The second screech, the little male, regained his freedom early last week and wasted no time disappearing into the low brush—a great hiding place until he could get his bearings.

The barnie remains in the main flight, primarily because, since he’s a juvie, he needs a longer stretch of really decent weather for release…and we ain’t had that yet. Snow last Sunday, followed by frigid temps; the threat of ice this weekend, which dodged us but is slamming North Georgia; and predicted frigid temps for this week…yeah, the barnie’s better off where he is for a while longer.

We had two intakes last week, a red shoulder and a barred.

The red shoulder, a window strike from Baldwin County, was DOA.

The barred, found by two GBI agents at the Laurens-Dodge line, had a right shoulder fracture that required euthanasia.

The whole South looks to be in deep freeze mode this week, so y’all stay as warm as possible!

For the second year in a row, Middle Georgia got snow—and pretty close to the same time as last year, although nowhere near the impressive five inches we got last year. This was just a dusting and has already begun to melt. Still…snow two years in a row?! (Hush up, y’all from Parts North; snow is a much-enjoyed rarity here!)

Okay, enough gushing about our tiny bit of snow and on to last week’s goings-on at LWR…

First, the female screech regained her freedom. She was quite ready to go, obviously!

This meant the little male screech could be moved into the mini-pen. He’s flying well already, so he’ll most likely regain his freedom this week.

The barnie is ready to go, as well; he may also be released this week or next. We’ll see…

And with no new intakes last week, that’s our update, y’all. Stay warm!

The header pretty much sums up that situation. While it was clear throughout the week, we had windy conditions—not breezy, pure-out windy—and while I’ll release when it’s breezy, I’m not releasing anything as small as a screech when the wind is strong enough to rock my front porch swing like someone’s in it “just a-swanging.” (John Anderson reference, for those unfamiliar with country music when it was actually country.)

So screech 1 is still in the mini-pen. While her right eye still has lingering blood, it’s slowly being reabsorbed, and the pupil is near-equal in size to the left one, so if the wind will quit trying to blow us off the map, she should be good to go this week.

Screech 2’s left eye looks good when he has it open…which is anytime I’m not near him with a camera. Apparently there’s still some light sensitivity.  We’ll give him a while longer inside.

The sole new intake last week was a barred owl found in the road in Dodge County. The plan was to get x-rays of a suspected wrist fracture the next day, but there were apparently also internal injuries, as the poor bird didn’t survive the night.

And the barnie remains silent and aloof, toe dusting like a pro every time I go into the flight to feed him. I may have a release plan formulating for him; not gonna elaborate till I get the details ironed out.

After a week of March in January (warm and windy), we’re now returning to January in January for the upcoming week. From short sleeves to sweatshirts overnight...If we humans are confused, just imagine how the poor wildlife feels!

The first LWR intake of 2026 was… a barred owl, on New Year’s Day. No surprise there, really, as barreds tend to be the most commonly seen bird at LWR. He was found either in Screven or Jenkins County; the finders weren’t sure, as they were on the road between the two adjacent counties.

Unfortunately, his right wrist was broken beyond repair, so he was humanely euthanized.

I do, however, want to take a moment to address the safe handling and transport of ANY wildlife but especially raptors. This bird was transported to me cradled in the finder’s arms. Barehanded. No shirt, jacket, or anything else restraining the bird. And when I reached my gloved hands in to take the bird from the finder, the person insisted on cooing over and stroking the bird before and during handing him over, resulting in them getting a talon in the wrist. They were lucky it was just one talon and not very deep.

Y’all, always, ALWAYS be aware that any injured wildlife may be in shock when you pick it up, but as you drive down the road, the shock may begin to wear off and that “sweet, docile” critter you wrangled barehanded from the side of the road can turn into a Tasmanian devil at the flip of a switch. The result may be an angry hawk or owl flapping around in panic in your vehicle, putting you at risk of a wreck. Or you could just get good and footed, with all the bird’s talons sunk into your wrist, face, or thigh. You could get nasty, oily, smelly owl stress poop all over your clothes. In the case of small mammals, you could get bitten—and in the case of a rabies vector like a coon, then your troubles have just begun.

Bottom line: SAFELY restrain ANY and ALL injured wildlife you pick up or transport. If you don’t have a box or crate handy, “burrito” it in a shirt, jacket, or blanket. (And everybody, even here in the South, should keep a spare blanket or two in their vehicle, in case you break down somewhere and need it to keep warm while waiting for assistance.) Rehabbers understand that you’re excited to have found and rescued injured wildlife, but don’t let that excitement send your common sense right out the window and end up injured yourself.

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming…

The second and third birds of the year both came in January 2. Both were screeches, both gray phase.

The first screech had been hit the previous night in Telfair County by the rescuer, who was distraught, as she didn’t see him coming from the side of the road until he whacked her bumper. Again, unfortunately, his injury was fatal; his left wing was broken at the shoulder. He also required humane euthanasia.

The second screech was found in the road in Johnson County. Aside from some blood in his left eye, he seems to be uninjured—no fractures, but there could still be soft tissue damage. We’ll have to wait till he’s placed in a flight to determine that.

And of course, the female screech from last week’s update is in the mini-pen at the moment. She still has a bit of blood in her eye and the pupil is still a bit dilated, but she’s antsy, flying well, and eating well, so if the weather holds, she’s slated for release within the next few days.

The barnie continues to mostly hang out on his favorite perch platform, but every now and then he’ll fly down to glare at me and toe dust. Gotta love a barnie; they’re such eccentric birds!

The fundraiser ended with $970 total. Again, thanks to all who donated.