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It’s that time again…

7/28/2024

Time for a fundraiser, I mean. Given the state of the economy, I delayed announcing a fundraiser as long as possible, but caring for two eagles long-term, back to back, has put a sizeable dent in the LWR budget. No raptor food is inexpensive, and feeding eagles especially ain’t cheap: a bag of extra-large mice lasts about two weeks; a bag of large quail won’t even feed him for one week. And he gets both mice and quail daily. The fundraiser will run for the usual 30 days or until the goal of $1500 is met—if we meet the goal early, the campaign ends early. (There’s y’all some incentive: meet the goal early and shut me up about funds and goals!) Just click on the embedded link below to donate. Thank y’all for your support!

As for the eagle, he continues to do well; we won’t know if the wing is going to heal for flight or even heal without that droop until the wrap is removed. Colleague Kathryn Dudeck and I have discussed whether to get follow-up x-rays and unwrap/re-wrap the wing prior to transfer to CNC, which may be soon; she reports the previous eagle caught his first live prey last week!

The only new intake was a juvie turkey vulture who’d been dog-attacked and suffered open fractures on both wings. He was humanely euthanized.

The second-year red tail is ready to go but we had a week of rain, with this week slated to be a repeat. While I hate the rain delays for the birds, we need the rain, so I can’t complain.

The broadie is starting to get antsy and has banged up his head a bit, so he may end up getting released this week, rain notwithstanding.

The MIKI loves to announce his imminent starvation, “pip-pewing” nonstop until his food bowl is full of mouse tidbits…

The barnie also really needs release ASAP, but she needs at least a few days in a flight first.

And the juvie red tail remains full of personality. I did manage a couple of slightly better photos of him mantling.

Don’t forget the fundraiser, and thanks in advance for any and all donations! Fundrazr has subdivided now, so this one is through PetFundr and ConnectionPoint. We’ve gone ‘round and ‘round about LWR’s account (which, contrary to their assertions otherwise, did NOT transfer seamlessly to PetFundr), the current campaign, etc., so I’ll be looking for a new fundraising platform for next time; meanwhile, we’ll all have to muddle through with this one…

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Pretty typical week at LWR

7/21/2024

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The eagle is being really good (knock on wood) about tolerating his wing wrap. Honestly, these two juvie eagles have immeasurably improved my opinion of eagles…the juvies, at least. Being so young, they haven’t had time to become quite so…ummm…eagle-like (ill-tempered, aggressive, unpredictable), and so they’ve actually been a bit endearing.

Thanks to colleague Kathryn Dudeck for identifying last week’s “not red shoulder” as a juvie broadwing hawk. I so seldom see broadies that I just don’t recognize them; in fact, the last broadie at LWR was about 10 years ago, and I had to call on Kathryn and Steve for identification on that one, as well.

Since I had broadies on the brain, this week’s only new intake looked slightly broadie-ish to me until he opened his beak and that definitive black tongue identified him as a juvie Mississippi kite (MIKI). And then he let loose with the signature MIKI “pip-pew” call…He refused to eat for two days, until I put his food in a dish; then he went to town on it. They can be strange little birds.

The second-year red tail continues to heal from his coracoid fracture and should be ready to flight-test in a week or so; if he can fly well at that point, he’s good for release.

The juvie red tail is getting quite food aggressive, and I did manage a couple of not-great shots of him mantling over his food. To hear him tell it, he’s starving to death. Hah! Not likely on a diet of 6 large mice a day!

And the poor barnie desperately needs to be in a pen for flight conditioning and live prey testing before release, but both flights remain occupied. The anticipated transfer of the juvie red tail to colleague Steve Hicks, which would’ve freed up a flight for the barnie, has suffered weather delays: it’s been too hot and dry or too humid and rainy (or that lovely trifecta of too hot, humid, and rainy), so he hasn’t been able to properly prep a flight pen for the bird. We’re hoping maybe this week; we shall see…The barnie certainly hopes so, I’m sure!

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Mid-July already?

7/14/2024

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Mid-July means baby season is beginning to wind down—but we still have to get through August!

This month also marks the overlap between late red shoulder nests and Mississippi kite (MIKI) nests, so when LWR received a call about a small hawk who was grounded in a less-than-safe location, it took actually seeing the bird to determine whether we had a MIKI or a red shoulder…and while I’m sure it’s not a MIKI, its silence makes me question my identification of the bird as a brancher red shoulder. I mean, red shoulders are notoriously mouthy and this fellow hasn’t uttered a peep…but he definitely knows how to eat!

As colleague Steve Hicks is fond of saying, we know his last name is Hawk; we’re just not sure about his first name yet.

The eagle went to Smalley’s for follow-up x-rays and for vet Peggy Hobby to wrap his wing to see if maybe it will heal with no lasting droop. We’re not sure. There’s clearly a fracture that shows no signs of healing after app. 3 weeks (the bird was admitted to UGA’s wildlife clinic on June 21 and came to LWR on July 4), but now the debate is whether it’s actually the furcula (clavicle) or scapula (shoulder blade) that’s broken. The fracture looks the same in UGA’s and Smalley’s x-rays, taken nearly 3 weeks apart, and an avian vet used by CNC has said both sets of rads are inconclusive. He could also have nerve or tendon damage that would prevent healing for flight. At any rate, he’s tolerating the wrap quite well, mainly, I suspect, because it relieves the pressure of that hanging wing. Now we wait and see…

While I was at Smalley’s with the eagle, an injured barred owl was brought in. X-rays showed a fractured ulna, which had knocked the radius out of joint. Given that the damage was quite literally right at the elbow joint, Peggy and I agreed the chance of the fracture healing for flight was nonexistent and that euthanasia was the kindest option.

After finding a couple of feathers in the sharpie’s box, I decided he needed release ASAP to avoid feather picking or other damage that would keep him in rehab longer than necessary. Sharpies are accipiters, which means they’re high-strung, stressy little raptors and release as soon as practical is best for them. He shot out of the box before I could hit record and disappeared straight into the thick woods, so I’d say he was quite ready to skedaddle!

The barnie needs to be flight conditioned so she can leave, as well.

The juvie red tail remains in the mini-pen and can locate his food no matter where it’s hidden—precursor to passing a live prey test. He’s also started mantling over his food: turning his back to me and defensively spreading his wings over his food. I tried all last week to snag a photo of that, with no luck. Maybe this week…

And the second-year red tail continues to recover from his coracoid fracture. In another week or so he should be good to flight-test.

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Eagle out, eagle in

7/7/2024

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And fittingly enough, the new eagle came in on July 4… Obviously, eagles always lead, so let’s start with the new one, the third this year.

On July 3, DNR Head Biologist Bob Sargent called to ask if I could take a juvenile eagle UGA’s veterinary school had been holding since June 21. I’d need to hold it till colleague Kathryn Dudeck at Chattahoochee Nature Center has room for it…which she won’t till the eagle I just sent her passes a live prey test and is sent back to LWR for release. So we’re talking a month, minimum.

I told Bob I could take it but would, of course, need FWS authorization, so he reached out to the feds, who granted authorization for me to hold the eagle for 30 days.** We then set about arranging transfer from UGA to LWR, and the staff at the vet school found transport for July 4.

The folks at UGA had told Bob the bird had a right wing droop; their paperwork accompanying the bird indicated a non-displaced furcula (wishbone, clavicle) fracture. Upon release into the main flight at LWR, he stepped all over the wing, fell on his back and couldn’t get up, and couldn’t jump three feet to reach a perch. He also had mites, which I hate worse than flat flies (if you’re not familiar with either, look ‘em up; discussing them would take too long and besides, just thinking about mites makes me itchy).

I rigged steps up to the perches at each end of the flight and as soon as the eagle had figured them out—didn’t take long—I treated him for the mites. I’ll re-treat in a few days, just to make sure we got ‘em all, the nasty little things.

I also alerted Bob to the severity of the wing droop and have had several text and phone conversations with Kathryn about the situation. Quite frankly, neither of us is real hopeful this is going to heal for flight, and the severity of the droop pretty much precludes his use as an ed bird because no raptor educator wants a “pity bird”—one whose injuries are so obvious that they inspire pity rather than interest in learning about raptors. We’ll see, though. Time will tell…

Meanwhile, he’s eating well and has mastered the steps up to the perches, so maybe his wing feathers won’t get too much further trashed from dragging the ground.

Of course, to make room for the eagle, I had to release the great horned. I would’ve preferred another week or so for him to remain in the flight but he was getting antsy and quite aggressive, so release was best anyway. I didn’t manage photos or video of the release; the little snot lunged out of the box, turned on me and tried to foot my shin, then flew off. I did manage a few photos of him in the main flight pre-release, though.

On July 3, a second-year red tail and a juvie sharpie, both also from UGA, arrived at LWR.

The red tail is recovering from a coracoid fracture; he’s aggressive, alert, inhales his food and is, of course, gorgeous, as is every red tail.

The sharpie (sharp-shinned hawk] was mistakenly identified as a Coop, but his diminutive size made it obvious as soon as I opened his box that he was a feisty little sharpie. Based on the UGA paperwork, I’d say he just had a concussion. He’s also inhaling food and glaring at me nonstop…Sharpies are kinda like the screeches of the hawk world—much bigger in their own minds than they are in reality.

The first year red tail continues to mature beautifully; colleague Steve Hicks and I are discussing the possibility of transferring him to Steve to be housed with a red tail who’d suffered methane burns to his feathers and was transferred from CNC to Steve for long-term care till he molts and regrows the damaged feathers.

And the barnie is ready for a flight pen but at the moment, both of mine are occupied…My goal this fall/winter is to renovate and repair my old songbird flight to make it a third raptor flight. That will ease space issues considerably.

**For those who’re wondering, a separate permit is required to rehab eagles. Due to space considerations (I’m unwilling to give up my hay field to build an eagle flight; my cousins need the hay for their cows), I don’t have an eagle permit, hence the need for FWS approval to keep one long-term.

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It’s that time again…

Pretty typical week at LWR

Mid-July already?

Eagle out, eagle in

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