The unusual cold snaps, snow, ice storms—it’s been a harsh winter for our native wildlife, as evidenced by the unusually high number of raptors we’re seeing in rehab. Steve Hicks of Bubba and Friends (www.bubba-and-friends.org) reports that all 14 of his flight pens are full and space inside for those needing extra attention and/or medication is also at a premium.
Here at Laurens Wildlife Rescue, we’ve already received 9 calls this year that didn’t result in an intake; only two additional birds have come in since the Jan. 3 update. I won’t complain—I needed the slight slowdown!
Here at Laurens Wildlife Rescue, we’ve already received 9 calls this year that didn’t result in an intake; only two additional birds have come in since the Jan. 3 update. I won’t complain—I needed the slight slowdown!
However, one of the birds who came in, a first year female red tail hawk, got the year off to a really frustrating start. This gorgeous lady had been shot; one pellet was still lodged in her shattered wing. Obviously, she had to be euthanized. I was infuriated, to say the least, but since she was picked up by Coffee County Animal Control and transferred to LWR, we had no way of knowing for sure who violated state and federal law by taking pot-shots at her. Of course, GaDNR and USFWS were notified, per our rehab regulations, but both state and federal officials admitted that without a witness to the shooting, nothing could really be done except to document the attack and see if a pattern developed.
My slight break in critter intakes allowed me to take my annual trek to Manhattan, where I went on a quest to locate Pale Male’s nest…and hoped to see The Hawk Himself there or in Central Park, but that didn’t happen this year. I did, however locate his nest, which may not be exciting to most people, but I was ecstatic, as was my niece Caitlan, who was with me and squealing like she’d just met a celebrity. Yeah, other people go to the Big Apple in hopes of maybe spotting one of its resident human stars; we were all googly-eyed over a hawk nest! For those who may not be aware, Pale Male is a red tail hawk who is app. 20 years old this year and has nested on a building across from Central Park for pretty much his entire life. He’s the first red tail documented to’ve built a nest on a building rather than in a tree, and he’s outlived four mates, acquiring a new mate just this month, according to Pale Male watchers in New York City. They were both observed hanging around the nest the day before my Sunday visit to it (insert your own favorite swear words here; I’m trying to keep this site family-friendly!)…
While sitting in a Broadway show that night I was not really surprised to feel my cell phone vibrating just before intermission. During the show’s intermission, I returned the call from a person in Laurens County who’d just hit a screech owl. The caller said the owl seemed to be alert and uninjured but couldn’t fly. The standard procedure in the case of a HBC bird of any kind is to assume there’s a concussion and act accordingly, so I told the caller to place the screech in a cardboard box and let her remain quiet and dark until I got home the following night. Concussed birds won’t eat, so she’d be fine until I could pick her up, which I did Monday night. In fact, this beautiful red screech is nearly ready for release—she’s eating well now, her eyes look clear, and she might be ready to go back into the wild as soon as tonight!
I’ll have final stats on 2010 intakes, donations and expenditures in the next update. I can tell you now that although I took in 247 animals last year, only 20 people bringing those animals made donations; in fact, half of the donations received came from two families who brought no animals to LWR but who showed their support in a way that benefitted the critters we care for. Kinda pathetic, huh? The people who bring the animals “respect and admire” what I do, but as I’ve said before, “respect and admiration” don’t fill furry bellies or feathered crops, and while we are required to be licensed by the state and feds, neither agency provides any funding for our activities—the funds for our rehab efforts come from our own pockets, for the most part, and from the very few donations we receive.
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