Yep, first baby of the season is…a pinky flying squirrel! They’re called pinkies at this age for obvious reasons—just look at all that pink skin! She came in late last Sunday, weighing just 7.4g. There was no umbilical stump, though, so I’m guessing her age at intake was about 10 days.
Weight at intake on 2-19-17: 7.4g
A lady’s grandson had been in the woods behind her house and noticed a recently fallen tree with a lot of “junk” around it. He went over to investigate, saw that it was debris from a nest of some kind, and began sorting through the remnants of the nest, finding just this one little girl.
Today is a week since she came in, and as of yesterday she’d nearly doubled in weight, 13.3g—and just look at that peach fuzz she’s developing! Below are daily shots so you can see just how much she’s changed since intake.
Today is a week since she came in, and as of yesterday she’d nearly doubled in weight, 13.3g—and just look at that peach fuzz she’s developing! Below are daily shots so you can see just how much she’s changed since intake.
2-20-17 weight: 7.8g
2-21-17 weight: 8.5g
2-22-17 weight: 9.4g. Patagia, or skin flaps, clearly visible. Look at that delicate veining in them!
2-23-17 weight: 10.2g. Another good shot of the patagia.
2-24-17 weight: 12.2g
Also from 2-24-17. See how even the patagia are becoming darker? They're what will allow her to glide when she's older.
2-25-17 wight: 13.3g. Compare her size relative to the quarter with the similar shot above, from day of intake.
The only other new intake was an adult red-shouldered hawk found by the roadside by a traveler, who called a friend, who then referred her to LWR. This was one more lucky red shoulder; while he had a swollen right eye with a small cut below the lid and some blood in his beak, consistent with a concussion, nothing was broken.
His eye is still a little puffy, but he’s much more alert and eating well. The goal is to release him within the next few days, as soon as the swelling in that eye is reduced a bit more.
As far as long-term guests at LWR, both the barnies and flyers are slated for release next week, weather permitting. Both sets of overwintering guests are rarin’ to go, so they’ll be delighted to experience true freedom for the first time in their lives!
The titmouse still shows no signs of molting or regrowing those missing flight feathers, so we may be looking at months before he can go into the flight pen and eventually be released.
And the sharpie has another couple of weeks before a re-x-ray to see how that broken “hand” is healing. He’s eating well, as you can see from the mess around his perch—the remnants of this morning’s breakfast and a pellet or two.
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