…Quietly, at the moment, with absolutely no complaints on this end about that quietude. A little break is nice!
The screech continues to mend nicely; our next step is to convince him to self-feed. I know he can see, as he’s started peeking out of his box now, signaling the time to move him into a larger (but still indoor) enclosure. Hearing? Not so sure about that, but I’m leaning toward probably not. He seems to respond more to movement than sound. If he is, in fact, deaf, that seals his fate as an educational bird. Owls of all species hunt more by hearing than sight, so a one-eyed owl can fare very well in the wild. A deaf one cannot. Fortunately, his laid-back attitude remains intact as he mends, so as long as he maintains this easy-going personality, his future as a wildlife ambassador seems promising. (And yes, his pupil is jagged again in these pix—apparently it’s the flash causing it, as in non-flash pix it’s perfectly smooth. Go figure…never seen that before in any of my photos!)
The screech continues to mend nicely; our next step is to convince him to self-feed. I know he can see, as he’s started peeking out of his box now, signaling the time to move him into a larger (but still indoor) enclosure. Hearing? Not so sure about that, but I’m leaning toward probably not. He seems to respond more to movement than sound. If he is, in fact, deaf, that seals his fate as an educational bird. Owls of all species hunt more by hearing than sight, so a one-eyed owl can fare very well in the wild. A deaf one cannot. Fortunately, his laid-back attitude remains intact as he mends, so as long as he maintains this easy-going personality, his future as a wildlife ambassador seems promising. (And yes, his pupil is jagged again in these pix—apparently it’s the flash causing it, as in non-flash pix it’s perfectly smooth. Go figure…never seen that before in any of my photos!)
Taken without a flash--see how smooth the pupil is? Weird...
The barred owl is moving around the flight pen nicely now. I never know what perch he’ll be on, but you can bet I always get the full-on threat display—spread wings, beak clicking, hissing: “Put the mice down and get out, human!” He does appear to be blind in one eye, but when we noticed this at his vet visit on intake, we opted to wait and see if it was a result of recent injuries and cleared up on its own or if it might be from an old injury. Sometimes a cloudy eye will clear as it heals; that this one remains cloudy indicates an old injury or maybe a cataract. Whichever, it’s not impairing the bird’s ability to hunt—and based on his mobility in the flight pen, I’d say that fracture and dislocation that should by all logic have been life-ending is probably going to continue healing to the point of release. Fingers crossed!
Just a reminder that the 2015 LWR calendars are available through Lulu.com (link below) for $16.50 + shipping. US, UK and Canadian holidays are featured, and $5 of each purchase goes toward funding next year’s rehab efforts.
Also, please remember throughout the upcoming year that whenever you shop at AmazonSmile, Amazon donates 0.5% of the purchase price to Laurens Wildlife Rescue Inc. Bookmark the link http://smile.amazon.com/ch/26-1668846 and support us every time you shop.
And since the next update will be after New Year’s Day…
And since the next update will be after New Year’s Day…
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