It’s all about balance, right? Send a few back into the wild, and a few more come in to replace the releases…Still, I’d say baby season’s officially over and now the migrating birds will start trickling in.
The mockers flew the coop without a backward glance—or a photo. They were so ready to get out they didn’t even wait an hour after the escape hatch was opened before taking their leave.
The red tail was slightly more cooperative, with a gorgeous release flight. He was at the far end of the camera’s zoom post-release, though, and flew away when I started to move closer, so the one post-release shot is a bit grainy.
The mockers flew the coop without a backward glance—or a photo. They were so ready to get out they didn’t even wait an hour after the escape hatch was opened before taking their leave.
The red tail was slightly more cooperative, with a gorgeous release flight. He was at the far end of the camera’s zoom post-release, though, and flew away when I started to move closer, so the one post-release shot is a bit grainy.
The wood ducks are finally on their own. The oldest had been testing his wings hard the week before his release, so he showed off his skills immediately. The slightly younger three were content to swim their way to freedom. The video quality is a bit off; I used my waterproof camera, which has less zoom and a lower image resolution. (It does great underwater, though!) That’s my three-year-old great-nephew and my mother you hear in the background; he had to see the “baby ducks” released and “quiet” is not in his vocabulary.
And for slightly less than 24 hours, all LWR’s pens and cages were empty. But as you know, Nature abhors a vacuum and by noonish the day after all the releases, a head trauma barred owl came in. He was found near the road and was probably sideswiped by a car. He has no fractures but after placing him in the mini-pen, I’m suspecting vision impairment—not uncommon with head trauma, and it often resolves itself in a week or so. Sometimes the damage is permanent, though, so we’ll wait and see.
And yesterday a cat-caught Carolina wren came in. Aside from a minor leg injury, he had no other outward signs of damage, but of course we started antibiotics. He was alert, inhaling mealworms like he was starving…and this morning he was dead. There were obviously internal injuries.
Meanwhile, this exhausted rehabber is enjoying the slow period while she can. It won’t last!
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