A tale of two rescuers

This week we have perfect examples of what to do and what not to do when you find injured, ill or orphaned wildlife.
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This barred owl was found by the roadside in a nearby county. His rescuers then took him home and kept him for show and tell for TEN DAYS before seeking help, admitting they thought he was blind. When he came in to LWR, it was obvious that this was truly a case of “blind in one eye and can’t see out of the other.” The right eye was opaque; the left pupil was a torn and jagged mess; he couldn’t even keep that eye open.  After eating a couple of mice—I have this thing about birds dying hungry—he was euthanized.

People, when you find injured, ill or orphaned wildlife, it needs help from licensed rehabbers NOW, not a week or two down the road, when the novelty has worn off and your neighbors aren’t dropping by for show and tell anymore.  Aside from the illegality of keeping wildlife without a permit, use a little common sense and think of its condition—is it injured? Then you’re denying it pain relief and treatment of the injury. Do you have the proper foods for it? Can you provide a stress-free environment, with no screaming children, barking dogs or mewling cats? Bottom line: when wildlife needs help, it needs help NOW, and from a properly licensed rehabber.
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Now, on the other hand, we have this nestling warbler who came in late Saturday. The lady who called about him was actually at work; her young niece was dog-sitting for her and when she let her aunt’s dogs outside, one of them picked this unnested baby up off the ground. The niece rescued the bird and called her aunt, who called me.  Since she was at work and her niece was too young to drive, we coordinated with one of LWR’s volunteer transporters to get the bird to me within two hours of its rescue.

​Folks, THIS is the way it should work when you find wildlife in need of assistance.  The warbler has a broken and bruised left wing, but the damage looks more like a result of the fall from the nest. The day before he was found and that day were both quite windy, so it’s possible he was unnested in the wind; he’s a pretty active little fellow. The wing looks pretty nasty, and Smalley’s was closed when he came in, but we’ll aim for x-rays Monday. Given his small size—his intake weight was just 6.2g—this should be a fun x-ray. He’s able to hold the wing level and he’s a young bird whose bones are still growing, so I’m fairly optimistic he’s got a good fighting chance, though.

Last week’s nestling mourning dove required euthanasia; he began spitting back most of what he was fed, while desperately begging for food, effectively starving to death while being fed. After two days of attempting treatment, I called it rather than watch the poor bird suffer.
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The head trauma barred owl is ready for release; he spent the week in the raptor flight while I made sure he could find his prey no matter where I put it. He passed that test and is flying beautifully, so he’ll be outta here in the next few days.

No new pix of the red shoulder this week; he’s antsy and mouthy and just generally being a typical RS pain in the neck.  Another six weeks or so of this…I don’t know who will be happier, me or him, when x-rays show enough healing for him to go in the raptor flight. I’m leanin’ toward me, though…
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The downy barred owl continues to grow and eat like a bottomless pit, which is good. Rehabbers like healthy eaters!

​And the flyers have been moved into new, larger digs, which they’re loving. They were hysterical checking out their new nest box!