August does mean a slowdown in baby intakes, which no bird rehabber I know of complains about; by this time of year we’re all rehab “krispy kritters” and ready for a break—was just discussing this with a colleague yesterday, in fact. Of course, for mammal rehabbers, second baby season for gray squirrels is now in full swing, so they’ll be busy right up till late fall/early winter. We bird rehabbers will start seeing migrating birds in our facilities in the next month or so; sadly, many of them will be beyond help.
Including today, LWR saw another six birds come in over the past week; number six arrived earlier this afternoon—another Mississippi kite (MIKI), this one a little older than the previous two. He’d been found the previous night when a dog was circling him in a field. Finders reported him circling on the ground with one wing sort of thrown out; an intake exam revealed no obvious fractures, so…we’ll see how things look in the morning and decide whether x-rays are warranted.
Including today, LWR saw another six birds come in over the past week; number six arrived earlier this afternoon—another Mississippi kite (MIKI), this one a little older than the previous two. He’d been found the previous night when a dog was circling him in a field. Finders reported him circling on the ground with one wing sort of thrown out; an intake exam revealed no obvious fractures, so…we’ll see how things look in the morning and decide whether x-rays are warranted.
MIKIs 1 and 2 were already bunkmates, so MIKI 3 is now in with them. Honestly, once the screech currently occupying the raptor flight passes the live prey test, these three fierce little rascals should be next in line to try their wings.
And look at the feather regrowth we have on MIKI 1! If you’ll recall, he came in with a huge chunk of feathers and flesh ripped out of his wing. We were initially worried the missing flesh might have resulted in follicle damage that might hinder feather regrowth, but this is looking pretty darn promising.
The screech, as previously mentioned, is good to go flight-wise; he’s just gotta pass that all-important live prey test to ensure he can feed himself upon release.
The Eurasian collared dove is also good to go as soon as we have three days of low/no rain predicted.
As for the erstwhile common ground dove…weeellll…as the little darlin’ feathered out, she turned out to be a mourning dove! Honestly, the poor little thing must’ve been only a few days old on intake; her tiny size had me convinced she was a common ground dove. And then she started growing…She’s still a beauty, though!
As for the erstwhile common ground dove…weeellll…as the little darlin’ feathered out, she turned out to be a mourning dove! Honestly, the poor little thing must’ve been only a few days old on intake; her tiny size had me convinced she was a common ground dove. And then she started growing…She’s still a beauty, though!
The wood ducks are also good to go; rain shouldn’t be an issue for them—I mean, they’re ducks, right? Still, it’s just so ingrained in me not to release unless there’s a three-day good weather prediction…In the meantime, they can get in and out of the tub as they please, so this is frequently what I walk in to find when they're swimming…
Sadly, the red tail we thought had capillaria began spitting back his food, completely undigested, last Sunday night and was dead by Monday morning. I honestly suspect secondary rodenticide poisoning, given his overall lethargy.
While I was NOT happy that the tree these red-headed woodpeckers’ nest was in was cut down, apparently at the homeowner’s insistence, I will give credit to the person who cut it down—as soon as he saw the babies in the remains of their nest, he had his wife call LWR and got them here ASAP. They’re doing great and should be ready for the songbird flight within the next week.
While I was NOT happy that the tree these red-headed woodpeckers’ nest was in was cut down, apparently at the homeowner’s insistence, I will give credit to the person who cut it down—as soon as he saw the babies in the remains of their nest, he had his wife call LWR and got them here ASAP. They’re doing great and should be ready for the songbird flight within the next week.
As is typical for mockers, these two unnested clowns were found wandering down a road in an area infested with feral cats, with no nest and no parents in sight. Mockers are the world’s worst about not staying near their nest when they fall out or are frightened out. These babies were very close to fledge-age, so within a few days of intake they were already perching and have started testing those wings, so they’ll also be in the songbird flight within the week.
When this barred owl was seen by the roadside in the early morning, the passerby didn’t think much about it; when he came back by near midday and the bird was still sitting there, he knew there was an issue. He took the bird to his local sheriff’s office, where he remained until late afternoon, when a county employee in another department got off work and volunteered to drive the owl the two hours to get him to LWR. Kudos to him and his co-worker for their willingness to spend four hours round-trip on the road after working a full day.
The owl has no fractures and while both eyes are clear, he does favor that left one. He’s eating well, though, so he should be releasable as soon as we get that owl equivalent of a black eye healed. Basically, he just needs a safe place to get over a massive concussion.
The owl has no fractures and while both eyes are clear, he does favor that left one. He’s eating well, though, so he should be releasable as soon as we get that owl equivalent of a black eye healed. Basically, he just needs a safe place to get over a massive concussion.
RSS Feed
