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Slightly over halfway there!

7/27/2025

The fundraiser is sitting at $850 now—just $650 to go! The plan was to end the fundraiser July 31, but if we haven’t met the goal by then, we’ll keep it going till we do. Each page of the website, including this one, has a “Donate” button that will take you to PayPal. Every donation helps move us closer to our goal!

The older juvie red tail, the gal who came in from the wild well-fleshed and supposedly unable to fly yet flew perfectly for me, was released last week. She was more than ready to go, and the camera decided in the middle of her flight to lose focus, so it’s not a great release video, but she didn’t wait around for a “do-over!”

The nonreleasable red tail is scheduled to move to her new home at Elachee on August 21. Having the two flighted juvies in with her actually encouraged her to attempt flight, and she can sort of half-fly, half-skim about 12 feet but only about a foot off the ground. No height to her flight at all, but I’m sure just being able to do that little bit feels good to her.

The younger juvie red tail is antsy and ready for release, but I’m still trying to hold out for a falconer. One has expressed interest but we’re working on transportation. If that doesn’t happen in a couple of weeks, he’s slated for release.

The red shoulder is bouncing off the walls of his box. Y’all don’t know how tempted I’ve been to release him without time in a flight, just to stop the banging and hanging upside down from the cover over the box…

The MIKI is also getting really antsy, and part of that is because their migration will begin within the next month or so, so he REALLY needs to be in a flight. He’ll go into a flight before the red shoulder just so we’re sure he’s ready for migration.

And the vultures are pretty much ready for release. Both are perching; both are eating “the really gross stuff.” Normally I’d do a soft release here but two years ago I was adopted by a stray German shepherd who despises vultures, perhaps because she had to fight with them over carrion during her starving stray days, so I’m checking out other release sites.

Remember, just $650 to go toward our fundraising goal—and all donations are greatly appreciated!

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Halfway to our fundraising goal!

7/20/2025

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As of today, we’re at $750, halfway to our goal of $1500. Remember, this is a low-key PayPal fundraiser, so clicking any of the “Donate” links on our website will allow you to donate toward the food bill for the birds at LWR.

We had two new intakes, both red shoulders. The first, from Wilkinson county on Monday, had a fractured left humerus, badly displaced—it was *thisclose* to being an open fracture. He was humanely euthanized.

The second came in this morning from Laurens County, with no apparent injuries. He was observed sitting on a bird bath the previous evening and had not moved this morning. Given his slight head tilt, I’m thinking he may have hit a window and ended up with a slight concussion. We’ll give him a little time to get his bearings.

That makes two red shoulders at LWR now, since the juvie is still awaiting his turn in a flight pen—quite impatiently, I might add.

The MIKI is also losing patience at having to wait for an open flight, but with two flights and eight birds, delays are inevitable.

Of course, the main flight still houses the red tail trio. There’s still been no progress on getting the nonreleasable moved to Elachee, and the two juvies are ready for release—unless a falconer decides to take on the younger of the two within the next couple of weeks. That would actually be my preference, but if no local falconers are looking for red tails, both birds will likely be released at the same time, potentially the end of this week, as the first part of the week has relatively high rain chances (and we really need the rain).

The turkey vultures remain in the mini-pen, although they really need to be in the main flight. One of the two started attempting to perch last week, and his wing flapping to maintain his balance highlighted the need for these two goofballs to be in a larger flight ASAP: his wings span the width of the mini-pen.

Please take the time to donate toward our $1500 goal; the birds love that “mouse money”…well, okay, they actually love the mice, but it takes money to buy the mice!

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Fundraiser off to a so-so start

7/13/2025

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Hope everybody enjoyed their long weekend and had a great Independence Day!

The low-key fundraiser is off to a sluggish start, to be honest—just $500 thus far, so we’re only a third of the way toward our goal. Recall that we’re aiming at $1500, and using just the PayPal “Donate” links on the site, rather than one of the fundraising platforms that keeps a portion of the donations.

To give you one example of LWR’s expenses, the turkey vultures consume a bag of 50 medium mice every two days. Medium mice currently sell for $44.50 a bag. So in one week, the vultures alone eat $155.75 worth of mice. As a second example, the red tail trio eats 12 large mice a day. Bags of 50 large mice currently cost $52, so they go through slightly under 2 bags a week, at a cost of $87.36. So for just those 5 birds, that’s $243.11 a week for mice. More birds mean more food expenses, especially when they’re here long-term, like when they come in as babies (like the vultures did). This is why we do fundraisers once or twice a year—to help with the ongoing food expenses.

We managed one release before the weather moved into its random rain pattern that’s kept the gardens watered but precluded any further releases. The barn owl was quite happy to regain his freedom.

The nonreleasable red tail still awaits transfer to Elachee, which should occur soon. The vocal juvie is next up for release once the weather cooperates, and the younger juvie may go to a falconer; we’re working on that possibility.

The turkey vultures are growing apace and really need to be in the main flight, but the three red tails are currently occupying that space.

The red shoulder needs to be in the mini-pen, but the vultures are in it.

And the MIKI also needs to be in a pen, but he’s currently on a waiting list, as it were: LWR has more birds needing pens than available pens—typical for baby season.

We also had one intake, today actually: a barred owl pulled from a barbed wire fence. Bird versus barbed wire, like bird versus vehicle, seldom ends well, and it didn’t in this case. Her left humerus had no flesh left on it. She was humanely euthanized. (The blue-purple tint is Blu-Kote, a medicinal spray farmers use on their livestock, their dogs, their children…it’s all-purpose! The finders doused the wound in hopes of preventing maggots, which it did, although I don’t recommend Blu-Kote for raptors.)

Please don’t forget to donate toward the feeding of these gorgeous raptors buy using the “Donate” links on the website. The birds thank you, as do I!

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Slightly over halfway there!

Halfway to our fundraising goal!

Fundraiser off to a so-so start

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