And still they come…the critters, that is!

Let’s lead with an update on last week’s barred owls. The one that came in last Sunday—the grille barred, as I called her (once she unballed those feet, I decided “he” was actually a “she”)—did have life-ending injuries. Her shoulder was trashed, as you can see in the x-ray below.

The vision-impaired barred had an inflamed optic nerve in his “good” eye, so we opted to give him a little more time. He seems to be regaining vision in that eye and might be releasable by the end of the week, depending on his continued progress.

The “miracle” fledgling pigeon is now eating on his own, perching, and “flying in place” as he strengthens his wings. I have no problem admitting that I honestly don’t see how this bird’s still alive. Based on his starvation-level weight when he came in (15g, for those who don’t remember), he should actually be dead, and yet he’s gaining weight, alert, and now progressing normally for a fledgling pigeon. Amazing…

Great blue herons (GBHs) are rather shy birds, despite their large size, so when someone calls about a GBH, I can usually operate under the assumption that the bird is in pretty bad shape.  They’re either starving or have nasty injuries, usually from collisions with vehicles.  This guy was found by one of the roads in town, so HBC (hit by car) was a good guess. Even when debilitated, GBHs can be quite aggressive, however, so the important thing with them is to control that rapier beak first, before even attempting an exam.  Despite his being well-fleshed and quite feisty—as you can see in the short video clip, this GBH did NOT want to be examined—his left leg was shattered at the hip and his left wing was demolished at the wrist. There was nothing that could be done for him but end his suffering.

When fellow rehabber Korey Henderson of Valdosta asked me to take the four (count ‘em—FOUR!!!) flying squirrels she’d had since about the time my three came in, I obviously didn’t hesitate to say yes.  Like me, Korey adores flyers, but her release site isn’t quite as optimal as mine, so I now have seven overwintering flyers! The new quartet includes one lone female. They’re still a bit shy and unsure of their new digs, but I managed a few shots of them…

…as well as a few more of my original lot.

For those of you who would still like to donate to LWR’s 2014 rehab efforts, we still have our 2014 calendars selling through Lulu.com: http://www.lulu.com/shop/laurens-wildlife-rescue-2014-calendar/calendar/product-21282459.html?showPreview=true. Remember that all proceeds above Lulu.com’s fees will be used to fund LWR’s operations next year, so buy lots of calendars—they’ll make great Christmas gifts or stocking stuffers! The button below will take you directly to the Lulu site and add a calendar to your shopping cart automatically. There’s currently a 10% discount on the calendars, and as an added bonus, Lulu.com is offering free shipping from now through Dec. 24 if you use the code FREESHIP.  So far a whopping 5 calendars have been purchased; if sales don’t improve, I’m probably not gonna do a calendar next year. 

Finally, a reminder to all of you within driving distance of Dublin, GA's Ruby Tuesday restaurant: you have a great chance to raise money for LWR just by eating at Ruby Tuesday on Dec. 19! All you need to do is click on the link below (or copy and paste into your browser) to get the flyer you need to print out and take with you, then eat at Ruby Tuesday any time on Dec. 19 and present the flyer. And 20% of your meal total is then donated to LWR! You MUST present the flyer to your server for LWR to receive the donation, so please take advantage of this painless, tasty way to help us raise funds--and share the info   (and the flyer or link to the flyer) with your friends, as well!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/hoz2tjx5j3crh7p/lwr%20ruby%20tuesday%20fundraiser%20flyer.pdf