LWR had two releases last week, the red shoulder and barred owl, both of whom came in concussed a week earlier. And the releases couldn’t have been more diametrically opposed.
The red shoulder came straight out of the box….to the ground. I watched for a minute—no attempt to fly. I walked toward him. He glared but didn’t move. I started swearing, put the camera up and walked back the less than 15 feet to the box to get the gloves, gloved up, turned around…and the little snot took off. Yup, I’m standing there with gloves on and camera off, and he decides to show me he can, in fact, fly—and fly beautifully. I cussed him out again for his lack of cooperation as I tried to see where he’d gone. All I can tell you is he was somewhere in this stand of trees.
The red shoulder came straight out of the box….to the ground. I watched for a minute—no attempt to fly. I walked toward him. He glared but didn’t move. I started swearing, put the camera up and walked back the less than 15 feet to the box to get the gloves, gloved up, turned around…and the little snot took off. Yup, I’m standing there with gloves on and camera off, and he decides to show me he can, in fact, fly—and fly beautifully. I cussed him out again for his lack of cooperation as I tried to see where he’d gone. All I can tell you is he was somewhere in this stand of trees.
The barred owl was slightly more cooperative, shooting out of the box but at least taking a long enough departure flight that I caught part of it on video. He sat where he landed for a bit, then soared off to another tree, where I managed one more shot before he also disappeared.
The juvy great horned looks as if he’ll need to be an ed bird or euthanized, if he can’t be placed. The red tail recovering from the wing fracture is looking good and inhaling food like he’s expecting a famine soon.
Another first-year red tail came in, this one a window-strike victim with a vengeance. Apparently he was in hot pursuit of a meal and quite literally crashed through the family’s window, breaking it and landing in their living room. Songbirds are smaller and more maneuverable and can swerve at the last minute; raptors as a rule aren’t quite as quick to swerve (Coops being an exception; those birds are insanely maneuverable). Apparently he managed to scratch his cornea on a piece of the glass in the process. It looks nasty and will probably turn into a corneal ulcer before all’s said and done. He’ll have a vet visit next week; my vets closed early Friday due to a death in their family.
Another first-year red tail came in, this one a window-strike victim with a vengeance. Apparently he was in hot pursuit of a meal and quite literally crashed through the family’s window, breaking it and landing in their living room. Songbirds are smaller and more maneuverable and can swerve at the last minute; raptors as a rule aren’t quite as quick to swerve (Coops being an exception; those birds are insanely maneuverable). Apparently he managed to scratch his cornea on a piece of the glass in the process. It looks nasty and will probably turn into a corneal ulcer before all’s said and done. He’ll have a vet visit next week; my vets closed early Friday due to a death in their family.
When this juvy cattle egret came in, he was somewhat lethargic but perked up a bit once he’d had time to de-stress some. However, those balled feet worried me. A former waterfowl rehabber once told me, when I was first permitted, that when egrets and herons and such ball their feet like that it’s not a good sign. It’s a strange little quirk that turns out to be a pretty good indicator of the bird’s fate. This poor fellow died overnight.
Ending on a happier note, this sweet little male flyer came in. He’s about 4 weeks old and was found in the family’s kitchen floor, but they “weren’t sure” if the cat attacked him or not. People. Really. His eyes are still closed; he didn’t wiggle his nose and magically appear on the kitchen floor. Lock the cat flap and keep the cat inside!
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