawk; we’re just not sure about his first name yet. The eagle went to Smalley’s for follow-up x-rays and for vet Peggy Hobby to wrap his wing to see if maybe it will heal with no lasting droop. We’re not sure. There’s clearly a fracture that shows no signs of healing after app. 3 weeks (the bird was admitted to UGA’s wildlife clinic on June 21 and came to LWR on July 4), but now the debate is whether it’s actually the furcula (clavicle) or scapula (shoulder blade) that’s broken. The fracture looks the same in UGA’s and Smalley’s x-rays, taken nearly 3 weeks apart, and an avian vet used by CNC has said both sets of rads are inconclusive. He could also have nerve or tendon damage that would prevent healing for flight. At any rate, he’s tolerating the wrap quite well, mainly, I suspect, because it relieves the pressure of that hanging wing. Now we wait and see… While I was at Smalley’s with the eagle, an injured barred owl was brought in. X-rays showed a fractured ulna, which had knocked the radius out of joint. Given that the damage was quite literally right at the elbow joint, Peggy and I agreed the chance of the fracture healing for flight was nonexistent and that euthanasia was the kindest option. After finding a couple of feathers in the sharpie’s box, I decided he needed release ASAP to avoid feather picking or other damage that would keep him in rehab longer than necessary. Sharpies are accipiters, which means they’re high-strung, stressy little raptors and release as soon as practical is best for them. He shot out of the box before I could hit record and disappeared straight into the thick woods, so I’d say he was quite ready to skedaddle! The barnie needs to be flight conditioned so she can leave, as well. The juvie red tail remains in the mini-pen and can locate his food no matter where it’s hidden—precursor to passing a live prey test. He’s also started mantling over his food: turning his back to me and defensively spreading his wings over his food. I tried all last week to snag a photo of that, with no luck. Maybe this week… And the second-year red tail continues to recover from his coracoid fracture. In another week or so he should be good to flight-test.
And fittingly enough, the new eagle came in on July 4… Obviously, eagles always lead, so let’s start with the new one, the third this year. On July 3, DNR Head Biologist Bob Sargent called to ask if I could take a juvenile eagle UGA’s veterinary school had been holding since June 21. I’d need to hold it till colleague Kathryn Dudeck at Chattahoochee Nature Center has room for it…which she won’t till the eagle I just sent her passes a live prey test and is sent back to LWR for release. So we’re talking a month, minimum. I told Bob I could take it but would, of course, need FWS authorization, so he reached out to the feds, who granted authorization for me to hold the eagle for 30 days.** We then set about arranging transfer from UGA to LWR, and the staff at the vet school found transport for July 4. The folks at UGA had told Bob the bird had a right wing droop; their paperwork accompanying the bird indicated a non-displaced furcula (wishbone, clavicle) fracture. Upon release into the main flight at LWR, he stepped all over the wing, fell on his back and couldn’t get up, and couldn’t jump three feet to reach a perch. He also had mites, which I hate worse than flat flies (if you’re not familiar with either, look ‘em up; discussing them would take too long and besides, just thinking about mites makes me itchy). I rigged steps up to the perches at each end of the flight and as soon as the eagle had figured them out—didn’t take long—I treated him for the mites. I’ll re-treat in a few days, just to make sure we got ‘em all, the nasty little things. I also alerted Bob to the severity of the wing droop and have had several text and phone conversations with Kathryn about the situation. Quite frankly, neither of us is real hopeful this is going to heal for flight, and the severity of the droop pretty much precludes his use as an ed bird because no raptor educator wants a “pity bird”—one whose injuries are so obvious that they inspire pity rather than interest in learning about raptors. We’ll see, though. Time will tell… Meanwhile, he’s eating well and has mastered the steps up to the perches, so maybe his wing feathers won’t get too much further trashed from dragging the ground. Of course, to make room for the eagle, I had to release the great horned. I would’ve preferred another week or so for him to remain in the flight but he was getting antsy and quite aggressive, so release was best anyway. I didn’t manage photos or video of the release; the little snot lunged out of the box, turned on me and tried to foot my shin, then flew off. I did manage a few photos of him in the main flight pre-release, though. On July 3, a second-year red tail and a juvie sharpie, both also from UGA, arrived at LWR. The red tail is recovering from a coracoid fracture; he’s aggressive, alert, inhales his food and is, of course, gorgeous, as is every red tail. The sharpie (sharp-shinned hawk] was mistakenly identified as a Coop, but his diminutive size made it obvious as soon as I opened his box that he was a feisty little sharpie. Based on the UGA paperwork, I’d say he just had a concussion. He’s also inhaling food and glaring at me nonstop…Sharpies are kinda like the screeches of the hawk world—much bigger in their own minds than they are in reality. The first year red tail continues to mature beautifully; colleague Steve Hicks and I are discussing the possibility of transferring him to Steve to be housed with a red tail who’d suffered methane burns to his feathers and was transferred from CNC to Steve for long-term care till he molts and regrows the damaged feathers. And the barnie is ready for a flight pen but at the moment, both of mine are occupied…My goal this fall/winter is to renovate and repair my old songbird flight to make it a third raptor flight. That will ease space issues considerably. **For those who’re wondering, a separate permit is required to rehab eagles. Due to space considerations (I’m unwilling to give up my hay field to build an eagle flight; my cousins need the hay for their cows), I don’t have an eagle permit, hence the need for FWS approval to keep one long-term.
Late last week, the eagle wended his way to Chattahoochee Nature Center, courtesy of Beth Thomson of Blue Ridge Raptors, who’d come to retrieve her screech as soon as the federal paperwork was approved for his use as an ed bird. Yay on both counts!
The eagle almost immediately showed his stuff at CNC, according to colleague Kathryn Dudeck, who reported that he hopped from the ground to a four-foot-high perch and then to a ten-foot-high one; within a couple of hours in the larger flight, he’d flown the full length of that flight. There were some excited rehabbers, from CNC all the way south to LWR, at that news! Below are some photos and videos I took before he left LWR and some photos Beth and Kathryn sent from CNC. At LWR:
At CNC:
The screech, once he’s acclimated to his new digs, will be trained to the glove and other behaviors needed for educational purposes. Beth kindly sent some photos of him once she’d arrived home with him. He’s got the Ritz of raptor accommodations with Beth!
The red tail remains in the mini-pen and is utterly gorgeous and a little goofy.
After the eagle’s transfer and some clean-up in the main flight, the great horned owl was moved into it. This morning he was on the perch above the door but flew to the ground when I walked in. Yesterday he got his first experience of rain, which we sorely needed. He, however, was not amused…
That leaves the barnie inside, waiting her turn in the flight.
Sadly, the barbed wire screech required euthanasia; the soft tissue damage to his wing was causing it to droop badly. I suspect a tendon or ligament had been torn by the barbs or by his struggles to free himself.
A first-year red tail who came in last week also required euthanasia after x-rays at Smalley’s revealed his femur was basically shattered.
Hope y’all all enjoy your Fourth celebrations this week!
There were no real changes at LWR last week: no new intakes, and all the birds currently under care were just hanging out and maturing, awaiting transfer, or healing, as the case might be for each.
The fledgling bald eagle continues to do well with his flight and yes, perhaps I *did* go a bit wild with slow-mo videos of him in flight but dang, that’s a gorgeous fellow in motion.
The red tail is “branching” now and needs to be in a flight, so the great horned may end up coming back inside to allow the red tail access to the mini-pen. Actually, because we have three birds who need flight time and only one pen available for use at the moment (the eagle is in the main flight, remember), we may end up playing “musical birds” with the mini-pen and rotating the birds in and out weekly. That way everybody gets a chance to stretch their wings at least every third week…
Same applies to the barnie, so we’ll see how the musical raptors approach goes for these birds.
The great horned doesn’t really seem to care where he is as long as the food keeps comin’, so inside or out, I don’t think he’ll care just yet.
The barbed wire screech is still stuck in “Dracula mode.” I lucked up last week and caught him in a different pose, but this week we’re back to variations on a theme.
And the screech awaiting FWS approval for transfer hopped on the “variations on a theme” bandwagon, except his thematic variation is now the “I’m a big, bad, threatening killing machine.” Yeah, we’re all terrified…Although I willingly admit if screeches were as big as they think they are, I’d never go outside at night—they’re actually fierce little things!
There will be no update next week, June 23.
First off, the barreds FINALLY got their long-awaited release! Neither hung around within range for post-release photos, but the video turned out pretty decent.
Given the difficulty of finding space for the eagle at the moment, FWS approved his remaining at LWR for another month. Meanwhile, he had a major milestone last week, as he started flying from perch to perch consistently. Previously, he was over- or under-shooting the mark; now he’s nailing it every time, and it’s utterly gorgeous to see. And I managed to capture it on video twice last week for your viewing pleasure…
The red tail is starting to jump-flap some, and it took several tries to manage a video of that, but I finally timed it just right. She’s growing so fast!
With the barreds released, the great horned moved into the mini-pen and seems quite happy in his new digs.
The barnie was NOT happy that her box was cleaned out, and she let the world know it. Fortunately, I learned long ago to wear earplugs when handling barnies inside; they scream their outrage, the sound reverberates in a closed space and without hearing protection, it honestly feels like your brain is going to liquefy and pour out your ears…
The nonreleasable screech still awaits FWS approval for transfer to Blue Ridge Raptors.
The barbed wire screech is still refusing to use his wing, so it’s not looking promising for an eventual release for him.
And finally, although this isn’t wildlife rehab, it’s still neat. On Saturday, June 8, the sun had a halo around it for several hours—not something I remember seeing before, and it was actually my nephew who alerted me to it. It appears this is caused by the sun’s reflection off high altitude ice crystals in thin cirrus clouds. It was too interesting not to share!
And I’m not really complaining, because LWR is pretty much at capacity at the moment, with the eagle, great horned, red tail, two screeches, two barreds and a barnie. The red tail is growing like a weed and feathering out beautifully. She’s just a gorgeous bird already and will be breathtaking once all her feathers are in. We’ll be making a decision on transfer or release for the eagle this week. I’m pushing strongly for transfer for further conditioning and live prey testing but will do whatever the folks who issue my permits say. He’s definitely getting antsier and less willing to share space with me even to have me place his food in the flight. The barred twins are *thisclose* to release and it may even be by the end of the week; we’ll see… The great horned really needs to be in a flight; baby season necessitates delays because as multiple birds of different species mature at about the same time, flight pen space is at a premium. We’re workin’ on it. The barnie is now more feathers than fluff—what a change in just a week! She’s a gorgeous gal and eats voraciously. The barbed wire screech is stuck in Dracula imitation mode… And the screech awaiting FWS approval for transfer to Blue Ridge Raptors has exited Dracula imitation mode and is in full-blown “See how big and bad I am?” mode. Gotta love screeches!
That’s a “collection” of owl species known to breed in Georgia: barred, screech, great horned, and barn. According to DNR other species—long-eared, short-eared, burrowing and saw-whet— have been documented in the state but no known nests have been located. Last week the final owl for LWR’s “collection” came in, a brancher barnie. The finder knew where the nest was but couldn’t reach it, as it was app. 75 feet up in a tree, where she said they’d nested on her property for years. As long as this young one is fed and left alone, it’s fine. Spend too much time admiring its beauty, however, and it begins classic barnie hissing—a warning best to be heeded if one doesn’t want the full-blown, eardrum-shattering barnie scream to follow. And rest assured, we WILL get that screaming this week when he’s moved into a new box… The eagle continues to do well and is perching higher now, so that’s good news. His follow-up x-rays at Smalley’s were clear, and he has no abnormal parasite loads. He has two new perches arranged at opposite ends of the main flight, and the plan is to encourage him to fly from one to the other for limited flight conditioning. Thus far DNR and FWS seem pleased with his progress—they get weekly updates. The nestling red tail slightly more than tripled her body weight in her first 14 days at LWR: from 350g on intake May 10 to 1060g on May 24. She’s feathering out nicely and is figuring out what those gunboats she calls feet are for, which is hysterical to watch. She outgrew her small mirror and yet another box and has larger digs and a new, larger mirror. Currently her wings are only good for maintaining balance as she clomps around her box, but it won’t be long before she figures out what they’re for, too! The great horned still needs to be outside but is on hold till the eagle is sorted. If the barred twins continue to progress at their current rate, however, they might be releasable soon, and then he can at least go in the mini-pen. The screeches continue to be melodramatic. The barbed wire screech is still reluctant to use his wing for anything aside from the classic Dracula move, seen below. The screech awaiting FWS approval for transfer to Blue Ridge Raptors now prefers to glare and beak-click. Two additional intakes last week didn’t survive. A nestling barred owl was left on the ground for three days before the finders called a neighbor, who retrieved the bird and brought it to LWR. The poor baby was emaciated, dehydrated and suffering from flystrike—when flies lay eggs on living creatures, eggs that hatch into maggots that begin to feed on the live animal. The rescuing neighbor had tried to clean a few off, but when the poor baby arrived at LWR, the eggs and maggots were covering the chest and belly, wings—well, basically everywhere. The little one noticeably weakened as I was cleaning the eggs and maggots off and was reluctant to eat. It died within an hour of intake. The second intake that didn’t make it was an adult great horned, found at the entrance to a subdivision. Both wings had open fractures, so the suffering bird was humanely euthanized. The photos of his injuries were taken after euthanasia, as ending his suffering was the priority on intake.
It was an unusually busy week, not due to intakes—there were no new intakes—but because of contacting and coordinating with DNR, FWS, transporters, and colleagues regarding the fledgling eagle. FWS granted permission to hold the eagle for another couple of weeks, as needed, depending on his progress. DNR had already indicated this was their preference, pending FWS approval. Colleagues had to be notified and new contacts consulted. More food had to be ordered… And God love my transporters, who were basically on standby until we got all our I’s dotted and T’s crossed and determined they weren’t required just yet. So the eagle fledgling needs to gain a bit more weight before he’s considered releasable. He also will have a follow-up vet visit this week, per FWS request. He needs to also attempt higher perches and may still need transfer for flight conditioning if he makes no attempt to reach those higher perches. Thus far he’s mainly been interested in staying very close to his food, so we’re basically playing his game by his rules right now. So…I guess…stay tuned for further developments! The nestling red tail is growing like a weed, more than doubling her (yeah, with those gunboats for feet, I’m pretty sure we have a female) weight since intake: from 350g on May 10 to 860g this morning. She’s alert, vocal, eats like there’s no tomorrow, and loves her “companion” mirror, cuddling next to it to sleep and sitting opposite it to eat. And, of course, she’s immensely photogenic… The barred twins remain in the mini-pen and will likely be there for another few weeks. The great horned really needs to be in the main flight but will have to remain inside till the eagle is released—which is DNR’s goal, by the way: to release him locally. The barbed wire screech is healing nicely but not wanting to use his wing, so there may be soft tissue damage. We’ll give him more time; it’s only been a week. And we’re still in hurry-up-and-wait mode on the screech headed to Blue Ridge Raptors to begin his new life as an ed bird.
Yup, the second bald eagle of 2024 came into LWR last week. This guy’s a fledgling, a little thin at 3.14kg/6.9lbs. DNR and FWS agreed that rather than move him from pillar to post, he could remain at LWR while boots on the ground in the area looked to see if a previously undocumented nest might be found—the only documented nest is apparently some 20-30 miles from where he was picked up. If no nest can be located to place him near his parents, he’ll go to colleague Kathryn Dudeck at Chattahoochee Nature Center. She and I are hopeful he can be reunited with his parents and sibling(s) but it’s looking less and less likely this will happen. Meanwhile, he’s eating well at LWR, making up for meals lost when he was somehow separated from his parents. When he was at Smalley’s Animal Hospital for x-rays and a general physical exam, we all were amused because he’s young enough to give outraged juvie chirps at being handled—never had a baldie who vocalized before, so that was interesting. He stayed inside for a couple of days; we had rough weather on tap for basically the entire state for several days after he came in. As soon as it was clear, he was moved into the main flight, where he seems quite content to hang out and receive regular meals while we wait to see if he’ll be reunited or transferred. And perhaps I overdid the photos of the big young feller, but dang it, he’s actually almost cute… Shortly after his arrival LWR received a text out of the blue from a person who sent numerous photos of a nestling hawk with no explanatory info. I immediately called to get more info and see if the baby could be reunited with its parents. This person claimed to’ve had the baby for TWO WEEKS, asserting that they’d raised numerous birds previously. The person was at a relative’s graduation when they sent the photos and assured me the bird would be at LWR the next morning. They had second thoughts and brought the baby that evening, proceeding again to tell me about their previous illegal bird raising and asking how to become a rehabber. I explained the procedure and answered their questions about the birds I currently had in rehab. During this discussion, they handed me a baggie with what appeared to be a small amount of dried gray pocket lint and said the baby had “thrown it up” and they were unsure if it was normal. Aha! THAT is most likely the reason they even attempted to find a rehabber—they were unfamiliar with raptors casting pellets…and that poor, withered excuse for a pellet was indeed worrisome to me. Oh, but the best is yet to come… Said lawbreaker then texted me after they’d left, asking if I had CashApp for a donation “when they got paid” (if I had one measly dollar for every time I’ve heard THAT line, LWR would be almost totally self-funded) and asking for regular updates on the bird. After I’d stopped steaming, I replied with a negative on both accounts and was then treated to an unhinged text rant about how they KNEW they made a mistake leaving the bird with me (like they had a choice; I’d’ve sicced DNR and FWS on their butt so fast it woulda made their head spin, and the authorities don’t play around when it comes to raptors.), I had no people skills (DUH. There’s a reason I work with animals and not people, sweetie.), and would I PLEASE make sure that baby lived (As long as your arrogant stupidity didn’t irreversibly damage him, he should be fine.)…I ended up blocking the number so I have no clue how long this went on after the first two messages. Y’all…I may utterly despise the person who brings me a bird but that bird will NEVER suffer at my hands just because its finders are entitled, arrogant jackasses who think they can break the law with impunity, endanger the health and welfare of a protected species, and then get offended because I don’t pat their heads, tell them “good boy/girl” for their lawbreaking, and offer a tour of the LWR grounds (which is strictly prohibited by the terms of my permits) to reward their asininity. And now for photos of the subject of the rant…He appears to be a nestling red tail who still, as of this evening, has his egg tooth, so he’s actually only about 10 days old, giving lie to his having been in the person’s illegal possession for two weeks unless they found and hatched an unnested egg… ANYway, enjoy his glorious little downy gorgeousness! The same day the red tail nestling came in, a young couple provided an example of how to do things right. They were driving and saw what they initially thought was a quail hung on a barbed-wire fence. Upon stopping to release it, they realized it was, in fact, a screech. With their priorities firmly in place, they first gently removed the bird from the fence, secured it in their vehicle, and sought out a rehabber. LWR was the closest, so even though it meant nearly a two-hour drive for them, they proceeded to bring the injured screech to LWR that very evening. They were also interested in the process to become a rehabber, so I gave them the same information I’d given the unhinged lawbreaker earlier. Oddly enough, not only were they not “offended,” when they found out they’d need flight pens they asked intelligent questions about the general setup of a flight. Guess one’s level of “offense” depends on whether one has broken the law or, as this couple had done, proceeded to put the welfare of the bird above their own egos. So yes, should this young couple decide to seek their rehab permits, I’d be willing to aid them where I could. Nothing feels broken but that’s a nasty puncture wound. He’s on antibiotics, as the couple indicated the barbed wire was rusty. Meanwhile, the barred twins are in the mini-pen, where they delight in threatening me with fearsome displays of beak clicking while glaring daggers at me. The great horned, bless his heart, is stuck inside till the eagle is moved, not that he seems to care right now, as long as the “buffet” remains endless. And we’re still in “hurry up and wait” mode on the screech awaiting transfer to become an ed bird.
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