And both the “extremes” came in on the same day! We might as well start with the big news and the larger of the “extremes”: LWR received a bald eagle Friday, the third since 2009, when our first one came in. This fellow was emaciated, lethargic and favored his right shoulder, although x-rays showed no fractures.
Although bald eagles are no longer on the endangered list, there’s still a pretty rigid federal protocol to be followed when rehabbers receive one—and if the rehabber doesn’t have a specific eagle permit, separate from the “general” raptor permit, s/he has about 12 hours to transfer the bird to someone who does. I don’t have a specific eagle permit. Don’t want one—the flight pen needed for an eagle is just too big and I have nowhere to construct one that large, for starters, and bald eagles are larger and more aggressive, ill-tempered and unpredictable than your average raptor, for another thing.
So anyway, when the call came from DNR that an eagle was on the way from several counties south of me, I immediately called Smalley’s to set up x-rays and a preliminary exam, per protocol. Then I called colleague Steve Hicks of Bubba & Friends, who does have a specific eagle permit and a large enough raptor flight to house the bird. As soon as he confirmed he could take it, I called one of the volunteer transporters who runs between me and Steve, AJ Rogers, to see if she and our other transport stalwarts, Marshall and Laurie Jackson, could coordinate the transport of the bird immediately after the exam at Smalley’s.
The bird arrived shortly after we got all the details ironed out, and he was unusually cooperative as I did a quick pre-vet exam. Not a good sign, and we all worried that he might have gotten into coyote bait or even had West Nile, which is treatable in its early stages, or AVM, which is not treatable at all. (Here’s a link for info on AVM: https://news.uga.edu/identify-name-toxic-cyanobacteria-killing-american-bald-eagles-0215/.)
Once we arrived at Smalley’s, vet Peggy Hobby, who remembered the last bald eagle they saw (who took a chunk out of my jaw), was also surprised at the lack of resistance by the bird to a fuller exam and several x-rays. Again, the x-rays looked good—no fractures and no lead in his gut, but he was very emaciated. Peggy then drafted a short note stating she’d examined and x-rayed the bird and the results, per protocol. One copy went with the bird to Steve, one copy went with me for my records, and one copy went in the LWR file at Smalley’s.
Although bald eagles are no longer on the endangered list, there’s still a pretty rigid federal protocol to be followed when rehabbers receive one—and if the rehabber doesn’t have a specific eagle permit, separate from the “general” raptor permit, s/he has about 12 hours to transfer the bird to someone who does. I don’t have a specific eagle permit. Don’t want one—the flight pen needed for an eagle is just too big and I have nowhere to construct one that large, for starters, and bald eagles are larger and more aggressive, ill-tempered and unpredictable than your average raptor, for another thing.
So anyway, when the call came from DNR that an eagle was on the way from several counties south of me, I immediately called Smalley’s to set up x-rays and a preliminary exam, per protocol. Then I called colleague Steve Hicks of Bubba & Friends, who does have a specific eagle permit and a large enough raptor flight to house the bird. As soon as he confirmed he could take it, I called one of the volunteer transporters who runs between me and Steve, AJ Rogers, to see if she and our other transport stalwarts, Marshall and Laurie Jackson, could coordinate the transport of the bird immediately after the exam at Smalley’s.
The bird arrived shortly after we got all the details ironed out, and he was unusually cooperative as I did a quick pre-vet exam. Not a good sign, and we all worried that he might have gotten into coyote bait or even had West Nile, which is treatable in its early stages, or AVM, which is not treatable at all. (Here’s a link for info on AVM: https://news.uga.edu/identify-name-toxic-cyanobacteria-killing-american-bald-eagles-0215/.)
Once we arrived at Smalley’s, vet Peggy Hobby, who remembered the last bald eagle they saw (who took a chunk out of my jaw), was also surprised at the lack of resistance by the bird to a fuller exam and several x-rays. Again, the x-rays looked good—no fractures and no lead in his gut, but he was very emaciated. Peggy then drafted a short note stating she’d examined and x-rayed the bird and the results, per protocol. One copy went with the bird to Steve, one copy went with me for my records, and one copy went in the LWR file at Smalley’s.
Left wing
Right wing
By this time, Marshall and Laurie were waiting to begin the first leg of the bird’s trip to Bubba & Friends. AJ and Tom handled the second leg, after a brief delay to offer the bird some food, per Steve’s instructions. Upon the bird’s arrival at Bubba & Friends, Steve decided the bird needed to be with a rehabber who had more advanced facilities, so he enlisted AJ and Tom to continue on with the bird to Kathryn Dudeck at Chattahoochee Nature Center. Upon her exam of the eagle, Kathryn confirmed some sort of soft tissue damage to the right shoulder and said he weighed about 5 pounds when he should have weighed around 7 pounds. As of late Saturday, though, Kathryn reported our guy self-fed a 284g rat, which was excellent news to hear!
Video courtesy of Tom Rogers
THIS, people, this is why having the proper permits is a MUST when dealing with wildlife. Within 24 hours this bald eagle was moved from South Georgia where he was found to Middle Georgia for triage and on to the metro-Atlanta area for ongoing care, because ALL of us involved knew each other’s permit status and qualifications —and quite frankly, limitations, as both Steve and Kathryn know I don’t have the space or the desire to work long-term with bald eagles. And a big shout-out to AJ, Tom, Laurie and Marshall for dropping everything to get this bird from LWR to Bubba & Friends to Chattahoochee Nature Center. Now we hope for the best possible outcome!
Late Friday night, LWR was contacted about four woodpeckers who’d been unnested when people were cutting up a stump for firewood just before dark. I asked that they bring the birds ASAP, thinking they’d wait till morning (which would have been fine, as most songbirds don’t eat at night). They wanted to go ahead and get them to LWR that night, though, so at 11pm four NUTHATCHES came in. And these sweet babies are the small end of the “extremes” for this week. They’re pre-fledglings, so close to leaving the nest it hurts my heart. Another two or three days, and they’d’ve been out of the nest. And their being so close to fledging also makes it more difficult to feed them, so we’ve had to go the force-feeding route since they won’t gape properly for me. One died overnight; the other three, while still not gaping, are at least not fighting being fed now. Hatchlings and nestlings gape readily; pre-fledges and fledglings, not so much…
Late Friday night, LWR was contacted about four woodpeckers who’d been unnested when people were cutting up a stump for firewood just before dark. I asked that they bring the birds ASAP, thinking they’d wait till morning (which would have been fine, as most songbirds don’t eat at night). They wanted to go ahead and get them to LWR that night, though, so at 11pm four NUTHATCHES came in. And these sweet babies are the small end of the “extremes” for this week. They’re pre-fledglings, so close to leaving the nest it hurts my heart. Another two or three days, and they’d’ve been out of the nest. And their being so close to fledging also makes it more difficult to feed them, so we’ve had to go the force-feeding route since they won’t gape properly for me. One died overnight; the other three, while still not gaping, are at least not fighting being fed now. Hatchlings and nestlings gape readily; pre-fledges and fledglings, not so much…
Another brown thrasher came in, as well, cat-attacked. He’s on meds, as cat saliva is toxic to wildlife—it has enzymes designed to break down flesh. Aside from a minor head wound, he also seems to have something neurologic going on with his legs/feet. He should be perching already, as he’s not too much younger than the thrasher who came in last week, but he can’t seem to stand. We’ll give him some time and see what happens.
Meanwhile, the “older” thrasher managed to break his lower beak in his tantrums last week. Remember I said he wasn’t a happy camper? Yeah, well, he slammed himself into the walls of his crate so hard he broke his beak. Monday he went to Smalley’s to have Peggy look at his beak. I was pretty sure it would heal nicely since he was still not self-feeding and would therefore not be using it in the normal thrasher fashion. Peggy confirmed it might be a little deformed upon healing but shouldn’t interfere with his chances of survival.
Two nestling Carolina wrens came in Tuesday; their finders Googled info on feeding birds after finding them and for two days they followed crap advice from the Internet, feeding the poor babies only every two hours or so. They were lethargic and weak upon arrival at LWR and didn’t survive the night. When it comes to attempting to feed wildlife, Google is NOT your friend. Just call a rehabber ASAP.
Thursday a couple saw a great horned owl just sitting by the roadside in broad daylight, head down and apparently unaware of his surroundings. The wife in the couple works at a vet clinic in her county and had a carrier in her car, so they loaded up the GHO and brought him to LWR. Upon intake he was very woozy and concussed; Saturday he went into the raptor flight. He’s slated for release ASAP.
The other GHO’s soft tissue damage seems to be impairing flight, though. He’s been in the raptor flight most of the week and can ladder up perches but cannot fly. He’ll need to come back in so the barred owl can have a turn in the raptor flight.
The female red tail who’d been at LWR since the end of November 2017 was released this week, which is what freed up the raptor flight for the GHOs. No video of the release, as she sorta shot out of the box before I had the camera ready, but I did get some post-release photos.
One of the dove trio died early in the week; he was fine at lights-out and dead the next morning. I hate when that happens. The other two are beginning to self-feed.
The overwintering flyers are STILL with us, but toward the end of next week there’s a three-day window of no rain chances—unless the forecast changes—so the current plan is to get them out then.
The younger two flyer siblings are no longer housed together. One night last week the female genital-nursed on the poor little male till his penis was grossly swollen. This is a common problem with gray squirrels but I’ve never had an issue with flyers genital-nursing till this pair.
The younger two flyer siblings are no longer housed together. One night last week the female genital-nursed on the poor little male till his penis was grossly swollen. This is a common problem with gray squirrels but I’ve never had an issue with flyers genital-nursing till this pair.
The hummer’s chances for release are looking slimmer and slimmer, but we’ll keep trying.
Meanwhile, the nestling owls are growing like weeds!
The barred triplets don’t all eat the same amount at each feeding, although it’s always offered. They tend to be pretty vocal at feeding time, though.
Meanwhile, the nestling owls are growing like weeds!
The barred triplets don’t all eat the same amount at each feeding, although it’s always offered. They tend to be pretty vocal at feeding time, though.
The GHO is putting on a really nice threat display till the food’s offered; then all he’s thinking about is stuffing his gut—but when he’s done, he’s done. Hasn’t he changed massively since intake? I love the big, goofy feet of a nestling GHO!
Finally, this time of year I get numerous calls from worried people who think the parents haven’t fed the babies in the nest they’ve been watching or just noticed. Usually, the caller says the babies haven’t been fed in two or three days and the babies are noisy and gaping when they look in the nest, and they want to know what to do. Folks, baby birds cannot survive two or three days with no food. The older they get, the more noise they’ll make as they compete with each other for food, so that may be why you’re hearing babies more often than just days before. Also, if you go near the nest and your shadow falls across it, your hand touches it, or you make any sort of noise, young nestlings will instinctively gape—it’s hardwired into them to pop open that little beak to accept whatever Mama & Papa Bird are bringing to the nest. As they get older, your presence will cause them to hunker down silently in fear; they recognize that you’re not the source of food and could indeed be a predator.
My advice is this: first, watch nests from a respectful distance. If you’re too close, the parents won’t come to feed the babies, so you cause them to miss meals. Second, if you think a nest has been abandoned, watch it carefully from inside your house or behind a tree or somewhere where the parents can’t see you. Ninety-nine percent of the time, the parents will show shortly and you’ll hear the chorus of babies begging for food. They’ll chirp loudly and then, after a few minutes, as their hunger is sated, the noise will die down, only to begin again shortly as the parents return with more food.
When should you intervene? If the begging calls are nonstop, chances are there’s a problem. From a good hiding place, watch for the parents, per above. If the babies have been noisy periodically and suddenly make no noise at all, check the nest. If they’re lethargic and not responsive to you tapping the nest or waving your fingers above them, call a rehabber immediately. If the parents are raising hell, check the nest immediately. There could be a predator like a snake attempting to eat the babies, or one of the babies may have fallen from the nest. Unnested babies can be renested; songbirds have almost no sense of smell, so they’re not going to reject a baby you’ve handled.
My advice is this: first, watch nests from a respectful distance. If you’re too close, the parents won’t come to feed the babies, so you cause them to miss meals. Second, if you think a nest has been abandoned, watch it carefully from inside your house or behind a tree or somewhere where the parents can’t see you. Ninety-nine percent of the time, the parents will show shortly and you’ll hear the chorus of babies begging for food. They’ll chirp loudly and then, after a few minutes, as their hunger is sated, the noise will die down, only to begin again shortly as the parents return with more food.
When should you intervene? If the begging calls are nonstop, chances are there’s a problem. From a good hiding place, watch for the parents, per above. If the babies have been noisy periodically and suddenly make no noise at all, check the nest. If they’re lethargic and not responsive to you tapping the nest or waving your fingers above them, call a rehabber immediately. If the parents are raising hell, check the nest immediately. There could be a predator like a snake attempting to eat the babies, or one of the babies may have fallen from the nest. Unnested babies can be renested; songbirds have almost no sense of smell, so they’re not going to reject a baby you’ve handled.
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