Blog Archives

Early Christmas “gifts” for three owls

12/20/2020

With cooperative weather late in the week, both barreds and the screech were released. And LWR had just one intake for the week.

Starting with the releases, barred owl 1 shot out like a rocket, and this was the only photo I managed of him before he veered around the tree and disappeared into the distance. He didn't look back!

Barred 2 was slightly more cooperative, so I did manage a few more shots of him.

The screech didn’t even give me time to focus the camera. I had lovely shots of the woods where he disappeared but even with a walk-through to try and locate him, it was no go on photos. Screeches can truly make themselves invisible when they want to.

The only intake for the week was a pine warbler who’d been caught in a fence of some sort. He was active and alert and eating well but died overnight. There may have been internal injuries, although I saw no signs of blood in his poop.

Let me take this opportunity to wish all of y’all a very Merry Christmas. There will be no update on Dec. 27, so I’ll see y’all next year—let’s hope 2021 is happy, healthy and prosperous for all of us!

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Goal met! And owls’r’us this week

12/13/2020

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We just met our goal this afternoon, nine days before the deadline! A huge thank you to those who donated to help us meet our goal. LWR’s main mouse supplier has raised their rates and their minimum order, so every little bit of “mouse money” is both greatly needed and deeply appreciated!

LWR had just two intakes this past week, both barred owls, both from the same county. Both were apparently hit by car and, in some sort of minor miracle, both were uninjured aside from concussions. How often d’you think that happens? (Hint—I can tell you: almost NEVER.)

Both are slated for release as soon as the weather forecast is right.

The screech is flying like a champ, eating like there’s no tomorrow, and chomping at the bit for release. His eye is clear and bright, he has full vision in it, and the eyelid is completely healed. He’ll also be released as soon as the weather cooperates.

And that, my friends, is it for this week—short, sweet and to the point!

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Soaring birds; stalled fundraiser

12/6/2020

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LWR released four birds last week, but the fundraiser remains firmly at ground level, with just $250 of the $1500 goal raised.

If you’ve donated already, thanks so much for your support; if you haven’t donated yet, remember the deadline is Dec. 23—or sooner if we can raise the $1500 earlier.

In news of releases, the red tail who’d come in with the massively swollen eye showed great improvement in that eye as the blood cleared out; he was quite ready for his release late in the week, when our temps moderated somewhat.

The con artist black vulture was also released, after flying all over the raptor flight as I tried to catch him to box him up for release. And he flew out of the box upon release, noticed I was watching, and immediately landed and started walking around, giving me the side-eye to see how I’d react—all from the safety of the opposite side of the bank from me... Y’all, vultures are smart rascals!

The mourning dove’s wing injury turned out to be not nearly as serious as I’d initially thought. When the swelling and bruising went down, she was using it like a pro, so she also was released. No photos of her release; she didn’t give me time to get the camera in position!

We had just one new intake last week, an adult red shoulder who looked pretty rough in the photos posted online seeking help for him. When a volunteer who lived nearby picked him up and sent me photos, he looked somewhat better; by the time he arrived at LWR he was alert and aggressive but still a bit sluggish with his responses to stimuli. After a couple of days of R&R, he was bouncing off the walls, indicating he was also ready for release. I managed a short video of his release but he wasn’t in a cooperative mood for post-release photos.

And, of course, the screech is doing great and was moved into the mini-pen this afternoon to begin building up his stamina and flight muscles again. There are screeches in the woods all around here, so he’ll have plenty of buddies to “talk” to beginning tonight.

Just to remind you, this is what his eye looked like on intake almost a month ago...

...And this is what it looked like today! Skilled, dedicated vets are a rehabber’s biggest blessing, so thanks again to Smalley’s for all they do for our wildlife, and to Jim Hobby in particular for this success story.

And...a bonus...for the past several days I’ve had a migrating female rose-breasted grosbeak hanging around my yard. Georgia only sees these birds during migration, and I’ve only ever seen two males before, both in spring. This gal looked a bit rough when I first saw her, and I began carrying a net around to my feeders on the off chance I could snag her and check her out to see if she needed rehab. However, she’s looking better each time I see her and she’s eating well, so maybe she just needed a safe spot to refuel before continuing her migration.