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 injury season begins…

9/6/2015

4 Comments

 
Baby season appears to be over; now, with the beginning of migration, the ill and injured are beginning to trickle in. Most rehabbers I know claim fall as their favorite time of year. I agree, as it signals the end of a long and usually grueling baby season. What we all conveniently ignore—or try to forget—is that with fall come the birds we usually can’t do a lot for, with such mangled bodies or so far gone with starvation that we just can’t do more than end their suffering.

There was good news to begin this past week, though, with the red-headed woodpecker finally opting for release—about time, too; I’d left the escape hatch open for most of two days before the rascal decided to leave! He’s still hanging around and getting handouts, of course, and will continue that for another couple of weeks.
Picture
Picture
Early in the week I got a panicked late-night call about a hawk that had been dog-attacked. The rescuers heard the ruckus after dark and searched until they found its source, shining a light just in time to scare off the attacking dog. Unfortunately, by the time they found the young Cooper’s hawk, his right wing was mangled beyond repair. In fact, there was little left aside from exposed bone, and that was broken at the wrist.

The poor bird was such a little fighter that even after I got him home and was setting up the euthanasia chamber, he pulled himself upright in the transport box, head feathers flared, determined to fight again if need be.  I stopped just long enough to snap a photo of his defiance in the face of death, then quickly and humanely ended his suffering.
Picture
The close-ups of the wing damage below were taken after he was euthanized.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Hummingbirds are also in their fall migration, and this little female was found in the back yard of a couple who said they had over a dozen hummer feeders up. They noticed her on the ground and called LWR. On intake, her left wing was at an angle that usually indicates irreparable damage, but over the past few days she’s begun keeping it almost level with the right wing, so…fingers crossed.
Picture
That's just sugar water on her wing; some spilled from the feeder her rescuers had in her box during transport.
Picture
Picture
Picture
At least now the stubborn little male has a buddy of sorts. I’m beginning to think he had a coracoid fracture (for lack of a more precise analogy, it’s sorta like a collarbone fracture in humans) on intake. His rescuers said he was flying a bit but couldn’t get lift, and I’ve seen the same thing when he tried to fly out of his cage on yet another abortive release attempt. He actually made it out of the cage and glided to the ground; when I went to pick him back up, he flitted from my hand and glided back to the ground. Coracoid fractures usually heal to allow flight, but on the rare occasions they don’t, the bird can’t get lift for proper flight.  We’ll give this guy more time to see, but he and his new buddy need to be on their way pretty soon if they’re gonna make migration.
Picture
This red shoulder hawk was found grounded but with no apparent injuries. She just couldn’t stand. On intake she refused to flare her tail, which was skewed to the side, and she had no grip at all in her feet. I was hopeful but not optimistic that a steroidal anti-inflammatory would help, and I also suspected a pelvic fracture, which almost never shows on x-rays. She got her meds and a “donut” bed to ease the pressure on her pelvis, and over the past few days she’s shown marked improvement.  She still can’t stand, but her tail is flaring, she has strong grip in both feet and is kicking strongly with her legs, and she continually maneuvers herself out of the donut. 
Picture
Picture
Picture
I realize standing on her head isn’t exactly what we’re aiming for, but the fact that she can even manage that is nothing short of a miracle in my book. I’m guessing she whacked a window or plate-glass door head-on in pursuit of a bird. The impact would be enough to compress spinal nerves, fracture a pelvis, and—in extreme cases—even rupture a lung. So she’s actually a very lucky lady, all things considered.

The screeches are back in the raptor flight and are quite content there now. They’re eating well and building up flight muscles and stamina, so as soon as they prove they can capture live prey, they’re good to go. The female does worry me a bit, as she seems to be constantly trying to focus her vision, but she flies well and accurately and she has no trouble locating her food, so I’m probably just being paranoid.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
And finally, I’m hearing all too many accounts of people spraying their yards with weed killers and other pesticides seeking the “perfect” lawn. Folks, regardless of the time of year, those chemicals KILL WILDLIFE, especially birds. What are you trying to get rid of—dandelions? Rabbits and deer eat those. Clover? Rabbits and deer eat those, too. And let’s not forget the bees and butterflies who rely on “weeds” for food. Is it worth an unnatural, pristine expanse of sterile grass, knowing you’re a mass murderer?  My yard may look a bit shaggy but it’s wildlife-friendly. I’ll take THAT over a “pretty” yard any day. Why don’t you aim at a wildlife-friendly yard, too, and educate others to do the same?
4 Comments
Mary Kostus
9/6/2015 07:47:57 pm

So glad for the Red-Headed woodpecker. They are very rare in NJ. And I agree totally about the lawns. You can buy dandelion greens in the supermarket, yet people are killing them in their lawns. Purslane is edible in a salad and high in vitamins. If you have to kill weeds like English Plantain. Use bleach or vinegar, not herbicides.

Reply
Laurens Wildlife Rescue
9/6/2015 08:12:44 pm

Thanks Mary. Red-headeds are not as common here as they used to be, either. And exactly on the "weeds"--if people aren't poisoning their lawns they can harvest their own dandelions, which have many uses outside salads. Thanks for the reminder about vinegar as a weedkiller; I meant to mention that and got interrupted as I was writing that last paragraph and totally forgot!

Reply
Julie Zickefoose link
9/7/2015 06:19:11 pm

Dear Lauren, My deep gratitude to you for taking in the injured female hummingbird for my Facebook friend Patch. I'm deeply impressed by your work, your photography, and the way you tell it like it is. I will keep my fingers crossed for all these creatures: that hawk lying on her keel, those hummingbirds, the head-bobbling screeches, that newly-minted red-headed woodpecker (!!). Thank you for your kindness, the way you hope for the best, and end lives when nothing can be done (Cooper's hawks seem to come in with the worst injuries, poor things). I know how hard it is on the heart, so thank you from the bottom of mine.

Reply
Laurens Wildlife Rescue
9/7/2015 06:41:04 pm

Thanks Julie--high praise indeed from someone whose work I greatly admire! (No Lauren here, though--it's Laurens, as in Laurens County.)

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.