This week in wildlife

Bad economy affects wildlife too

6/12/2022

It appears that between HPAI and astronomical gas prices, the intakes are slow this year. I’d been inclined to blame unreported/unnoticed cases of HPAI initially, but given the volume of calls LWR receives weekly with no messages left when callers hear MY voicemail message stating they must deliver the bird to LWR, I think, too, people just can’t afford to drive the sometimes 100 miles one-way to deliver the birds. And with higher prices for everything needed to care for the birds that DO come in, it’s probably a good thing intakes are lower than usual. I know some of my colleagues in more urban areas, where distances are shorter so gas isn’t as major an issue, are struggling with the sheer volume of their intakes.

Only one new intake last week, an adult Mississippi kite. The finder saw him grounded in a field he was plowing; according to his mother, who brought the bird, there was a power line over the field near where the bird was found. Given that his right wing was nearly sheared off, with only a few tendons and bits of skin keeping it attached to the body, it seems likely he hit the power line with that wing. Humane euthanasia was the only option for this gorgeous bird.

The screech is slated for release this week; now that the head trauma is fully resolved, he’s getting antsy...although you’d never know it from his pictures...

I may end up having to move the mini-pen red shoulders in with the main flight trio so I have room to move the vulture outside, as he’s outgrowing his box. The red shoulders have a call-and-response screamfest daily anyway, so if they’re together, they can scream away “in person.”

The mini-pen trio tend to vary their defensive positions when I go in to feed them.

The main flight trio assume essentially the same positions every. single. time. I walk in to feed them...

And the vulture immediately goes defensive when he sees the camera. I’ve never had a camera-shy young vulture before—usually they practically pose for the camera!

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It’s all a balancing act...

6/5/2022

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...Or rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic—whichever analogy...ummm...floats your boat. Often during baby season it feels more like the Titanic!

The rain chances finally dropped to minimal for the next few days, so the barred owl got his long-awaited release Saturday—and he took off as soon as I opened the box!

With him out of the main flight, the three oldest red shoulders, one of whom was still inside, as he needed to gain some weight before going outside, moved in and promptly scattered in the extra room they now have. After couple of weeks of flight conditioning and passing the live prey test, they’ll be good to go, as well.

With the older red shoulders’ move to the main flight, the three youngest red shoulders moved into the mini-pen. They had perches in their boxes but haven’t quite grasped the concept of the higher perches in the pen...

The vulture should be ready to go outside as soon as the younger trio of red shoulders can move into the main flight, which, of course, is contingent on getting the older trio released.

And the screech’s head trauma is finally resolving, not that you’d know it from this photo; the screech philosophy is “if I close my eyes, you can’t see me.”

No new intakes last week, but confirmed HPAI in a neighboring county—in domestic birds, but still...I just feel like there are more cases in the wild that aren’t being reported because the carcasses either aren’t being found or if they are found, the public doesn’t think to notify DNR or the Ag Department to have the carcasses tested. I sincerely hope I’m wrong.

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Rain delays

5/29/2022

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Not that anybody’s complaining, because we needed the rain—just means the barred release was postponed till sometime this week and the fruit-basket turnover that needs to take place has also been delayed.

Yesterday an adult screech came in with mild head trauma; I think he’ll be releasable fairly quickly, as he’s eating well but still not real alert.

Aside from that, it’s the same ol’ gang.

The “outside” red shoulders in the mini-pen need to be moved to the main flight, along with the spastic fellow who was so traumatized last week that he couldn't stand. That's the plan as soon as the barred is released.

The first red shoulder of the season and the red shoulder twins need to be in the mini-pen as soon as it's vacant.

And the vulture...well...he’s not ready to go into a pen yet, which is a good thing since one won’t be empty for a few weeks.

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“Three young hawks, see how they grow...”

5/22/2022

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Yes, I’m aware that’s not how the old nursery rhyme goes, but it seems especially appropriate for LWR’s trio of youngest red shoulders.

Just look at this lady, the first red shoulder nestling to come in only 20 days ago!

And then the “twins,” who came in just ten days ago...

The older two are now in the mini-pen. Once the one I worried might have a pelvic fracture settled down and realized food was plentiful, he began not only standing up but also screaming his fool head off. I actually had to wear earplugs when feeding him until he began eating on his own and could be moved outside.

And yes, one more red shoulder came in late Saturday, for an even half-dozen now. The photo below was taken right after intake, when he was still stressed to the max. He’s old enough to be in the mini-pen but very thin, so I’m keeping him inside till we get some weight on him. He was found grounded in a yard, near where woods were being clear-cut. My guess is the parents couldn’t find adequate food, as their habitat was being destroyed, or perhaps they'd cut the apron strings and he just wasn't a skilled enough hunter on his own.

The barred owl is in the main flight now and does NOT want the paparazzi hanging around. It took all week to manage this one halfway decent photo. We’ve got rain predicted all this week but as soon as the rain chances diminish for a few days, he should be good to go; he’s already passed his live prey test. (And trust me, no one in Middle Georgia, at least, is complaining about the rain; we NEED it.)

Sadly, the youngest black vulture, the one who was critical on intake last Sunday, didn’t make it. She was doing great, standing up, growling and hissing, and demanding food, so Tuesday I switched her from slurry to small fuzzies—teeny mice that we normally use with very young hatchling raptors because they’re easy to digest. By Wednesday she was experiencing full crop failure again. The food just wasn’t moving from her crop. I talked to colleague Kathryn Dudeck, as she’d triaged the bird before she came to me, and we agreed there was some sort of disconnect between the crop and the rest of the digestive system and that the probability was high that the parents had cut their losses and abandoned this young one because she couldn’t, in fact, digest her food properly. We also agreed that euthanasia was the best option at this point.

Despite this, I held off for another 24 hours, using old falconry tricks for treating crop slowdown, including gentle crop massage, to see if we could jumpstart her crop function. It didn’t work, so I made the call late Thursday to euthanize her.

The older black vulture, however, needs a coal shovel for his feedings. His appetite is voracious, and his “hiss-trionics” and growling are hilarious. Y’all know I love “my” black vulture babies!

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What’d I tell y’all?

5/15/2022

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Remember last week when I said my mentioning it was a slow rehab season thus far would invite Murphy to the party? Yeah, well, that’s exactly what happened...

I now have FIVE—count ‘em, FIVE—little leather-lunged red shoulders in-house and two young black vultures from different locations. And let’s not forget the juvie barred owl lingering from owl baby season. The LWR B&B has gone from “vacancies” to “no room at the inn.” (Okay, I could squeeze in a screech or two...)

The first arrival of the week was this brancher red shoulder, who came in via DNR from a county within our Region 4. He’s reluctant to self-feed and resistant to being fed, so he’s been a bit of a chore over the past week; additionally, although no injuries showed upon exam by the wildlife biologist who took him in overnight until he could make it to LWR or when I examined him on intake, he doesn’t want to stand. I suspect a pelvic fracture, which doesn’t always show in x-rays; but he’s been kept in a donut all week and is starting to get more mobile, so maybe it was just a really bad bruise. I’ll probably aim at x-rays this week just to be sure, even though the odds are we won’t be able to see any fractures.

The very next day an in-county caller indicated they had two nestling red shoulders that they couldn’t bring to LWR. I called the same game tech who brought me the brancher to see if he could get them, and he was able to do so—and informed me the callers had several vehicles sitting in the yard. So much for “I can’t drive them there,” right? More like “I WON’T drive them there.” I’m not sure how long they’d been with the individual, as they reeked of fish and had bits of fish stuck in their down on intake. For the record, fish is NOT on the red shoulder menu, so for the first few days after their intake I had screaming, hungry birds with indigestion. They wanted the food but couldn’t eat much at a time. And it took them three days to cast pellets. This is what happens when untrained individuals rely on “instinct” or the Internet for wildlife feeding advice.

Now, however, they’re eating well and casting pellets properly. And they look—and smell—much better, too.

And then red shoulder number 5 arrived, a second brancher who’d been with another rehabber for about a week while she tried to find someone who had other red shoulders to house him with. During baby season rehabbers don’t always communicate well with each other; we’re too busy dealing with our intakes. He’s doing well and will go into the mini-pen as soon as the barred moves into the main flight. And yeah, I know his eye color looks Coopish but he SOUNDS like a red shoulder.

The older vulture was apparently dog-attacked but not injured and spent several days with a vet in the county where he was found...where he was fed cat food...which I understand he promptly upchucked all over himself when colleague Kathryn Dudeck triaged him before his transport to LWR. God love her, she made sure he was clean before transport!

The second one was fed inappropriately as well, based on advice from a rehabber who isn’t licensed for raptors, resulting in rotting food crammed in his crop. Again, Kathryn triaged this one with a crop flush before his transport to LWR, and we’re still considering him critical, so it’s a wait-and-see situation with him.

Meanwhile, the original red shoulder nestling is growing apace and looking just gorgeous. Given the size, I’m thinking this is a female, and she’s gonna be a beauty once her feathers are fully in.

The barred owl hates me and would like to be gone NOW but he has to move to the main flight and pass a live prey test first!

For your listening pleasure, last night...ALL night...I had the battle of the nightjars going on in my yard, as the chuck-will’s-widows and whippoorwills competed to see who was the loudest. And the area unattached male mockers joined in quite frequently...Good thing I was up all night reading anyway!

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“One season following another...”

5/8/2022

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As baby owl season segues out of sight, baby hawk season starts...and this mouthy little beauty came in last week. He was found on the ground; the finders didn’t see a nest anywhere. He has no injuries but does have a very healthy appetite, although he’s quite the connoisseur, with very definite opinions as to how his meals should be served...apparently no one ever told him beggars can’t be choosers! (And yes, I *may* have gone a wee bit overboard with "baby" pix, but Lordamercy--look at the little darlin'!)

In case the description wasn’t a dead giveaway, he’s a little red shoulder hawk, aka the “screaming Mimis” or “leather-lungs” of the hawk world, and he’s shown measurable growth just since intake on Tuesday. And yes, his lungs are in excellent shape: he screams at dawn; he screams while eating; he screams while napping; he screams at dusk...about the only time he’s totally silent is in the dead of night.

He cast a pellet the very first morning after intake--always good!

Sadly, two adult raptors who came in last week weren’t as lucky.

This second-year red tail hawk had an open humerus fracture and required euthanasia.

And this adult barred owl had a shoulder fracture and a ruptured right eye, so he also required euthanasia. The photo below was taken after euthanasia, to show the extent of damage to the eye.

In better news, the great horned was released and wasted no time skedaddling and, as you can see from the very short release video below—check out the right side of the frame as she goes in for a landing on the left—the songbirds wasted no time harassing her!

The brancher barred is now in the mini-pen and is delighted to have room to stretch his wings; by week’s end he should be ready for the main flight.

It’s still a weirdly slow baby season, although you wouldn’t know it by the food bill for these feathered bottomless pits—rodent prices, as with human food, are steadily rising, so it may be a good thing it’s a slowish year. (And I probably just invited Murphy to the party and the “baby” floodgates will open now...)

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Releases of varying kinds

5/1/2022

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Let’s start with the good news: the feisty female red phase screech spent a week in the mini-pen, which is plenty large for a screech to build up flight muscles. Yesterday evening she was bouncing off the walls so I left the door open about dusk, and by dark she’d flown the coop. I managed one photo of her early in the week, right after I moved her outside.

An adult male barred owl wasn’t as lucky; he came in with a shattered hip. I’d planned to get x-rays, in hopes it wasn’t as badly shattered as I thought, so given his late arrival, I made him comfortable for the night and was going to call Smalley’s in the morning. Unfortunately, he must’ve had internal injuries, as he died overnight. I didn’t even get an intake photo of him, as I’d thought I’d just snap a few while he was on the x-ray table.

This morning an adult male red shoulder came in with his left wing broken at the wrist, and both radius and ulna were fractured. This didn’t even require x-rays; the wrist was broken right in the joint and the radius and ulna were so badly displaced that the middle of his “forearm” bent like a second wrist. He was humanely euthanized.

The great horned is heading for release soon, possibly by midweek; I’m watching the weather to determine her release date. Didn't she grow up to be a beauty, though?!

And the brancher barred will be headed for the mini-pen this week. He’s getting antsy now and wanting to test those wings!

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And baby season trickles along

4/24/2022

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Only a couple of new intakes since the pre-Easter update: a young adult black vulture and a nestling barred owl.

The barred owl was found on a limb in a flooded river; according to his rescuer, the water was already up to his feet and was still rising. He was definitely too young to fly, and his belly (owls don’t have crops like hawks do) was empty on intake, so his parents hadn’t fed him recently. He’s eating well at LWR and developing nicely. Within a week or two, he’ll be ready for the mini-pen.

The black vulture wasn’t as lucky; his rescuer chased him for several days before managing to catch him, and his wing was broken right at the wrist—badly. He was humanely euthanized. I completely forgot to get any intake photos of him.

The great horned is in the main flight now and loving the space to spread her wings; she’s flying well and as soon as she passes the live prey test, she’s good to go.

Taken just before her move to the main flight...

The screech with the healing radius and ulna fractures continues to delight me with her attitude. Even for a screech, known for their feistiness, she’s full of piss and vinegar. Fingers crossed those fractures continue to heal as well as was indicated on the x-rays from earlier this month; this is one gal whose genes need to be in the wild screech gene pool! (She's also the most difficult-to-photograph screech I've ever seen...)

And in closing today, I want to offer an update on Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in the state. According to a couple of our state biologists, it’s concentrated along the coast of Georgia at the moment, and they’re hopeful that as the migratory waterfowl pass through and the weather warms, it will die down and possibly disappear entirely. Sadly, it may adversely impact our coastal bald eagle breeding season. Honestly, I wonder if it’s just not been documented in other areas of the state because people aren’t sure what to look for or aren’t aware of it, but I hope like crazy our biologists are right. I just can’t help but worry, though, as usually by this time of the year I’m up to my eyeballs in nearly-ready-for-release great horneds and nestling/brancher barreds, and I currently have one of each...which may not be all bad from a financial point of view, given the rising prices of mice, which are running a good 50% higher than last year...

For the latest from DNR on HPAI in Georgia, click on this link: https://gadnr.org/avian-influenza-detected-bald-eagles-georgia .

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Wild weather, no intakes—weird...

4/10/2022

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Last week’s insane weather, with three tornado warnings in my general area in less than 24 hours, certainly had the potential to result in an intake overload, but the opposite has been true. I’m not complaining, mind you; it’s just kinda strange...

So...several calls throughout the week but no intakes. In one case, the callers were just checking to make sure the brancher great horned they saw in their yard and then on their fence was okay. Given his movement and the fact that he was quiet—hungry young owls let you know—I suggested they wait till dark that night to see if he moved farther into the brush, coaxed by his parents. The callers were delighted to allow him to remain with his parents. When possible, this is always the best option.

The nasty weather did delay moving the juvenile great horned from the mini-pen to the main flight; I felt safer with her in a smaller pen until we had sane weather again. Her move to the main flight will be this week instead.

And the red phase screech continues to glare at me with murder in her eyes as she recovers from the wing fracture...Gotta love a screech!

Another short update—I could get used to this!

Finally, a “housekeeping” note: There will be no update next Sunday, April 17, as this is Easter and I will be spending time with my family.

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Mixed bag

4/3/2022

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Last week was the usual mixture of good and bad outcomes; seldom does a rehabber have a week where all the outcomes are good. It can happen, just not often.

Let’s start with the red phase screech who, after comparing size to the little gray phase, is certainly female—it’s often hard to tell with screeches because they’re so tiny anyway, but having a male and female side by side usually clearly shows a size discrepancy. So...now we know she’s female!

And her news from the vet is promising. Although it had been less than a month since she’d come in with the radius and ulna of her right wing broken, I wanted x-rays again to see how the healing process was going. If the calluses that were forming were fusing together, we’d need to start making plans to place her as an ed bird, as she’d be incapable of flight.

The x-rays showed clear and SEPARATE calluses forming! Vet Peggy Hobby of Smalley’s Animal Hospital and I were beyond pleased at what we saw on the screen. If this progress continues, this lady should be releasable—which would be excellent because she’s probably the fiercest little screech I’ve ever seen. I’m tellin’ ya, if she was as big as she thinks she is, I’d be dead several times over by now! Her genes need to be out there in the screech gene pool, that’s for sure.

Intake x-ray

X-ray 3-29-22

The news wasn’t as good for the gray phase male screech; before his vet visit he’d managed to pluck out all his primaries on his injured left wing, as well as rip off the scabbed flap of skin they were attached to, revealing a traumatic amputation in the wild at his wrist. We went ahead and got x-rays for our records, but there was actually no need, as it was clear from a physical exam that the bird’s “hand” was gone.

Federal law allows for wing amputations at the wrist, so legally we were covered, but of course, he’d be nonreleasable, so I contacted DNR to see whether I could apply to keep him as a foster or if he needed to be placed as an ed bird. I was given latitude to use my best judgment and, although I had potential placement as an ed bird, that person and I decided he might be best as a foster due to his high stress level. He tended to keel over like a fainting goat whenever I peeked into his box to make sure he’d eaten the previous night’s food or took him out for his meds to prevent infection in that stump.

Sadly, his stress levels were through the roof and he continued to feather pluck and keel over; there were several times I thought he was dead, and by mid-week he was. The stress of captivity and constant handling for medication was just more than his already overloaded system could handle. I’ve never had a screech react so negatively—and ultimately fatally—to captivity or medication, poor baby.

In happier news, the great horned is ready for the main raptor flight this week. We have another week of mixed rain and sun predicted, so how quickly she’s moved will depend on the weather. I love those little feather tufts that will comprise her “horns” when they’re fully grown in!

The two photos above and the two below were taken 5 days apart. Look at the feather growth in 5 days!

And late last week the Sheriff’s Office in a neighboring county called with an adult male barred owl that had flown into a driver’s open window, ending up seated next to them in the front seat. A deputy brought him to me and, after an exam and 24 hours’ observation to make sure there was no head trauma, he was released.

I love a good release!

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Bad economy affects wildlife too

It’s all a balancing act...

Rain delays

“Three young hawks, see how they grow...”

What’d I tell y’all?

“One season following another...”

Releases of varying kinds

And baby season trickles along

Wild weather, no intakes—weird...

Mixed bag

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