Our area of Middle Georgia has experienced enough rain that I’m threatening to invest in scuba gear for use in my yard…and it’s not over yet. Rain’s predicted till the end of the week…And you watch, come garden-planting time and/or time for the crops to start sprouting, and it’ll be bone-dry. Reminds me of the old Jerry Clower joke about the fool who got elected to Congress (are there any other kinds, really?) and the first piece of legislation he introduced was a bill to move February between July and August, as “it’s a short, cool, wet month and we need the cooler weather and rain right about then.”
At any rate, the soggy weather has affected intakes for LWR, which have actually picked up over the past couple of weeks.
First, the mourning dove from the pre-Christmas update was a very lucky bird; the x-ray showed the pellet passed straight through with no fractures. He still holds the wing at a bit of an odd angle, but we’re fairly confident it won’t affect flight when the poor bird’s tail feathers grow back in.
At any rate, the soggy weather has affected intakes for LWR, which have actually picked up over the past couple of weeks.
First, the mourning dove from the pre-Christmas update was a very lucky bird; the x-ray showed the pellet passed straight through with no fractures. He still holds the wing at a bit of an odd angle, but we’re fairly confident it won’t affect flight when the poor bird’s tail feathers grow back in.
On Dec. 17, two waterfowl came in, the first a great blue heron who showed no signs of fractures but was unable to stand and had no neurological response at all in his feet and legs. He was humanely euthanized.
Later that same day a juvenile great egret came in, emaciated and with blood around his beak and one ear. He seemed fairly alert and since nothing appeared broken, the plan was to get him to Smalley’s for x-rays the next day, to see if maybe he had a lead sinker or something in his digestive tract that might be causing lead poisoning. He was standing with his head tucked for the night at lights-out and was dead the next morning—very frustrating…
Later that same day a juvenile great egret came in, emaciated and with blood around his beak and one ear. He seemed fairly alert and since nothing appeared broken, the plan was to get him to Smalley’s for x-rays the next day, to see if maybe he had a lead sinker or something in his digestive tract that might be causing lead poisoning. He was standing with his head tucked for the night at lights-out and was dead the next morning—very frustrating…
On Dec. 23, a family called about a bluebird that they’d found on the ground when their dog “pointed” it. On arrival at LWR the bird, a male, was in bad shape. He had no visible wounds and no fractures but he was lethargic and his eyes were dull; he also refused to stand. He was medicated and placed in a donut with mealworms and water within easy reach, since he couldn’t stand, but he died overnight. My guess—and this is purely conjecture—is that a free-roaming cat attacked him and he wasn’t found in time for the meds to be effective. His finders did say the neighbors had free-roaming cats.
Then, on Christmas Eve, callers reported finding a hawk in the middle of the road. They brought the bird, an adult male red shoulder, to LWR shortly after dark. He was concussed out of his gourd and reluctant to stand but again, nothing seemed broken. Subsequent x-rays confirmed no fractures, and he’s now attempting to stand and eat but is slow to flare his tail or spread his wings. Vet Jim Hobby and I suspect mild nerve trauma, as I’m seeing daily improvement. The goal now is to get him in the raptor flight as soon as the weather dries out a bit. (Yes, I know birds deal with the rain every day; however, I don’t wanna have to slog through the swamp that is now my yard to the raptor flight every day!)
And today an adult male barred owl came in. He also appears to have no fractures but has a whale of a concussion: blood in beak, blood in right ear, right eye filled with blood. He’ll be headed to Smalley’s next week but for the next couple of days he’ll be kept dark and quiet and given pain meds to ease that pounding headache he must have.
Hope everybody had a great Christmas and hope y’all have quiet or festive—whichever’s your flavor—New Year’s Eve. Fellow Southrons, hope y’all found those collards to go with y’all’s black-eyed peas, as there’s a weather-related shortage this year. Folks in Parts North, I don’t know what y’all’s traditional New Year’s Day meal is, but enjoy whatever it is!
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