Another quiet(ish) week

February ended with an intake, and March began with an intake. Aside from that, it was the same ol’ same ol’ as far as the screeches and falcon were concerned.

The last intake of February was a gorgeous adult male red tail who came in favoring his wing and a little on the thin side. An intake exam revealed no obvious fractures, so we headed to Smalley’s the following day to make sure I hadn’t missed a tiny break. His x-rays showed no fractures, so he’s on “cage rest” for a bit before being moved into the main flight to test the wing. His appetite is definitely good!

The first March intake, a barred owl, wasn’t as lucky; his right wing was trashed—open fracture at the shoulder and flipped upside down. This didn’t require x-rays to know it wasn’t fixable, so he was humanely euthanized.

The screeches actually switched places in the photos for this update, and if you look closely you can see both birds are peering through those slitted eyes, the operative theory being “my eyes are closed so you can’t see me.” Against all odds, it looks as if they’ll both be releasable after all. This is the best outcome, of course, but it’s taken us all by surprise, as their x-rays had everybody convinced they’d be nonreleasable. These are the times ya love being wrong!

And the falcon has the remainder of March before we call it if no one needs her for an educational or display bird by then. It sucks, yes, but not all nonreleasable birds are placeable—or even suitable for placement. I’ve said from the get-go I really didn’t feel she was ed bird material, and everyone interested in her ends up saying the same thing once they’ve had time to look her over…

There will be no update next Sunday, the 10th; your intrepid rehabber needs a little rehab herself—got a cracked wisdom tooth that’s already gotten infected and has to come out later this week, so I’ve gotta get that handled before baby season kicks in.