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Early spring releases

2/26/2023

With gorgeous weather, moderate temps and a yellow cloud of pollen about to suffocate us all, LWR was able to release both the red tail and the screech!

Given that the moderate temps and low-to-no rain chances were predicted to last into late this week, the timing was finally right for releases, and both birds were happy to check out of the LWR B&B.

The red tail was first, earlier in the week, and while he was a bit hesitant to leave the glove, he finally did realize freedom was his for the taking. I love releases!

A few days later it was time for the screech to regain his freedom, at long last. Recall, if you will, that he came into LWR in September last year, after being held illegally for 3 months. His feathers were trashed, his talons were overgrown, and he had a beginning case of bumblefoot. Proper diet, meds and a talon trim, followed by a late-season molt, had him physically ready for release by December but with no cavity to roost in for the winter, he had to overwinter instead. He was one more eager-to-leave screech! Sorry for the blurry release video; once he started flying away the camera’s focus system decided a nice abstract effect would be lovely, and it wasn’t like I could call him back and say, “Let’s try that again.”

LWR had no new intakes last week, so we currently have no birds under care. However, nature abhors a vacuum, so we’ll see how long that lasts...

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Oops—the Great Backyard Bird Count is underway!

2/19/2023

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Last week was coolish, windy, and a bit rainy, so the mature red tail in the main flight is still at LWR. The weather’s looking promising for a release this week. He’s good and ready to bid us adieu, too!

Unfortunately, the second mature red tail wasn’t as lucky; as I feared, once the swelling went down on his wing, it was obvious this was not a healable fracture. He was humanely euthanized.

The screech—well, there’re only so many ways to describe a screech, and I’ve used ‘em all on this ill-tempered spitfire who’s SOOOO ready to go once the weather warms up a little more reliably. Currently, we’re having near-80-degree days one day and 50 the next, with nighttime temps fluctuating between 50s and near-freezing—not ideal weather to release a small bird who normally roosts in cavities during the day and is actually most active at dusk and dawn. Gotta love ‘im, though, the pissy little fellow!

And finally, I owe y’all a bit of an apology: Normally I push the Great Backyard Bird Count pretty hard and encourage everybody who can to participate, but this year I had too many irons in the fire and it slipped up on me before I knew it. Tomorrow’s the last day, so utilize today and tomorrow to participate if your schedule allows. Remember, it’s very flexible; you can count for as long or short a period as you like, and your count can be in your yard, in a field, in a park—wherever you see or hear birds. You also don’t have to list all the birds you see or hear, if you run across one or two you’re not familiar with or, in the case of warblers, you’re unsure exactly which warbler you’re seeing.

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A rainy week finally ends

2/12/2023

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After a week where I expected to see the animals lining up two by two, the rain has finally ended. Now we just have to dry out...and assess the damage to wildlife. LWR will either be swamped with calls or it’ll be crickets—there’s almost never a happy medium, and we have no way of predicting which way the dice will fall.

We had one intake last week, another mature male red tail. His right wing is broken near the shoulder but he was still too bruised and swollen on intake to fully determine the extent of the injury. My gut says it’s fatal, but we’ll wait and see if x-rays are warranted once the swelling is down somewhat—probably Tuesday.

The first mature male red tail is still progressing nicely; I think another week or so if the weather cooperates, and he should be good for release.

The screech is just biding his time until March and his release. And plotting ways to kill me in my sleep. It’s what screeches do to amuse themselves, I’m sure...

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Winter one night, spring the next—our wildlife must be SO confused!

2/5/2023

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Georgia’s weather alternates weekly—sometimes daily— this time of year, so one night we hear frogs and crickets and I see a lone bat flitting about at dusk; the next night it’s frigid out and nearly dead silent...The wildlife HAS to be confused; I know I am!

Only one new intake last week—one of the local game wardens brought a barred owl that had been caught on a barb-wire fence. His wing was pretty rough looking and raw but nothing was broken and he was alert and active, albeit a bit thin, so the plan was to treat the wing and hope there was no tendon or ligament damage. Unfortunately, he died the night of intake. We don’t actually know how long he hung from the fence before being discovered, and we’d just had a couple of near-freezing nights, so exposure and stress were most likely contributing factors.

The mature red tail is in the main flight and slowly regaining his flight skills. He’s gone from unable to gain lift to flying in short spurts at the full height of the flight in under a week, so if he continues to progress at this rate, within a couple of weeks, he should be good for release.

And of course, the screech remains pissy. It’s a particularly endearing screech character trait and a large part of the reason raptor rehabbers love screeches. If the weather has warmed up enough by early- to mid-March, he’s good to go, so he’s got another month or so at LWR to give me daily stink-eye...

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Early spring releases

Oops—the Great Backyard Bird Count is underway!

A rainy week finally ends

Winter one night, spring the next—our wildlife must be SO confused!

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