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More o’the same

7/31/2022

Hot, humid, and slow intakes...And I’ve seen other rehabbers commenting on slow intakes, as well—in addition to those reporting record intakes. The rehab community seems to be bouncing all over the place this year, intake-wise. The faint remnants of optimism in me want to say it’s because fewer critters need our help; the much-more-dominant realist in me says it’s because gas is high, people are focused on keeping their families cared for, they’re working longer hours to try and offset inflation with more income, and they’re just not outside as much to see wildlife in need of assistance. Urban rehabbers are the ones reporting high intakes, because it’s easier for city dwellers to reach them; rural and suburban rehabbers, not so much.

ANYway...neither philosophy nor economics is my focus here, so on to the wildlife.

Monday afternoon a juvenile Cooper’s hawk came in, rail-thin. Finders reported that the bird couldn’t use its legs, leading me to suspect a window-strike victim. Upon intake, I noted slightly labored breathing, as well. The goal was to get it in for x-rays Tuesday, but it died Monday night. I’m guessing the labored breathing was from cracked ribs that ended up puncturing a lung overnight as the bird shifted around in the donut he was placed in to support him and ease his breathing.

And yesterday a barred owl came in after hitting the side of the presenter’s car the previous night. His left wing had an open fracture and the shoulder was completely trashed. He was humanely euthanized.

The sharpie continues to mend; another couple of weeks and he should be ready for follow-up x-rays and—hopefully—placement in one of the flights for flight conditioning.

The jackanapes vulture remains a source of amusement as he shuffles through the detritus in the mini-pen, demanding more food while he walks on a carpet of carrion...Young vultures are such clowns!

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More releases of various kinds

7/24/2022

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While LWR had three releases back into the wild, we also had three new intakes requiring euthanasia—a release from suffering. Not the best week...

The weather held for the red shoulder releases; as you can see below, they scattered in three different directions so I was only able to catch one video.

The very afternoon of their release, a barred owl came in with a trashed wing, requiring euthanasia.

Two days later a juvenile Mississippi kite (MIKI) came in with an open fracture that maggots had already gotten into and stripped the flesh from the bones. He also required euthanasia. Given the pool of fresh blood at his beak after euthanasia, I suspect he also had some serious internal injuries.

And yesterday a female barn owl came in with an open wing fracture in much the same condition as the MIKI from Wednesday. When it’s hot and humid, maggots infest open wounds quickly and can do a lot of damage overnight. The barnie also required euthanasia.

Aside from banging his head against his box repeatedly in an attempt to escape, thereby scraping his cere, the sharpie remains about as calm as one can expect from an accipiter—the crazy raptors. Could be crazier, though—Coops are even more psychotic. He’s got another few weeks before that wing is due for follow-up x-rays.

And the poor black vulture is STILL working on getting all his feathers in. I suppose I could move him into the main flight now that the red shoulders have been released, but one pen full of carrion to clean up is quite enough at the moment. The mini-pen is carpeted with his leftovers! (And no, one does NOT remove vulture scraps unless one wants to witness a vulture tantrum...) Meanwhile, he still looks like a headless vulture in most of his photos...

Showing his tail...literally...

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Soon and very soon...

7/17/2022

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...we will have some birds released! (With apologies to Andrae Crouch...)

Finally, the weather is looking cooperative, so I’m aiming at releasing the three red shoulders tomorrow, Good Lord willin’ and the creek don’t rise.

The sharpie remains antsy but not psychotic, thank goodness, although he does enjoy trashing his box regularly. Hey, whatever keeps him amused while we wait for that wing to heal, right? It’s not like he can settle down with a good book to pass the time...

And the vulture, bless his heart, is taking forEVER to finish feathering out. But he’s got the growling, head bowing and wing flapping down to an art. I gave up on a photo of him this week and recorded a short video of feeding time instead.

And that, friends, is it for this week. Several callers last week were re-routed to rehabbers closer to them, as I can’t see putting people on the road for a 5-hour round trip when there’s someone only a 2-hour round trip from them—especially with gas prices what they are.

As I’ve been saying for months now, it’s a weird year. My colleagues at Chattahoochee Nature Center are bustin’ at the seams; LWR and other home-based raptor rehabbers seem to be slow but steady. And again, this is a probably a good thing for us smaller rehabbers from a financial standpoint: Last year a bag of 100 small mice was $44; this year a bag of 100 small mice is $72.

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Same ol’ same ol’—again

7/10/2022

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No releases, a couple of intakes that didn’t end well, and continued rain delays—yep, pretty much the same ol’ same ol’...

The sharpie continues to eat well and has gotten a little more typically antsy in behavior. We’re not talking Coop-crazy...yet...but he is starting to indicate unhappiness at being confined. Sharpies, as a rule, aren’t quite as psychotic as Coops, so that’s always a plus. The broken wing is perfectly level and folded against the body as it should be, which is good news. The “ding” at the wrist is healing, albeit slowly—right at the wrist isn’t an ideal location for a flesh wound, as every time he flexes that wing even a little, it breaks the scab.

The red shoulders are ready for release but we have another week of high rain chances, so they’re just hangin’ out and killin’ time till the weather cooperates and they can gain their freedom. Since they spend the vast majority of their time out in the uncovered part of the flight, rather than in the covered blind, meaning they’re exposed to the weather anyway, I may release them as long as the rain chances don’t include thunderstorm threats for three days or so. We’ll see...

Late last Sunday, a nestling MIKI (Mississippi kite) arrived. He’d fallen from the nest into a dog pen and by the time his finders got into the pen, the dogs had savaged him. His tail feathers, still growing and full of blood (i.e., blood feathers) were ripped loose, along with a good bit of skin, and his right leg was broken at the hip but he could still flex his foot, so there was no nerve damage. I cleaned him up, dried the wound as best I could, and applied massive amounts of styptic powder in an attempt to stop the bleeding. It didn’t work; the poor baby bled out overnight.

And an adult MIKI came in yesterday with both wings broken, one right at the elbow and the other an open fracture between the shoulder and elbow. He was humanely euthanized.

The vulture discovered the joys of perching last week. He really does have a head and fully functional neck; he’s just camera-shy, even if I only use my phone camera. The minute he sees either, he immediately drops his head/neck into this pose, the silly doofus! Another couple of weeks, and he can be allowed to roam freely about the yard as he discovers the joys of sunbathing and scavenging.

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Happy Independence Day!

7/3/2022

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Yeah, it’s not till tomorrow, but the weekly update is today, so...

No releases last week; we had a week full of high rain chances, most of which didn’t pan out till yesterday, when the bottom fell out and we got 2 inches of rain. That said, there were obviously no releases, and this week isn’t looking promising, either.

LWR had three intakes last week; one required euthanasia, one was DOA, and one is doing well and we’re hopeful will be releasable.

Let’s start with the (fingers crossed) releasable bird: a first-year sharpie, aka sharp-shinned hawk. He’s a tiny fellow, and well-fleshed, so he’d been a successful hunter prior to his injury. He was found in the middle of a busy highway in a neighboring county, and when he came in, his wing was obviously broken and he had a flesh wound right at the wrist.

This wasn’t a fracture I was comfortable “calling” so I checked with Smalley’s to see if they could work him in that very afternoon; as luck would have it, they could. Upon viewing the x-rays, vet Jim Hobby and I agreed this was worth giving the bird a chance. His ulna and “hand” are broken but not badly displaced. We think the wing will heal for flight.

Because of the open wound, we couldn’t wrap, and honestly, sharpies and Coops don’t do well with wing wraps in our experience, so I’m treating the wound and hoping he continues to remain as unusually calm as he is right now—as long as he doesn’t get stupid, he should have a good chance at release. Thus far he’s eating well, too, which is always a good sign.

Prior to the sharpie intake, an adult MIKI, aka Mississippi kite, came in. This is their nesting season, so I cringe when an adult comes in. And this poor fellow couldn’t be helped; his wing was trashed, so he required euthanasia.

Friday a gorgeous first-year red tail came in, emaciated beyond belief; she was so weak she could barely lift her head. Volunteer transporter AJ Rogers had received the call about her and picked her up and got her to me immediately. We actually thought she was already dead when we opened the box on her arrival at LWR, but she was barely hanging on to life.

We went into triage mode as I held the bird and AJ gently pried her beak open so I could get the slurry into her crop. Surprisingly, I saw no signs of frounce but she could have had capillaria, which wouldn’t show in the throat. After a small feeding, she seemed a bit stronger and had even started resisting being fed, although she still hadn’t opened her eyes, so we placed her in a donut with a thick towel to serve as a blanket to help trap her body heat. I made plans to stay up all night, feeding her every two hours, as a bird in this horrific shape can only be fed small meals every couple of hours.

Two hours later, when I went back to give her the next slurry feeding, she was gone; she had opened her eyes and died. And I have no shame in admitting I lost any semblance of clinical detachment and slumped over her box sobbing. There are those special intakes that break down all your defenses. First, she was a red tail. That in itself was enough to make her special. Second, you could see that prior to starvation, she had been a big, gorgeous gal. Third, she was a first-year bird, so she never really had a chance at life. And, of course, red tails are my very favorite diurnal raptors, so it really hurt to lose her, even though I knew intellectually, from a rational standpoint, on intake that her chances of survival were slim to none. My heart refused to accept that, though, until she lost her battle to survive.

The remaining red shoulder trio are good to go as soon as we have several days of low-to-no rain chances. But I’m not complaining about the rain; we need it.

And the doofusy vulture FINALLY decided to eat on his own. The bird ain’t right but he IS amusing. And exasperating...

The color variations between his two photos result from morning light versus evening light. He's not part chameleon!

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More o’the same

More releases of various kinds

Soon and very soon...

Same ol’ same ol’—again

Happy Independence Day!

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