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Heading into Christmas with cooler temps...

12/19/2022

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...And cooler temps—as in sub-freezing—mean none of LWR’s current guests can be outside due to various issues.

The red phase screech has finished his molt but I’m still not comfortable having him outside in nighttime  temps below freezing, so he’s inside for the foreseeable future, as all of Georgia is predicted to receive a blast of cold air beginning Friday—and we’re already getting below-freezing nighttime temps; last night was 27°F.

He’s not happy about being back inside—well, he’s a screech, so he’s not happy about anything, but he’s ESPECIALLY displeased about being inside...
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The gray phase continues to practice his invisibility by keeping those eyes tightly closed so I can’t see him...
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The barred owl, who’s quite talkative, really needs to be in the main flight to see if the soft tissue damage in his wing is healing, but that will be a long-term—at least several weeks—period that the main flight will be unavailable, and LWR has another resident who’ll need it first.
That other guest is the Coop, who’s alert, active and has figured out that any time I walk over to his box, there will be food, so he now lunges upward, talons extended, to snatch the mice from the forceps before they even touch the bottom of his box. Given his severe state of emaciation on intake (for those who know the keel chart, keel of about 1.5), he’s got a ways to go before he’s got a good “fightin’ weight” and can go outside—certainly not in the cold temps we’re about to have. And of course, with Coops and their spazzy personalities, we want him to get flight conditioned and skedaddled ASAP, as soon as weight and weather permit.
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The only intake we had last week was a small male barred owl who was totally blind—no pupil response at all and couldn’t find his food; he was humanely euthanized.

The remainder of the Christmas season schedule for updates is as follows:
  • Dec. 25—no update
  • Jan. 1 update will be postponed till Jan. 2

And since there will be no Christmas Day update, let me take this opportunity to wish y’all all a very Merry Christmas!
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Releases!

12/11/2022

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Two of three barreds got early Christmas presents this evening when they regained their freedom.

The barred who came in a couple of weeks ago with a blood-filled eye was the first to be released, followed by the barred who came in last week with such severe head trauma he couldn’t even lift his head up. Within 72 hours he was alert and inhaling food, and this evening he flew off without hesitation.
A third barred came in yesterday after being rescued from fishing line. Nothing is broken but he has some soft tissue damage, maybe some bruising, preventing flight. Hopefully in a week or two he’ll be good for release, too.
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Today a second-year Coop arrived after raiding the chicken pen at a state park about two hours south of LWR. He’s perfectly capable of flight, just starvation thin. He’s alert, vocal and greedily devoured the food he was offered in small increments throughout the day. Basically, he just needs to gain some weight before he’s released.
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The gray phase screech continues to pretend I can’t see him with his eyes closed. His wing is showing no real improvement. I suspect he’s going to be nonreleasable.
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The red phase screech is nearly done molting and looks great. Given that he has no snag or other roost for the winter, though, he’ll overwinter at LWR—safer for him and will give him a better chance at survival when he’s released in the early spring, when not having a snag or other roost site won’t be as life-threatening an issue.
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And just a reminder on the Christmas season schedule for updates:
  • Dec. 18 update will be postponed till Monday the 19th
  • Dec. 25—no update
  • Jan. 1 update will be postponed till Jan. 2
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Another week, another owl

12/4/2022

4 Comments

 
It’s just that time of year...Currently LWR has two “matched sets”—2 screeches and 2 barreds.

Our red phase screech, who was held illegally for three months, continues his molt; he’s looking better and better and acting more and more like a screech weekly.
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The gray phase is back to closing his eyes so I can’t see him; as you can see, that left wing is showing little improvement. Since x-rays confirmed no fractures right after he came to LWR, now we’re just hoping this isn’t soft tissue/nerve damage that won’t heal...but it’s beginning to look that way.
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The barred who had the blood-filled eye continues to show improvement. About half the eyeball remains blood-filled; the rest has been reabsorbed. He’s in the main flight now and will hopefully be good for release in a week or so.
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The second barred, who just came in today, is still very concussed. Right now, he really doesn’t know up from down, poor fellow, but nothing seems to be broken. There may be internal injuries but there’s been no black, tarry poop to indicate internal bleeding, so that’s promising. Barring any internal injuries, he just needs a safe place to recover from a massive headache.
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And with the Christmas season upon us, there will be a few changes in the weekly updates (don’t worry; I’ll remind y’all in each subsequent update):
  • Dec. 11—the usual update
  • Dec. 18 update will be postponed till Monday the 19th
  • Dec. 25—no update
  • Jan. 1 update will be postponed till Jan. 2
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