博客存档 - Laurens Wildlife Rescue

Fundraiser 79% funded; intakes continue

7/30/2023

The fundraiser is at $1570, with just $430 to go to meet the goal. Many heartfelt thanks to those who’ve donated; for those who’re waiting, now’s the time to make that donation. Waiting for “someone else” to do something usually means it doesn’t get done, so be “someone else” and donate today!

The purported red shoulders who were supposed to arrive last Monday turned out to be a single MIKI (Mississippi kite); his sib died before transport from UGA to LWR. He’s doing well, totally self-feeding now, and is headed to the mini-pen late this week to build up his flight muscles prior to release.

The older MIKI did, as I theorized in last Sunday’s update, require euthanasia. Vet Peggy Hobby of Smalley’s Animal Hospital agreed that he had developed a cataract in his left eye, and recall the right eye had been damaged in what appeared to be a nest injury. A blind bird cannot survive in the wild and cannot self-feed in captivity.

Left eye

Right eye

In better news, the little male red tail had only a minor fracture to his left ulna, so he just needs time to heal. Peggy described it as “wanting to be a fracture”—it’s that minor (I circled it on the x-ray so you can see it). But he has to remain confined until it heals; a minor fracture can easily become a major one if not treated properly. He’s eating well and should be ready for a flight pen within 4-6 weeks, but he’s an extremely unhappy and restless camper and not a single photo of him last week was worth a flyin’ flip.

The female red tail who came in a couple of weeks ago is flying better but still not where she needs to be. Lordamercy, she’s gorgeous, though! I might be a wee bit biased, but I firmly believe red tails are among God’s most perfect creations—and she’s a mighty fine specimen of that perfection.

A third red tail came in last night, another small male. His right wing is broken at the shoulder; I suspect it’s not fixable but will wait for x-rays to confirm. Shoulder fractures can be iffy. He’s pretty thin but his tail feathers aren’t too badly frayed so he hasn’t been down long; the thinness predates the injury.

Breaking the red tail/MIKI cycle LWR’s been in lately, a barred owl also came in last week, with his bell well and truly rung. The feathers on his facial disc that hide his right ear were actually pushed forward from whatever lick he took, leaving his ear bruised and him concussed out the wazoo. Luckily, he had no broken bones, just a lingering massive headache. Within 48 hours he was alert and eating everything offered, so he’ll need a couple of days in the min-pen before the MIKI goes in, to make sure he’s good for release.

That's a very bruised ear...

We have 17 days left in the fundraiser, so if you haven’t donated already, please consider doing so soon—and again, thanks to those who’ve already donated.

2 Comments

Fundraiser continues, as do intakes

7/23/2023

0 Comments

We’re currently at $1400 of our $2000 goal—just $600 to go! Many thanks to those who’ve donated, and if you’re waiting, why? “If not now, when? If not you, then who?”

This week saw two new intakes, the most recent—yesterday—a gorgeous second-year red tail, a small male. Nothing appears broken but he can’t get lift, suggesting a coracoid fracture. We’ll aim at x-rays this week, although coracoid fractures usually don’t show on x-rays. (And yes, I know the gloves are useless draped over my shoulder...)

The second, albeit earlier, intake for the week was an adult red shoulder with an open wing fracture. He required euthanasia.

The fledgling MIKI may also be facing euthanasia; his “good eye” on the left has what appears to be a cataract that developed literally overnight late-week. I started medicating in hopes that the white mass I was seeing was a clump of white blood cells, but there’s no improvement. He’ll also head to the vet to see if there’s anything we can do for him. The right eye cleared up nicely but the pupil remains deformed into a straight line and tightly constricted. He’s stopped self-feeding because he can’t see the food or the forceps so I’m having to hand-feed him until we can get a firm diagnosis.

And the red tail from last week’s update, who I now believe is female, based on her size in comparison to this week’s male, is showing some slight improvement in her mobility. She’s still not able to get real lift, which again, in the absence of any wing fractures—confirmed by x-rays; see last week’s update—could be a result of soft tissue damage or a coracoid fracture. She remains a regal, commanding presence in the main flight—takes my breath away every time I look at her!

Finally, although they’re not here yet, two nestling/brancher red shoulders are headed to LWR Monday. DNR’s Bob Sargent, who’s actually head of the eagles program, contacted me late last week to ask if I could take the two young ones from UGA. There are two bat techs headed to the coast Monday who’re supposed to drop off the red shoulders on their way. The photo below was provided by the vet overseeing their care at UGA.

More birds means more mice needed—see that fundraiser link above to donate!

0 Comments

Nature really does abhor a vacuum

7/16/2023

0 Comments

Monday, one day after our update stating that LWR had no birds in care at the moment, a fledgling MIKI (Mississippi kite) came in, followed on Wednesday by a second-year red tail. Both were believed by their finders to have wing injuries; neither did—talk about lucky birds!

Let’s discuss them in order of intake, shall we?

The MIKI was found grounded and didn’t seem to be able to fly, which is why his finders thought he had a wing injury. What I noticed first, though, was a funky right eye with a pinpoint, misshapen pupil and worm-like clumps of white cells floating around in it. Well, he had to be x-rayed anyway, to ensure no wing fractures, so that eye would also need checking out.

Tuesday both Jim and Peggy Hobby of Smalley’s Animal Hospital were fascinated by the MIKI’s odd eye, so he was examined by both vets. The consensus was that whatever eye injury he’d had led to infection and inflammation. The resultant pain and inflammation caused the pupil to constrict and basically freeze that way. He’s on meds to see if we can straighten this issue out, and they’ve already made a noticeable difference in the inflammation, but he may still end up needing placement as an ed bird. MIKIs require perfect vision in both eyes for their very survival.

Oh, as y’all can see from the x-rays, he had no fractures, but he’s also learned to twist that neck into godawful positions to compensate for the eye injury. I suspect it was a nest injury of some sort that didn’t become a problem until he fledged.

The red tail was found in the road, with his finders also indicating he had a wing injury. On intake no injuries were immediately apparent but he guarded his left wing. Off we went to Smalley’s again the next day, where x-rays again showed no fractures. His balance seems off at times when he’s hopping to or from a perch, and he’ll flare both wings perfectly symmetrically briefly, and then droop the left one, so there may be soft tissue injury. As y’all know by now, that doesn’t show on x-rays and can take months to resolve…or never resolve. Time will tell.

Meanwhile, he’s a feisty bird who ate like a feathered vacuum cleaner till he realized the food supply was gonna be steady and reliable in his new temporary digs. He’s slowed down some now, down from 16 medium and large mice a day for two days to only 6 extra-larges a day the past couple of days.

Y’all know I adore red tails, so despite the fact that he bit the crap outta my finger on intake, bruised a couple more fingers through the raptor gloves with his death grip, tried to eat my raptor gloves, and shredded several exam gloves, he still gets a “good morning/afternoon, big boy” in dulcet tones…I mean, he’s a red tail—what’s not to love?

In case y’all’re wondering how I could specify he’s a second-year bird, here’s the secret: a first-year (hatched in whatever the current year is, e.g., 2023 in this case) has yellow eyes. As they move into their second year, their eyes go caramel; by their third year, the eyes are dark brown. Note in his photos his eyes are a gorgeous caramel color. Interesting, huh?! (Not all raptors follow that pattern: Coops have grayish eyes that turn red; red shoulders’ eyes are brown throughout their lives; MIKIs have dark brown eyes that turn red; bald eagles have brown eyes that turn yellow…)

And while I usually lead with fundraisers, I decided to end this update with a new fundraiser. As you can see from the stats in the fundraiser info, it takes a LOT of mice to feed these birds, and mice are expensive. The red shoulder recently transferred to a falconer ate slightly more than 2500 mice at an approximate cost of $1842 during his 12 weeks at LWR. Not all birds spend 12 weeks here—some barely get one meal before requiring euthanasia due to their injuries—but the majority of our “guests” spend at least a couple of months getting regular rodent rations. And often theirs are the larger, more expensive mice—the red shoulder ate smalls and mediums; larger birds like great horneds, barreds and red tails require large and extra-large mice. Remember that we rehabbers get no state or federal funding for our efforts, so we rely on your generosity to help keep us in mice to feed our intakes.

We’ll run this campaign for a month unless our $2000 goal is met sooner. Please donate as generously as you can, and on behalf of the raptors LWR cares for, thank you!

0 Comments

A “crashing” Fourth

7/9/2023

2 Comments

Hope y’all enjoyed last week’s break from updates and your Fourth of July celebrations. Here at LWR, the Fourth was spent backing up files from a crashing computer; luckily all files were saved.

We had only one new intake in the past couple of weeks, an adult Mississippi kite (MIKI). I cringe when adult MIKIs come in, as 99.9% of the time they have fatal injuries…and this time was no exception to the rule. This gorgeous bird had an open wing fracture right at the left shoulder. He was humanely euthanized.

In more upbeat news, all three barreds were released. No video, as they all flew in separate directions from the single box they were in, but I did manage a few photos—not great, because they were at the limit of my camera’s zoom when they landed, but decent enough given their distance in the woods!

And in even better news, the red shoulder raised from tiny hatchling to gorgeous young adult is, as of yesterday, with the falconer who will spend the next couple of years partnering with him as he learns to hunt and improves his survival chances from about 50% to over 95%. She was thrilled with his overall physical condition and personality, so I think theirs will be a beautiful and beneficial partnership for both parties.

And that leaves LWR, for the moment, with no birds in care…in July. That is truly weird. Colleague Steve Hicks and I were talking about this toward the end of last week and we both feel that the avian flu outbreaks of the past couple of years have taken a heavy toll on our raptors, one that will take years for the populations to recover from. We’re both hoping we’re wrong—this is one case where we’d be delighted to be wrong—but our experiences thus far (we both live in rural areas) would indicate otherwise.

2 Comments

Fundraiser 79% funded; intakes continue

Fundraiser continues, as do intakes

Nature really does abhor a vacuum

A “crashing” Fourth

Archives

Categories