For the second year in a row, Middle Georgia got snow—and pretty close to the same time as last year, although nowhere near the impressive five inches we got last year. This was just a dusting and has already begun to melt. Still…snow two years in a row?! (Hush up, y’all from Parts North; snow is a much-enjoyed rarity here!)

Okay, enough gushing about our tiny bit of snow and on to last week’s goings-on at LWR…

First, the female screech regained her freedom. She was quite ready to go, obviously!

This meant the little male screech could be moved into the mini-pen. He’s flying well already, so he’ll most likely regain his freedom this week.

The barnie is ready to go, as well; he may also be released this week or next. We’ll see…

And with no new intakes last week, that’s our update, y’all. Stay warm!

The header pretty much sums up that situation. While it was clear throughout the week, we had windy conditions—not breezy, pure-out windy—and while I’ll release when it’s breezy, I’m not releasing anything as small as a screech when the wind is strong enough to rock my front porch swing like someone’s in it “just a-swanging.” (John Anderson reference, for those unfamiliar with country music when it was actually country.)

So screech 1 is still in the mini-pen. While her right eye still has lingering blood, it’s slowly being reabsorbed, and the pupil is near-equal in size to the left one, so if the wind will quit trying to blow us off the map, she should be good to go this week.

Screech 2’s left eye looks good when he has it open…which is anytime I’m not near him with a camera. Apparently there’s still some light sensitivity.  We’ll give him a while longer inside.

The sole new intake last week was a barred owl found in the road in Dodge County. The plan was to get x-rays of a suspected wrist fracture the next day, but there were apparently also internal injuries, as the poor bird didn’t survive the night.

And the barnie remains silent and aloof, toe dusting like a pro every time I go into the flight to feed him. I may have a release plan formulating for him; not gonna elaborate till I get the details ironed out.

After a week of March in January (warm and windy), we’re now returning to January in January for the upcoming week. From short sleeves to sweatshirts overnight...If we humans are confused, just imagine how the poor wildlife feels!

The first LWR intake of 2026 was… a barred owl, on New Year’s Day. No surprise there, really, as barreds tend to be the most commonly seen bird at LWR. He was found either in Screven or Jenkins County; the finders weren’t sure, as they were on the road between the two adjacent counties.

Unfortunately, his right wrist was broken beyond repair, so he was humanely euthanized.

I do, however, want to take a moment to address the safe handling and transport of ANY wildlife but especially raptors. This bird was transported to me cradled in the finder’s arms. Barehanded. No shirt, jacket, or anything else restraining the bird. And when I reached my gloved hands in to take the bird from the finder, the person insisted on cooing over and stroking the bird before and during handing him over, resulting in them getting a talon in the wrist. They were lucky it was just one talon and not very deep.

Y’all, always, ALWAYS be aware that any injured wildlife may be in shock when you pick it up, but as you drive down the road, the shock may begin to wear off and that “sweet, docile” critter you wrangled barehanded from the side of the road can turn into a Tasmanian devil at the flip of a switch. The result may be an angry hawk or owl flapping around in panic in your vehicle, putting you at risk of a wreck. Or you could just get good and footed, with all the bird’s talons sunk into your wrist, face, or thigh. You could get nasty, oily, smelly owl stress poop all over your clothes. In the case of small mammals, you could get bitten—and in the case of a rabies vector like a coon, then your troubles have just begun.

Bottom line: SAFELY restrain ANY and ALL injured wildlife you pick up or transport. If you don’t have a box or crate handy, “burrito” it in a shirt, jacket, or blanket. (And everybody, even here in the South, should keep a spare blanket or two in their vehicle, in case you break down somewhere and need it to keep warm while waiting for assistance.) Rehabbers understand that you’re excited to have found and rescued injured wildlife, but don’t let that excitement send your common sense right out the window and end up injured yourself.

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming…

The second and third birds of the year both came in January 2. Both were screeches, both gray phase.

The first screech had been hit the previous night in Telfair County by the rescuer, who was distraught, as she didn’t see him coming from the side of the road until he whacked her bumper. Again, unfortunately, his injury was fatal; his left wing was broken at the shoulder. He also required humane euthanasia.

The second screech was found in the road in Johnson County. Aside from some blood in his left eye, he seems to be uninjured—no fractures, but there could still be soft tissue damage. We’ll have to wait till he’s placed in a flight to determine that.

And of course, the female screech from last week’s update is in the mini-pen at the moment. She still has a bit of blood in her eye and the pupil is still a bit dilated, but she’s antsy, flying well, and eating well, so if the weather holds, she’s slated for release within the next few days.

The barnie continues to mostly hang out on his favorite perch platform, but every now and then he’ll fly down to glare at me and toe dust. Gotta love a barnie; they’re such eccentric birds!

The fundraiser ended with $970 total. Again, thanks to all who donated.

Where has this year gone? The days may have dragged but the months seem to’ve flown by, and here we are, heading into 2026 in just a few days. Wow…

The fundraiser ends tomorrow; no sense dragging it out when it’s obvious we’re not gonna come close to meeting the goal. Currently, we’re still at $670, meaning we have $1330 to reach the $2000 goal. Many thanks to those who donated.

The sole new intake last week was a gray-phase screech from Laurens County. She was found in the road, stunned. Nothing is broken, although she does have a dilated right pupil. She’s eating well and glaring daggers at me, though, so fingers crossed there’s no soft tissue damage and she can be released later this week, after a few days in the mini-pen—after New Year’s Eve, of course.

The barnie has a favorite perch; can y’all tell? He’s also eating well and beak-clicking and toe dusting like crazy. Now if he’d just be still for good, clear photos… No screams when I go in to feed, which I’m not complaining about. I need to slip around to the flights at night and see if he’s vocalizing any at all then. This will also allow me to see if the local barnie population is responding to his calls.  

Given the upcoming New Year’s Eve fireworks, though, Sir Barnie will be moved back inside overnight Wednesday, to make sure he doesn’t panic at the noise and do something stupid. He won’t be happy, but better a healthy and slightly unhappy bird come January 1 than an injured or dead one.

Hope y’all enjoy whatever plans y’all have for New Year’s Eve, and here’s wishing everybody a healthy, happy and prosperous new year!

As of today, the LWR fundraiser has netted $670, meaning we have $1330 to go. We’ll keep it active till the end of the year, in hopes that we’ll meet the goal. If you’ve donated already, many thanks; if you’re waiting, time is running out! The link for donations is below:

https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/4LRUMMCTB7RK2

The juvie barnie finally made it outside and is thriving in the main flight. With school out for the holidays, the chance that we’ll be able to place him with the Toombs County High School nest as they fledge has effectively disappeared, as there’s no one on site for the next two weeks to monitor that nest. He’s not passed a live prey test yet, though, so we have that as our next milestone for the little toe-duster.

Unfortunately, the remainder of the update is less rosy.

The Toombs barred owl ended up having a blown pupil; the pain could be managed in rehab with meds, but as soon as the meds were stopped, he stopped eating altogether due to the pain. He required euthanasia as a result.

A driver in Laurens County witnessed a great horned owl get hit by a car and stopped to pick it up. Upon intake at LWR, the bird was found to have both wings broken, one an open fracture. He was humanely euthanized.

And a barred owl flew into a driver’s grille in Laurens, as well, and when he was removed and brought to LWR, both his legs were broken, and most likely his pelvis, as well. He was also humanely euthanized.

After such a litany of woe, it seems almost inappropriate to end on an upbeat note, but I do want to take this opportunity to wish all of y’all a very Merry Christmas.

Yep, yet another barred owl! Honestly, LWR probably sees more barreds than any other raptor—a testament to their commonness as well as their somewhat suicidal tendency to hunt near roadsides.

This fellow had a nice little concussion going on when DNR brought him from Toombs County last week. He’s more alert and definitely much feistier now, so if the rain ever lets up, he’s most likely gonna spend a day or two in the main flight and be sent on his way, unless there’s soft tissue damage.

The first two images are from day of intake; the last two are from four days later.

The other barred was indeed blind and required euthanasia.

The weeklong sog-fest kept the barnie inside. Lacking sibs to huddle with against the cold and damp, he just needed to stay in a warmer, drier environment. And several nights this week the temps are looking downright brutally cold at night, so the poor fellow may end up inside for yet another week.

I did receive his UGA paperwork, though, so I can tell y’all he originally came from Jackson County—a bit out of LWR’s normal range, but since UGA arranged transport after they’d had him for about 10 days, it worked out.

When DNR delivered the barred earlier last week, I did mention that if we can time it right, maybe this barnie could be released about the time the Toombs High barnies fledge, as attempting to place him in or near the nest now could cause an early fledge for those babies. We’re hoping school officials will alert DNR when the babies fledge, so they can in turn alert me.

Meanwhile, he continues to vigorously toe dust and inhale mice like there’s no tomorrow. No screaming thus far, but he has hissed softly and beak-clicked a time or two during paper changes.

The fundraiser is stalled at $520, so we have $1480 to go. To those who’ve donated, thank you so much! For those who’re waiting, why procrastinate? The link to the fundraiser is below:

https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/4LRUMMCTB7RK2

And there will be no update next Sunday, Dec. 14.

Yep, it’s that time of year again, with Giving Tuesday coming up this week. LWR’s goal for this fundraiser is $2000 and, as usual, all donations are greatly appreciated! After evaluating a mind-numbing number of the various fundraising platforms out there, LWR is sticking with PayPal. What I didn’t know till recently is that not only does PayPal generate “Donate” buttons for websites, they also generate donation/”order” links for social media, making it even easier for donors! The link for our December fundraiser is below:

https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/4LRUMMCTB7RK2

Now on to the actual update, which will be fairly short; last week was quiet—always nice this time of year!

The sole intake was a late nestling/early brancher barnie from UGA’s Wildlife Clinic. I’m still awaiting the paperwork on the bird, so all I know is that he’d been at UGA since the week before Thanksgiving. He’s an aggressive, footy little fellow who steadfastly refuses to stop toe dusting for a photo. All the photos I attempted had lovely abstract blurs for his head. So we’re going with a video instead. He straight-up attacks and inhales his food, too, so he’ll likely go into the mini-pen this week.

Last week’s barred owl appears to be blind. The bruising and swelling on the right eye have cleared up, but the left eye is cloudy, and he cannot find his food. I’ve been hand-feeding him, but if he doesn’t regain his vision this week, we’ll call it. The blindness could be from residual swelling from the head trauma putting pressure on the optic nerve, or there could be permanent damage to the optic nerve. He’s got the remainder of this week; 12-14 days is usually our time limit on a blind bird.

Please remember our fundraiser and share the link for others who might donate. Your donations will help us stuff the barnie’s Christmas stocking with mice!

With one intake last week and one today, it’s been a 50-50 scenario at LWR.

Last week’s intake was a nestling barn owl who’d fallen from his nest, located at Toombs County High School. DNR said it was impossible to renest, which is actually a good thing, as the impact of his fall broke his femur. It was a badly displaced break, but vet Jim Hobby of Smalley’s Animal Hospital was willing to place a pin in the bone to allow it to heal properly. We’d worked out a plan of action and Jim had explained the steps of the surgery to me; we just needed to stabilize the bird first. Unfortunately, he’d also sustained internal injuries in the fall and didn’t survive the night.

For those who’re questioning, “But wait a sec, baby season is over for this year, right?” the answer is yes, for most species. But barnies aren’t normal in any sense of the word. They have no specific breeding season; they breed year-round if the food supply is sufficient.

Today’s intake was a barred owl, found by the roadside in Laurens County. DNR picked him up and delivered him to LWR. Aside from a bruised and swollen right eye and a concussion, he appears to have no other injuries. He was most likely whacked by a vehicle late last night or early this morning, as he’s still pretty out of it.

Y’all have a happy Thanksgiving!

I’d venture to say all rehabbers start out with a “save ‘em all” mentality, only to be slapped in the face—quickly—by the reality that we can’t save ‘em all. Those who don’t adapt seldom remain in rehab for long; they get burned out or bummed out and just drop out.

Those of us who do adapt learn to accept that sometimes the only release we can offer is a release from suffering. We develop coping mechanisms, foremost among them a dark, twisted, and often inappropriate sense of humor. We learn to compartmentalize, so that it’s not unusual to regretfully euthanize an animal and ten minutes later be laughing at the antics of another of our rehabs.

But the euthanasias never get easier; the day they do is the day we need to get out of rehab. Oh, the ability to determine an animal needs euthanasia develops to a finely honed skill, obviously. But the regret and heartache—those still sting. Every time.

And I prefaced this update with that philosophical musing because last week was indeed a trying week. Not a single bird that came in survived. All required euthanasia.

The barred owl that came in last Sunday morning? Blind.

The two barreds that came in Monday? Both had open wrist fractures.

The red shoulder that came in Thursday? Leg broken so badly his foot faced backward.

It was NOT a good week. The sole redeeming factor for the week was that Georgia experienced an amazing reappearance of the Northern Lights the night of the 11th—the vivid red was actually bright enough to see with the naked eye. So rather than leave y’all with all gloom and doom, here’re a couple of shots of the aurora borealis as seen from my property.

It was a busier than usual week at LWR for November. We had two releases, one died-in-care, a GSW red tail, a DOA, and a probable HBC that came in this morning. Interestingly enough, all three new intakes were from Laurens County—a rarity!

Let’s start with the releases: The barred owl who’d been recovering from a wing fracture, having proved his flightworthiness, was released.

With his release, the peregrine could move into the main flight, where he immediately began flying laps around the pen—and with more space available, suddenly he wanted nothing to do with his feeder person (me). Instead of flying at me to snatch the food, he waited at the opposite end of the flight for me to put it down, then he’d nail it as soon as I walked away.

Given that our weather is about to drop into the freezing temps for the next several nights, it was time for this fellow to resume his trek to warmer climes for the winter. And he wasted no time hightailing it outta here—what a gorgeous release!

The up-and-down barred owl went down again, to the point I’d planned to euthanize, but he died overnight instead.

Late Monday afternoon, a first-year red tail was brought in. He had an open fracture, left wing, but the nature of the injury made me suspect gunshot: small entry wound underwing and large exit wound upper wing. Tuesday morning, Smalley’s worked me in for x-rays, and sure enough, the lead flecks were clearly visible, along with a shattered ulna. We had no option but euthanasia—and let me tell y’all in this case it sucked worse than usual. This was an alert, aggressive bird with a healthy appetite—absolutely gorgeous in every respect…as are all red tails. Vet Peggy Hobby and I spent the poor bird’s last minutes apologizing to him over and over for having to put him down because of some jerk’s stupidity.

Obviously, his injury was reported to the state and feds, and a copy of the x-ray was forwarded to them. Problem is, the finder didn’t witness the injury; his wife actually saw the grounded bird and told him about it. So, as is too often the case, the jackass who shot this bird will likely never see justice.

The week ended with a screech owl intake. He was found in the road only a few miles from LWR and brought in within less than an hour of being found. His face was basically degloved and he was lethargic and unresponsive. Given that the tear ducts on his left eye were completely gone, along with most of the flesh of the lower lid, he likely would have required eventual euthanasia, but the poor fellow died within two hours of intake.

And this morning, another barred owl came in. Apparently party-goers saw him in the road last night and moved him to the side of the road, where another teen found him and took him home to seek help. Nothing is broken, although he does favor his left wing, and his right eye is cloudy. The blood on the beak is nothing to worry about; the beak is fully functional. He’s woozy, typical of head trauma, but if there’s no brain bleed, with a little time to heal, he should be fine.