But things are lookin’ up for this week, so keep y’all’s fingers crossed we can have some releases this week!

Last week LWR had two new intakes, a turkey vulture and a barred owl.

The turkey vulture had a fracture right at the shoulder joint, as well as some serious road rash/self-mutilation on the underside of the wing. It looked as if it started as road rash but he picked at it and made it worse…not that it mattered, as the shoulder fracture required euthanasia. Have I mentioned how much I hate having to euthanize vultures in particular? Those intelligent eyes just haunt me…

The barred owl appears to have a hip fracture and is resting in a donut; we’ll be aiming at x-rays this week to see if it’s fixable.

The barred whose vision was in question did turn out to be blind and was euthanized.

The screech awaits release, hopefully this week.

Same for the sharpie, who’s really eager to regain his freedom.

If, good Lord willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we can get these two released, both red tails are ready for flights. Keep those fingers crossed!

No news on Project Eagle Flight—we’re still waiting on the quote. Contractors, as of last week, were waiting themselves on a quote for a portion of the project they’d have to subcontract out, so hopefully as soon as they get that, we’ll have a firm figure to work with.

I’m not sure who’s more frustrated, me or the birds who’re ready for release but have been cooling their heels for the past week while the weather laughed at us. The clear days were too windy for release; the days with lighter winds were either rainy or had rain predicted within three days of a potential release. So here they sit, the sharpie and the screech, awaiting their freedom, while it rains AGAIN today…

The sharpie is flying beautifully, the full length of the flight and back again.

The screech is doing the same in the mini-pen.

The mature red tail is ready for a flight as soon as one’s open.

The first-year red tail has about another two weeks before he’ll be ready for a flight; hopefully we’ll have one open by then.

The barred still has a bit of blood in his right eye, and optic nerve damage is still not off the table, as he also still seems to struggle to find his food.

On the eagle flight front, we’re still awaiting a quote for its construction. County officials have indicated this is a project they’d likely back, while city officials have flatly stated they see no benefit in it for them. We’re in a holding pattern until the quote is done, and given the intricacies of a flight this large (100 ft. long, 20 ft. wide, 16 ft. high), I’m impatient but not surprised that it’s taking a while to nail down an estimate. Keep saving those pennies and keep those fingers crossed!

The end-of-February winds and those heralding March’s arrival have been insane. “In like a lion, out like a lamb,” indeed! The gusty, nearly non-stop winds have precluded any releases at LWR. A slight, even a stiff, breeze is one thing; winds that nearly blow your chin-strapped hat off don’t make for good release conditions.

So that means the screech is still at LWR, although he’s more than ready to go. Maybe this week; we’ll see…

The sharpie who may be a runt red shoulder is flying consistently from one end of the flight to the other, so he’s also ready to go once the wind stops trying to blow us off the map.

The mature red tail is ready for a flight pen as soon as one’s free.

The first-year red tail still has a few weeks to go before we can even consider moving him to a flight.

The red tail with the damaged head feathers died unexpectedly late last week. Still not sure what was going on there; he was alert and eating well one evening and dead the next morning. I’d love to have been able to get a necropsy to see why, after 17 days of textbook perfect behavior, he dropped dead with no signs of any problems, but UGA charges both DNR and rehabbers for necropsies, so we avoid them in most cases.

An adult great horned owl who came in early last week had a blown eye and a leg fracture; the plan was to get him in for x-rays but he died from apparent internal injuries before that could happen.

This morning a barred owl came in with an open wing fracture; he was humanely euthanized.

The barred owl from last week’s update continues to do well but may have some vision issues. Both pupils respond normally to light but he seems to have problems finding his food. We’ll give him more time to see if this resolves.

And while I don’t have all my ducks totally in a row, I won’t keep y’all in suspense any longer about last week’s cryptic announcement. As y’all know, LWR sees several bald eagles a year and must triage and transfer them, since I don’t have an eagle permit. I don’t have an eagle permit because LWR doesn’t have an eagle flight pen.

I hope this year to change that and ease some of the pressure on my colleague Kathryn Dudeck at Chattahoochee Nature Center. Currently Kathryn is the only eagle-permitted rehabber in the state of Georgia, and CNC has the only eagle flight in Georgia suitable for rehab. She and I agree that having one eagle-permitted rehabber/facility in the northern part of the state and one in the southern part of the state would be ideal, but I have to get that eagle flight built first.

I’ve got contractors working on a quote and once I have that quote, I will be approaching city and county governments to see if they’ll pony up funds to assist with the construction. I’ll also be starting a long-term fundraiser once I have that quote in hand, as this will be a major expense.

So right now, keep your fingers crossed the quote isn’t too eye-wateringly high and that city and county officials will see the benefit of having one of only two eagle rehab facilities in the state…and start saving those pennies for when we’re able to officially start a fundraiser!

The predicted lows this week are the same temps we had as highs last week. A colleague has reported getting TWO raptors with brood patches already. I have a Carolina wren building a nest under my shelter…and YET…spring won’t really have “sprung” for good till after Easter, which is in late April this year. Gonna be an interesting year…

LWR had only one new intake last week, a barred owl found by the roadside and brought to LWR by a local game warden. He’s got some head trauma but is alert and eating well.

The purported sharpie, who's looking and sounding more and more like a runt male red shoulder, is in the mini-pen and doing well enough that this week he’ll be moved to the main flight, which will free up the mini-pen for the screech.

The screech will only need the mini-pen for a week or so, as his only injury was head trauma, and the mini-pen is plenty large for flight conditioning for a tiny screech.

The red tail brought by the game warden, despite having really trashed head feathers on intake, is alert, active, and inhaling food. He’ll be the next for the main flight, once the sharpie who may actually be a red shoulder has had time for flight conditioning and can be released.

The first-year red tail is doing great with his wing wrap but not so great with cameras; he hates the camera—as you can see!

And the mature red tail is slated be the next resident of the mini-pen, once the screech is released.

Meanwhile, we’ll have some exciting plans to share within a week or so, once we have all our ducks in a row. At the moment, all I’ll say is that if the plans can be brought to fruition it will mean an expansion for LWR and a potentially long-term fundraising effort to allow for that expansion. Got y’all’s curiosity piqued? Good! Maybe I’ll be able to spill the beans next week!

Actually, it’s just a typical weather swing for Georgia this time of year, but after false spring last week, the coming week’s more seasonal temps just feel more…wintry…But as any Southerner worth his or her salt knows, we don’t have lasting spring-like temps till after Easter—which is why y’all shouldn’t be planting any gardens till after Easter. There’s a lot of truth in those old wives’ tales!

ANYway…only one new intake last week, brought by a local game warden. This late first-year/early second-year red tail was observed for several days flying around a construction site, and then the workers showed up one day to find him grounded and eating from a days-old carcass. And he smelled like that carcass on arrival at LWR, too… Nothing appears broken, and he’s alert and eating well, despite the ragged condition of those head feathers. I suspect he lost a territorial squabble or flew into a window head-first.

The mature red tail with the spinal trauma from last Sunday’s update did require euthanasia; he didn’t respond to steroids.

Meanwhile, the other mature red tail continues to recover nicely and should be ready for a flight pen in another couple of weeks.

And the other first-year red tail also continues to tolerate his wing wrap very nicely, although he still has quite a while to go before he’s ready for a flight pen.

The sharpie has started alleviating his boredom with gymnastics. This week he should be ready for a flight pen, if the weather cooperates.

The screech is ready to go in a flight this week. Actually, he was ready last week but just didn’t get moved outside. If he does well this week, which he should, he’ll be good for release as soon as we have three consecutive days of low to no rain chances.

Y’all don’t let the wind that’s bringing in the next bout of cold weather blow you away today!

Sorry y’all, it’s the best I can do today. Not sure if false spring is giving me early spring fever or if I’m just not real creative today, but the result’s the same—drawing a total blank on a header for this update!

LWR did have two new intakes last week, a screech who was just concussed and a mature red tail who has no use of his legs.

The screech came in earlier in the week and is a typical pissy little fellow who’s sure he could take me on and win in a fair fight—gotta love that screech attitude! He’ll be released as soon as the weather cooperates—the current weather predictions show a week of high rain chances.

The red tail came in yesterday after being hit by a car in a neighboring county.  He has no pain response in his legs/feet and they dangle uselessly, although he can flare his tail. Usually with a broken hip or pelvis there’s at least some neural response, so this is most likely nerve damage or possibly spinal trauma. I’m giving him another day or two before making the call, but the chances are higher than 99% that he’s going to require euthanasia.

The other mature red tail continues to do well and we hope his wing fracture heals for flight. He was the probable “spray and pray” victim over a dove field, if y’all recall.

The first-year red tail still panics when I go near his box, but I did manage to snag a photo of his wing wrap, which he’s tolerating very well. He definitely has an appetite!

The sharpie is spastic as ever but so far hasn’t done any major damage to feathers, head, or beak. Fingers crossed…He’s close to moving into a flight pen for flight conditioning.

Y’all enjoy the rest of y’all’s Sunday; I may just take a short nap!

Last week was slightly calmer weather-wise, as well as on the intake front—and the recalcitrant barred finally decided to regain his freedom!

Let’s start with that barred. He sat on the glove forever, glaring at me and beak-clicking threats, until suddenly the light went on in his dim little brain and he realized he was free to fly away. Maybe those two working brain cells actually finally communicated with each other… Where owls got a reputation for being intelligent is beyond me, ‘cause I promise y’all, they ain’t smart!

The sole intake for the week came from a small mammal/RVS (rabies vector species) colleague in a neighboring county. She works at a vet clinic and the bird, a first-year red tail, was brought there.  She x-rayed the broken left wing which, although somewhat displaced, may possibly heal for flight. Since the wing was noticeably drooping, I wrapped it once he arrived at LWR…although he refuses to turn where I can get photos of the wrap. It’s an instinctive behavior, keeping his weak side angled away from “the enemy,” as he perceives me.

The mature red tail continues to offer death glares when he’s fed and to attempt grievous bodily harm when his paper is changed. He’s footed me through the glove once, bruised through the glove multiple times, and makes it clear through those death glares that I’m only allowed to live because I feed him. I’ve nicknamed him Vlad the Impaler. Of course, I always hope every bird can be released, but this guy’s amazing genes REALLY need to be in the gene pool. 

The sharpie is starting to get “cabin fever,” so fingers crossed he doesn’t start doing anything stupid or self-destructive, which they can and will often do.

And I gather both the Yankee groundhog and Georgia’s own General Beauregard Lee have predicted another 6 weeks of winter…Oh frabjous joy… (Actually, our weather looks to be warmer than usual for the next month, so I think General Lee’s prediction is off this year!)

A wide swathe of South and Middle Georgia experienced snow last week—an uncommon occurrence here—along with temps that struggled to rise above freezing for several days, meaning that snow and ice lingered for most of the week. The result was few people on the roads and, aside from playing in the rare snow, few people even outside.  This, of course, meant no new intakes for the week, making this a short update.

The barred owl is good for release this week; we have rain predicted for tonight and tomorrow, but a clear forecast for the remainder of the week, with warmer weather, so he’ll be on his way ASAP after the rain moves out.

The sharpie continues to make his anger at captivity known, but his “wrist” fracture hasn’t had time to heal yet. He’ll be at LWR for another month, at least.

The red tail remains alert and aggressive. His wing may not heal for flight, but we’ll give him the time he needs to heal and test it.

And we’ll end this week’s update with a photo of last week’s snow for your viewing pleasure…

Our predicted “rainy season” for the weekend turned into wind bringing Siberian cold with it tonight and through this week, but LWR did manage several releases last week in plenty of time for the birds to adjust…and we had a couple of euthanasias as well.

Starting with the three birds who needed vet visits for x-rays, the mature red tail that I really thought was just too full to move turned out to have a body full of birdshot that had broken a toe and an ulna. The toe should heal just fine; the ulna may be too displaced to heal for flight. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Because he’d been shot, his injuries had to be reported to the state and feds. Given that dove season is in till the end of this month, it’s highly likely he’s a victim of “pray and spray” over a dove field.

The first year red tail with spinal trauma also had a right wing fracture that would never heal for flight; he required euthanasia.

The barred owl who came in last Sunday also had a nasty fracture that required euthanasia.

Two of the three remaining barreds were released; the third seemed reluctant to fly to freedom but is flying perfectly well in the main flight, where he was moved after a day or two in the mini-pen. We’ll try again when this cold snap ends.

The other two barreds wasted little time heading off into the wild.

Same for the red tail who’d been at LWR since mid-November of last year—his finder graciously provided the release video below.

And the sharpie continues to do well, all things considered (meaning he hasn’t yet started self-mutilating or any of the other self-destructive behavior these high-strung birds are prone to in captivity).

Laurens County and most of Middle Georgia are predicted to get some sort of “wintry precipitation” Tuesday, so keep y’all’s fingers crossed that we don’t lose power during whatever weather we get.

LWR saw four intakes last week through today, making it the busiest week of 2025 thus far. (I’m being facetious, people; I’m aware it’s only the second full week of the year…)

The first intake was a gray-phase screech found in the roadway several counties away. He was lethargic and unresponsive on intake and didn’t survive the night.

The second was a first-year red tail with spinal trauma, who came in just before our predicted “winter storm,” which dumped only cold rain on Laurens County Friday, but in sufficient quantity that it seemed safer to hold off till this week to get him in for x-rays.

The third, a barred, came in early this morning and has a very obviously broken right wing. It feels like it’s right in/at the shoulder, so x-rays will be needed for this one, too.

And the fourth, arriving just after noon, is a feisty, full-cropped mature red tail who I suspect is totally uninjured but was just sluggish due to that bigger-than-his-head crop. If his x-rays confirm this, he can be released back into his home territory by week’s end; his finders have already expressed willingness to do so.

As for the “older” LWR residents, the red tail in the main flight is good to go; I’ll be in touch with his finders tomorrow to arrange his release.

The barred in the mini-pen and the second barred inside are good to go.

Barred 3’s eye injury was confirmed to be an existing condition that the bird had adjusted to, so he’s also good for release.

And the sharpie’s right wrist fracture is minor, not displaced, and doesn’t seem to be interfering with his ability to move the wing, so we’re giving him time to heal fully and then he’ll be tested in the main flight…assuming he doesn’t injure himself worse trying to escape his box. Sharpies aren’t far behind Coops in being psychotic little birds.

So if all goes well, next week there should be a slew of releases to report: three barreds and two red tails. We have a very short window for these releases before another “rainy season” moves in toward the end of the week, so fingers crossed…