A break in the deluge brings a welcome visitor

We had a couple of days of sunny weather, although as of sunset it had already started sprinkling again. Reminds me of the old Jerry Clower joke (for those of y’all who don’t know Jerry Clower, you have been culturally deprived…) about the idiot who got elected to Congress (a common occurrence, I know, but this was apparently a giant among idiots) and the first thing he wanted to do was move February to between July and August, since it’s a short, cool, wet month and people could use the relief about then.

Last week we had an infrequent but always welcome visitor—a sandhill crane. Y’all know how much I adore those birds, and this one appeared to be in bad shape on intake. He’d been found walking in the road with his head down by an animal control officer in a neighboring county and we were honestly not sure he’d survive the night. He had no external injuries but was reluctant to stand and kept his head bowed when he did stand. Over the next couple of days, though, he improved substantially and today was looking and sounding absolutely great. Given that the branch in front of my house is quite full at the moment, I soft-released him in the yard today and he immediately beelined for the branch. And of course, I followed, camera in hand.
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There’re more birds below him, but enjoy this gorgeous fellow! I may have gone slightly overboard with photos and video…

​Late this afternoon, a young turkey vulture with a broken leg came in. The leg feels broken right in the joint but without x-rays I can’t confirm. We’ll see how he’s doing in the morning and plan for x-rays if he’s stable.

​Another barred owl came in, this one a transfer for release from colleague Steve Hicks of Bubba & Friends. He’s a youngish bird and Steve felt he’d do better if he had a few days with an older barred before his release. And I have an older barred at the moment, so…

​The Coop is in the mini-pen vacated by the sandhill. While he’s eating quite well (relax, the blood all over his beak is from his most recent meal), he has some balance issues still. His poop looks good and he’s casting pellets like a champ, so we just need to get that horizontal and vertical hold adjusted.

​The screech remains inside; his eye cleared up enough over last week that I opted for no vet visit, but with the insane weather, I was just more comfortable keeping him inside. 

​Sisyphus awaits his transfer approval; we know it can take time—up to six weeks, according to Beth Thomson of Blue Ridge Raptors—so as I said last week, it’s just hurry up and wait at this point. (Again, the blood and bits of flesh are from some messy eating. Apparently today was “sling your food” day among my raptors.)

The flyers didn’t show their faces last week, but they’re eating everything they’re offered so I know they’ll do well when they’re released next month.

And saving another favorite for last, the red tail continues to inhale mice like there’s no tomorrow. She cracks me up; she generally snags the first couple before they even hit the bottom of her box and slurps ‘em down like spaghetti, and the remaining five or six—and these are LARGE mice, mind you—disappear shortly thereafter.
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But look at that face—who could resist that expression?