Blog Archives

Releases! Releases! And a first-timer bird!

6/30/2019

It was a glorious week of releases, with 15 birds returned to the wild, and a neat first-time-at-LWR bird, as well, who was also one of the releases—even better!

Let’s start with the first-timer, as I’m sure y’all’re curious by now. We had a juvie yellow-crowned night heron come in late night, mid-week via a volunteer transporter. The finders thought it had a broken leg, as it was stumbling when they saw it. By the next morning, however, he was standing fully on both legs, no wing injuries, and highly peeved at being confined, which he announced to me every time I went near his box. As is the case with most waterfowl, he was a bit on the skinny side, so a couple of days of the LWR buffet seemed in order before releasing him. And boy, was he happy to go!

Both juvie barred owls were also released, freeing the raptor flight for the screech twins.

The concussed adult red shoulder from two weeks ago was finally released, as well.

And we had a slew of songbirds opt for freedom when the escape hatch on the songbird flight was left open for them: 2 Eastern phoebes, 2 house finches, 4 great crested flycatchers, and 1 Eastern kingbird. And yes, I’m currently being mobbed every time I walk out the door by birds eager for a handout. Hitchcock ain’t got nothin’ on me!

For all intents and purposes, the juvie black vultures have also been released. They hang around the farm, but we never know where they’ll show up next: my roof, my mother’s roof, the toolshed roof, the top of the raptor flight, the top of the songbird flight…

However, they do know when I’m in the yard and, like the Elephant’s Child, being ‘satiably curious, they swoop in to see what I’m up to and hint that they really, really need a handout just like the songbirds…

Only four new intakes, just one of whom didn’t require euthanasia. A juvenile mocker came in with severe nerve damage; he couldn’t stand at all. Two barred owls came in with fatal injuries: one had an open wing fracture; the other’s wing was so maggot-infested that there was almost no flesh left on it.

The cat-attacked nestling brown thrasher, however, suffered only a ruptured air sac that has “deflated” already, although he is on antibiotics because of the cat saliva.

The mystery hatchling from Monday’s late update is a bluebird. He’s kinda rough looking and is up and down, surviving but not really thriving, so we’re just taking it one feeding at a time.

The wood duck continues to do well.

The red shoulder trio will be next for the raptor flight, as soon as the screeches move out.

And then the first red tail will have his chance, and....

…The second red tail, having completed his treatment for capillaria, is acting much more “red-tailish” so I’m thinking I’ll put these two youngsters together and see how they do. Steve Hicks of Bubba & Friends and I discussed it, and it’s probably in the best interest of both birds to have a buddy to be a red tail with, so…fingers crossed their introduction goes well!

Finally, today is the last day of the LWR summer fundraiser, and we’re at $1540, still $960 from our goal. A huge thanks to those who’ve donated already; to those who’ve been waiting, today’s your last chance to “help give Nature’s children a second chance.”

0 Comments

A songbird kinda week

6/24/2019

0 Comments

Which is unusual, given the raptor-fest of this baby season. Still, just one new raptor last week, and a slew of songbirds.

Let’s start, though, with the fundraiser, as time is running out. The fundraiser is slated to end on June 30, and we still have $1080 to go to meet our $2500 goal—and I just placed yet another $600 mouse order. It’s costly to feed these birds of prey! Remember, your donations are tax-deductible—and more useful to LWR’s guests than attagirls or thank yous!

The sole new raptor last week was another young red tail, still with heavy down behind his breast feathers, rail-thin, an incipient case of frounce, and possibly capillaria, too. Frounce is acquired from eating pigeons and capillaria comes from rodents. He flew into an open dog pen and when the dogs started in after him their owners snatched him up and brought him to LWR. This fellow is waaaay too sweet and docile; he’s really not ready to be on his own and will require intensive work to enhance his survival chances in the wild.

He’s finished his frounce treatment and started his capillaria treatment and will be transferred to colleague Steve Hicks of Bubba & Friends for more individualized attention than I can currently spare as soon as he’s finished his capillaria treatment.

Early last week, a bluebird nestling, almost ready to fledge, came in, the sole survivor of a snake raid on the nest. Physically she seemed fine but as I’ve mentioned a time or two in the past, stress is a killer. She never recovered from the stress of seeing her sibs devoured by a snake and barely made it 36 hours, poor little girl.

Then a dog-attacked brown thrasher came in with a badly broken leg, and his poop was black and tarry, indicating internal bleeding. He didn’t survive the night.

A young cattle egret with a nasty triple fracture—shoulder, humerus and wrist—required immediate euthanasia. An elderly couple found him in a water trough, so no one has any idea how his wing was so damaged.

Someone cut down a tree without checking for nests first and made orphans of these four great crested flycatchers, just days before they would’ve fledged. I’d wager a mere 24 hours would’ve been enough for them to be out of the nest, but noooo…And now, of course, they don’t trust a human parental substitute, making feedings a chore for all of us.

This grackle nestling was being tossed by a dog when the owner intervened, but it was too late; the poor baby’s wing was broken and his hip was fractured, as well. He required euthanasia.

While he awaited a spare moment for me to euthanize him, the grackle acted as a buddy to a brown-headed cowbird nestling. I’ll be perfectly honest; I would’ve preferred to euthanize the cowbird and save the grackle had it been feasible. Cowbirds aren’t on my extensive list of favorite birds. They’re parasitic nesters—I call them welfare birds, as they lay their eggs in another bird’s nest and let the other birds raise the cowbird babies, often at the expense of their own offspring.

Another house finch also came in; no photos of him, as he’s a fledgling who totally doesn’t trust me and attempts to escape at each feeding. He’s fed every half hour from sunrise to sunset—you do the math on the number of daily escape attempts…

And Sunday this hatchling, possibly a bluebird, was confiscated by one of LWR’s volunteer transporters when she saw a woman with it at PetSmart—and yep, they’d sold her the Kaytee Exact that will KILL wild birds.

Folks, in case you don’t remember, first, it’s against state and federal law to possess wild birds without a permit. Second, Kaytee is a crap diet for wild birds; the company even has a label on the product warning you NOT to feed it to wild birds. If you want to see what it does to a wild bird, go to the LWR Facebook page and look at the pinned post of its effects on a blue jay fed the crap for nearly a month.

In news of older LWR “guests,” much-needed rain has delayed the barred owls’ releases, so that’s put everybody in a holding pattern for the raptor flight. The screeches are next in line, followed by the red shoulders and then the older red tail. No new photos of any of them this week.

On the songbird front, the mocker and blue jay were released and are still demanding handouts. Only the jay will tolerate the camera, though...

Two of the three phoebes are in the songbird flight; one died. It’s so frustrating when birds are getting the same diet at the same frequency of feedings, and two thrive and one just dies for no apparent reason…

The house finch who was in the songbird flight last week is still there; he refused to leave before new birds were placed in with him, and now he and the kingbird are buddies—go figure.

The kingbird’s ruptured air sac took till mid-week to finally go down so he looked normal, but now he’s a gorgeous fellow.

And the juvie black vultures are starting to assert their independence a little more. I never know where they’ll fly into the yard from, as they’re venturing farther and farther from their comfort zone now but always seem to find their way back before sunset to roost nearby for the night. I fully expect them to disappear for good fairly soon, which is as it should be. They’re figuring out they don’t really need me anymore!

0 Comments

And the pace doesn’t slow…

6/16/2019

0 Comments

LWR had another hectic week, with 24 intakes in 7 days, five releases, and, of course, the umpteen other birds already in care. At this point I’m not even counting; if I do, I may end up in a corner banging my head against the wall. The good news is we’re just over the halfway mark on the fundraiser!

Starting with the releases, the adult barred owl who came in a month ago with a broken leg regained his freedom.

Also, the first-year red tail from the previous week was released.

One of the great horneds took his leave; no decent video or photos. The other proved unable to fly and is back inside while the flight pen is occupied by the barred owl duo.

The other two releases were a juvenile mourning dove that came in late last Sunday and a juvenile tree swallow that came in mid-week. They both were apparently victims of lack of full waterproofing during last week’s rain, as both were perfectly able to fly and self-feed once they’d dried off. Since both were self-sufficient prior to intake, they had none of the trust birds that come in younger do and high-tailed it the moment I opened the “escape hatch” on the songbird flight.

So that’s the releases and two of last week’s intakes sorted…

The fledgling blue jay from last Sunday’s update is in the songbird flight, along with a kidnapped mockingbird fledgling. As a reminder, if a bird has short tail feathers and is capable of some unskilled and sloppy short flight, it is a fledgling and is still being fed by its parents as it learns to forage and improves its flight skills. Unless it is injured, in the middle of the road, or in imminent danger of a cat or dog (or other predator) attack, LEAVE IT ALONE and let the parents finish their job.

They are joined by a fledgling house finch who was kept illegally for nearly a week, fed a crap diet and driven all over the state unrestrained by an individual who felt s/he was now an “expert” because they’d done a Google search. May I remind y’all that the VAST majority of wild bird care information on the Internet is just plain wrong and potentially lethal to the birds? Also, it is against state and federal law to possess wildlife without permits; the public is generally allowed a 48-hour window to locate a properly licensed rehabber before they’re considered in violation of the law.

Contrast the actions of that individual with those of the woman who saw the nest that had been under her porch eaves on the ground as she as headed to work, with one baby dead. She attempted to place the nest as close as possible to its original location, left for work and was devastated when she came in that afternoon to find the nest on the ground again, with another dead baby. Having attempted to do the right thing in replacing the nest, without the results she hoped for, she immediately called LWR and brought the three surviving Eastern phoebes, who have grown like weeds in just a few short days. They’ll be in the songbird flight by the end of this week.

LWR doesn’t see many yellow-billed cuckoos and they’re usually adults, so when this sweet bird arrived, I was—and remain—quite entranced. Cuckoos are shy birds; you hear them much more often than you see them. This sweetheart is also nearly ready for the songbird flight.

And hot on her heels came a fledgling Eastern kingbird, another species LWR seldom sees, found in the middle of the road. This poor fellow has a ruptured air sac on the back of his head. Birds have air sacs throughout their bodies; they aid in flight. When one is ruptured, usually through some sort of trauma, the air migrates to the skin surface and creates what looks like a huge blister. If the ruptured air sac will interfere with proper positioning of the wings, ability to stand, or ability to eat, it can be drained. In this case, though, it wasn’t interfering with anything but the poor fellow’s looks, giving him a massively oversized head, so I’m allowing it to go down on its own. It’s already noticeably smaller.

When callers said they had a nest of chimney swifts fall in the fireplace, I explained that if they placed the babies back in the fireplace in a shallow saucer lined with a paper towel they’d be able to see if the parents were coming down to feed them, which they will do ninety-nine percent of the time—and to put up a fire screen or piece of cardboard or something to block off the fireplace. After the ninety-minute window I’d given the callers passed with no callback, I sighed a HUGE sigh of relief, as chimney swifts are highly labor-intensive birds. But Murphy cackled with sadistic glee…

Seems the callers had placed the babies back in the fireplace, per my instructions, erected NO screen to block off the fireplace, and left for a day trip. When they came back the parents had indeed tried coming down to feed the babies, but their cat had killed one parent and maimed the other badly enough that it required euthanasia.

So…six naked chimney swifts, without heat or food for possibly 24 hours, and an adult with a ruptured eye…The adult was euthanized; the babies are hanging in there, except for the runt, who didn't make it. None of them look great and I’m honestly surprised they’ve made it this long, but they may surprise me even further; who knows?

This adult red shoulder was found stunned by the roadside and is rarin’ to go now, after a couple of days at the LWR B&B. He’ll be released possibly as early as tomorrow.

Two other red shoulders, both juvies, weren’t as lucky, though. One came in with a degloved leg—the skin was sliced neatly down the entire leg and the flesh was completely missing. There was no neural response at all. He was euthanized.

The second came in late yesterday with a wing broken right in the wrist and a leg broken and totally dislocated at the hip. He was also euthanized.

A third young red shoulder was emaciated but not starvation-thin, and was eating well and looking more alert and healthy…and died overnight.

An adult blue jay was found stuck—literally hanging by his neck—in a truck bumper. An intake exam revealed his right shoulder was shattered, so he was euthanized.

What appeared to be a fledgling swallow came in covered with dried mud and already agonal breathing. Before I could euthanize, he died.

And this fledgling bluebird was a cat-attack victim. He was also agonal breathing on intake and also didn’t survive long enough to be euthanized.

Let me hop on my soapbox yet again: KEEP YOUR CATS INDOORS WHERE THEY BELONG. If you don’t want them killing wildlife, KEEP THEM INSIDE. Is that perfectly clear? CATS BELONG INDOORS.

The final new intake for the week was a juvie barred owl pulled from a barbed-wire fence. The wing looked pretty raw and I couldn’t feel any fractures but swelling will often hide a break. As the swelling in the shoulder went down, the wing began drooping badly, indicating the possibility of either a shoulder fracture or a torn tendon. He came in late Friday afternoon, so we’ll see how things look tomorrow to determine if a vet visit or euthanasia is called for.

The screech twins have about had it with their box; I’m hoping to get them in the raptor flight by the end of the week at latest.

The red shoulder trio is in larger digs but would also prefer to be in the raptor flight. Maybe within another 10 days or so…

The red tail was camera shy this week, literally hunkering down and hiding his face every time I looked his way. His appetite’s good, though!

The wood duckling continues to do well; I seldom actually see the little rascal except when I fish him out from under his feather duster “mama” for a swim.

Without a doubt, however, the juvie black vultures were the highlight of my week. I never know where they’ll be anymore; their food is attracting wild cousins into the yard, and they’re so everlovin’ photogenic!

Finally, at $1345 we’re just over the halfway mark with our fundraiser—another $1155 to go. A huge thank you to those who’ve donated; to those of you who haven’t yet, time’s a-wastin’!

0 Comments

New week, new raptors

6/9/2019

2 Comments

Yep, they just keep coming in—and songbirds, too, of course. And the fundraiser is progressing slowly but it’s early in the month yet.

For you red tail fans (and who among us isn’t a red tail fan?), LWR had two red tails come in: a brancher and a first-year bird. Neither bird is happy to be at LWR but they’re both eating well.

The brancher was found by a car; the first-year was running along the ground with a cat in hot pursuit. Neither has any injuries, although the first-year is a bit on the thin side.

And late in the week, a man called with a duckling he’d found in his pool—a duckling that turned out to be a days-old wood duckling. As many of you may remember from past episodes with wood ducks, they can be stressy little things, and a singleton, on top of everything else? Thus far, the wee fellow is doing well, although he runs straight back to his feather duster “mama” every time I walk near his little pen.

The juvie black vultures enjoyed their first rain last week—and I do mean enjoyed! It’s now anybody’s guess as to where they’ll be: in the carport, on the carport roof, on the fence, on the walkway…

The great horned owls fly to the ground and put on threat displays whenever I walk in the raptor flight to lay out their food for the night.

The red shoulder trio is ready for the raptor flight, but the great horneds have to be released first, then the barreds and screeches get their turns, respectively. No new photos of the barreds or screech twins, but I did remember to snap one of the red shoulders.

The poor ratty-looking trailer hitch bluebirds didn’t make it, and one of the nest-injury blue jays required euthanasia. The other is doing well and will be in the songbird flight next week.

Monday night a nestling robin came in, breathing heavily and favoring one side of his body. While I suspected damage from his fall from the nest, I was hopeful he’d survive, especially since the next morning he was weakly calling for food at sunrise. Sadly, it was false hope; he ate a little and then basically lapsed into a coma, dying less than two hours later.

And the next night a lady called about a nest that had been destroyed when a fern on her porch fell. There were apparently only two eggs; one was shattered beyond hope, but she said she still could see movement in the other. I thought she’d candled the egg and could see the embryo moving, but when she arrived, she handed me an egg that, despite the severe damage to the shell, contained a baby trying to hatch. The membrane and all the fluids in the egg had leaked out when it was damaged in the fall, but the poor little hatchling, a house finch, was still weakly fighting to hatch.

As I have one songbird colleague I can count on to’ve seen the same weird stuff I see—and who keeps the same weird hours I do—I called Maureen Eiger in Virginia, who confirmed she’d actually just had a similar situation. After a quick exchange of ideas and photos, we agreed dampening the shell and carefully pulling it off was about the only chance to save this baby, so he did manage to hatch with a little assistance. After some emergency measures and a couple of tiny feedings, I put him to bed shortly after 1 AM and hoped for the best.

The next morning he was lethargic and refused to gape—not good signs—but he did swallow the tiny bits of food I fed him. A few hours after sunrise he just couldn’t fight anymore, though, poor little fellow…

And in a tale of two cardinals, neither with photos, we had one hit by car who didn’t survive the night and another pulled from a glue trap whose major injury was loss of tail feathers, which will grow back. Given his propensity to escape every time I freshen his food and water and lead me on a merry chase, he’ll be released in a few days, as soon as he’s had a chance to re-waterproof his feathers by preening oil from the gland above his (absent) tail feathers.

And let me rant about glue traps for a moment here: if you absolutely MUST use them, use them INDOORS only. They do NOT belong outdoors or in your garage or carport. INDOORS ONLY.

Last night folks returned home from a vacation to find an injured red shoulder on their porch. The wife brought the bird to LWR, saying she could smell something when she boxed the bird for transport. What she smelled was a maggot-infested wing; they had already stripped the wing of any flesh at all. The bird would have required euthanasia but he died within minutes of intake.

And finally, just a reminder that LWR is holding a fundraiser throughout the month of June. Less than five percent of the people who bring us birds donate toward their care and raptors, especially, are expensive to feed and usually longer-term “guests” than songbirds. We’re currently at $480 of the $2500 goal. Don’t wait for “someone else” to donate—YOU are that “someone else!”

2 Comments

A week of releases—and a new fundraiser

6/2/2019

2 Comments

And none too soon, as LWR was about to hit critical mass. We had a total of 19 songbird and raptor releases last week, and there are still 20 birds in care!

Certainly the most impressive was the red tail release. He kindly perched afterward long enough for great photos, then flew to another tree near the water, scoped out his surroundings a bit more, and headed straight for the water. I was hopeful, given his slight wing ruffling while he waded in and took a sip or two, that he might bathe, and after forty-friggin’-forevers while I melted in 100-degree heat, standing stock-still so as not to startle him, he did! He bathed! And I got it on video for your viewing pleasure!

Of course, the songbird releases aren’t as impressive, as I just open their escape hatch. The scene afterwards as they come demanding a handout can be pretty funny, though. This video was after five of the 10 released songbirds had gotten said handout.

Six mockers, a brown thrasher, and three house finches were released, along with an adult Carolina wren who apparently was either a windowstrike or just plain heat-exhausted; she came in lethargic and pretty pathetic-looking but had perked up by the next morning and was sent on her merry way.

And the two barn swallows from my mother’s resident population were reunited with their sibs. I watched till the remaining sibs fledged, just a day or two after these two fledged prematurely (i.e., they overreached for food and fell from the nest), and took them back up to see if they’d rejoin their family. They did!

And a barred owl that came in with a black eye—really; the eyelid was swollen and bruised—was also released after a few days for the swelling to go down so he could see normally from that eye.

But wait—there’s more!

The adult great horned owl who’d been at LWR for several months recovering from a wing facture was released—no photos or video of his release; he shot out of the box and headed deep into the woods. I looked but couldn’t locate him for a post-release photo.

The three red shoulders who’d been in the raptor flight for a couple of weeks were also released and while they scattered so I couldn’t get post-release photos, they did leave the box one at a time, so I was able to get short videos of their releases. The box was tipped on its side, so they all flew out low.

Of course, it’s not all good news; never is. A juvenile barred owl came in severely emaciated, with bruising in his ear indicating a concussion and massive swelling in his beak. He died overnight.

A juvenile mourning dove with a broken wing, also severely emaciated, died overnight.

A nestling Carolina wren, found cold and weak with its dead sibs, put up a valiant fight but only managed to survive 18 hours after intake.

Last Sunday night’s chipping sparrow appeared to be thriving and was about ready for the songbird flight when he just died in his sleep overnight, and the house finch runt actually made it to the songbird flight with his sibs but died his first night in the pen. A fledgling blue jay did great for two days and then dropped dead on Day 3.

And an adult barred owl with a nasty fracture right in the wrist required euthanasia.

Two additional fledgling blue jays came in from different locations, both with foot injuries. Both look to be nest injuries, so we’ll just give them time to see how they adapt.

The trailer hitch babies I thought might be phoebes turned out to be bluebirds. It wasn’t until they finally started vocalizing and their feathers started breaking through that their species was confirmed. But I’ll be honest, they’re the rattiest looking little bluebirds I’ve ever seen—like miniatures, almost. I don’t know if the nearly 24 hours they went without food or heat adversely affected their development or if they were exposed to some sort of chemicals or what, but they’re just kinda pathetic looking little babies right now. However, they’re alert and eating well, so time will tell.

The two juvie great horned owls are now in the raptor flight.

The juvie barred owls will probably be next…

…And then maybe the screech twins.

The new red shoulder trio will more than likely be the last of the current crop of raptors to go in the raptor flight.

“But wait,” you exclaim, “what about the juvie black vultures?”

HAH.

I moved them into the old duck pen, as they’d outgrown the rehab room and the front porch. They stayed there for three days. Then I found them on the roof over the back of the old duck pen. Then I found them wandering the yard…Now they do their own thing all day and follow me like Mary’s little lamb back into the duck pen for the night but are already in the yard come daybreak. Brats…

And finally as you may have guessed, given the oh-so-subtle header for this update, it’s that fundraising time of year again. With raptors out the wazoo this year—LWR has maintained a steady ratio of about 3:1 raptors to songbirds thus far—the mouse bill is through the roof, as you might well imagine. The goal this year is modest, just $2500, and I believe we can meet that in under a month, but the fundraiser will remain active through the month of June.

2 Comments

Releases! Releases! And a first-timer bird!

A songbird kinda week

And the pace doesn’t slow…

New week, new raptors

A week of releases—and a new fundraiser

Archives

Categories