Laurens Wildlife Rescue
  • Home
  • I found a wild baby - what do I do?
  • How can I help?
  • Contact us
  • FAQ
  • This week in wildlife

And baby season continues…

8/13/2017

2 Comments

 
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.
Picture
Picture
​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.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
​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.
Picture
Picture
​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.
Picture
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!
Picture
​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…
Picture
​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.
Picture
​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.
Picture
Picture
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.
Picture
Picture
2 Comments
Judy Harris
8/14/2017 04:03:22 pm

It's a pleasant change to read that some people are intelligent and kind enough to do the right thing for these feathered guys. I find it upsetting when I read about those who had excellent chances of survival but didn't make it for lack of prompt and proper care. To the rescuers who make the effort to save them, I say thank you for caring enough to at least try to help creatures in need.

Reply
Laurens Wildlife Rescue
8/14/2017 06:30:20 pm

Amen, Judy. It's nice for the rehabber, too, to get a break from reporting blood and gore and general stupidity!

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010
    January 2010
    December 2009
    November 2009
    October 2009
    September 2009
    August 2009
    July 2009
    June 2009
    May 2009
    April 2009
    March 2009
    February 2009
    January 2009
    December 2008
    November 2008
    October 2008
    September 2008
    August 2008
    July 2008
    June 2008
    May 2008
    April 2008

    Categories

    All
    Baby Birds
    Baby Deer
    Baby Opossums
    Baby Possums
    Baby Rabbits
    Bluegray Gnatcatchers
    Carolina Wren
    Common Loons
    Epd
    Fawns
    House Finch
    Mbta
    Migratory Bird Treaty Act
    Mockers
    Mockingbirds
    Orphaned Birds
    Orphaned Deer
    Orphaned Fawns
    Orphaned Opossums
    Orphaned Possums
    Orphaned Rabbits
    Orphaned Wildlife
    Squirrels
    Wildlife
    Wood Ducks

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.