博客存档 - Laurens Wildlife Rescue

Weather made last week a slow one

1/26/2025

A wide swathe of South and Middle Georgia experienced snow last week—an uncommon occurrence here—along with temps that struggled to rise above freezing for several days, meaning that snow and ice lingered for most of the week. The result was few people on the roads and, aside from playing in the rare snow, few people even outside. This, of course, meant no new intakes for the week, making this a short update.

The barred owl is good for release this week; we have rain predicted for tonight and tomorrow, but a clear forecast for the remainder of the week, with warmer weather, so he’ll be on his way ASAP after the rain moves out.

The sharpie continues to make his anger at captivity known, but his “wrist” fracture hasn’t had time to heal yet. He’ll be at LWR for another month, at least.

The red tail remains alert and aggressive. His wing may not heal for flight, but we’ll give him the time he needs to heal and test it.

And we’ll end this week’s update with a photo of last week’s snow for your viewing pleasure…

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Releases ahead of frigid temps

1/19/2025

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Our predicted “rainy season” for the weekend turned into wind bringing Siberian cold with it tonight and through this week, but LWR did manage several releases last week in plenty of time for the birds to adjust…and we had a couple of euthanasias as well.

Starting with the three birds who needed vet visits for x-rays, the mature red tail that I really thought was just too full to move turned out to have a body full of birdshot that had broken a toe and an ulna. The toe should heal just fine; the ulna may be too displaced to heal for flight. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Because he’d been shot, his injuries had to be reported to the state and feds. Given that dove season is in till the end of this month, it’s highly likely he’s a victim of “pray and spray” over a dove field.

The first year red tail with spinal trauma also had a right wing fracture that would never heal for flight; he required euthanasia.

The barred owl who came in last Sunday also had a nasty fracture that required euthanasia.

Two of the three remaining barreds were released; the third seemed reluctant to fly to freedom but is flying perfectly well in the main flight, where he was moved after a day or two in the mini-pen. We’ll try again when this cold snap ends.

The other two barreds wasted little time heading off into the wild.

Same for the red tail who’d been at LWR since mid-November of last year—his finder graciously provided the release video below.

And the sharpie continues to do well, all things considered (meaning he hasn’t yet started self-mutilating or any of the other self-destructive behavior these high-strung birds are prone to in captivity).

Laurens County and most of Middle Georgia are predicted to get some sort of “wintry precipitation” Tuesday, so keep y’all’s fingers crossed that we don’t lose power during whatever weather we get.

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Busy week for January

1/12/2025

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LWR saw four intakes last week through today, making it the busiest week of 2025 thus far. (I’m being facetious, people; I’m aware it’s only the second full week of the year…)

The first intake was a gray-phase screech found in the roadway several counties away. He was lethargic and unresponsive on intake and didn’t survive the night.

The second was a first-year red tail with spinal trauma, who came in just before our predicted “winter storm,” which dumped only cold rain on Laurens County Friday, but in sufficient quantity that it seemed safer to hold off till this week to get him in for x-rays.

The third, a barred, came in early this morning and has a very obviously broken right wing. It feels like it’s right in/at the shoulder, so x-rays will be needed for this one, too.

And the fourth, arriving just after noon, is a feisty, full-cropped mature red tail who I suspect is totally uninjured but was just sluggish due to that bigger-than-his-head crop. If his x-rays confirm this, he can be released back into his home territory by week’s end; his finders have already expressed willingness to do so.

As for the “older” LWR residents, the red tail in the main flight is good to go; I’ll be in touch with his finders tomorrow to arrange his release.

The barred in the mini-pen and the second barred inside are good to go.

Barred 3’s eye injury was confirmed to be an existing condition that the bird had adjusted to, so he’s also good for release.

And the sharpie’s right wrist fracture is minor, not displaced, and doesn’t seem to be interfering with his ability to move the wing, so we’re giving him time to heal fully and then he’ll be tested in the main flight…assuming he doesn’t injure himself worse trying to escape his box. Sharpies aren’t far behind Coops in being psychotic little birds.

So if all goes well, next week there should be a slew of releases to report: three barreds and two red tails. We have a very short window for these releases before another “rainy season” moves in toward the end of the week, so fingers crossed…

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Ending one year and beginning another on the same “note”

1/5/2025

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Talk about a weird coincidence…2024 ended with a New Year’s Eve barred intake, and the first intake of 2025 was—yup, you guessed it: a barred!

The NYE barred had a minor concussion that began resolving itself within 48 hours, so he’s actually ready to be moved to a flight as soon as one’s open.

The first bird of 2025 may not be as lucky. His right eye is totally deflated, and it’s hard to tell if this is a new injury or one that occurred so long ago that he’s already adjusted to it. Given the lack of aqueous or vitreous humor draining from the eye on intake, I’m leaning toward an old injury. He’ll most likely be making a vet trip to confirm my guess, and then we’ll decide if he’s releasable or not, as owls hunt more by hearing than sight.

And just yesterday, a juvenile sharpie with a broken right wing came in. The break feels very close to the wrist joint, so we’ll need x-rays to see if this is one that can be mended.

As for the “older” barred, he’s in the mini-pen now and indicating he’s ready to go; unfortunately, with the extreme cold predicted for Georgia for this week, he’s not goin’ anywhere. Yes, I know birds can survive in intemperately cold weather, but such conditions make hunting more difficult, so I’d rather go into a holding pattern until temps are more moderate.

The red tail was moved into the main flight and should be ready for release by early next week. If y’all recall, his finder wanted to release him back into his home territory on his property, always the best option for mature birds, so I’ll be in touch with him toward the end of this week to see what days next week will be convenient for him to retrieve this gorgeous fellow and restore his freedom.

According to the weather-guessers, this cold front is supposed to affect a wide swathe of the US, so y’all hunker down and stay warm this week!

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Weather made last week a slow one

Releases ahead of frigid temps

Busy week for January

Ending one year and beginning another on the same “note”

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