Laurens Wildlife Rescue
  • Home
  • I found a wild baby - what do I do?
  • How can I help?
  • Contact us
  • FAQ
  • This week in wildlife

Beyond the call of duty...

8/5/2008

0 Comments

 



I forgot to mention in my last update that I owe a huge "thank you" to the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department. A couple of weeks ago I received an out-of-county call about a hit-by-car barred owl, and there was no way I could leave the 10-odd animals under my care at that time in order to make the two hour round trip to get the owl. After unsuccessfully attempting to locate a game warden or other DNR employee in that area who could at least meet me halfway, I contacted Montgomery County Sheriff Clarance Sanders, who dispatched one of his deputies to retrieve the owl and meet me halfway with it. Transporting injured wildlife isn’t exactly a routine duty for law enforcement, but Sheriff Sanders and his staff cheerfully and competently handled the situation, and I wanted to give them the recognition they were due. (Unfortunately, the owl’s wing was shattered, so we had to euthanize.)

Another enormous thanks goes out to the vets at Smalley’s Animal Hospital in Dublin. I know I’ve mentioned before how absolutely wonderful they are with my wildlife, but that was reinforced last week when one of the recently released deer showed back up in the yard with bloat. After trying all the recommended remedies, from other rehabbers and from the vets at Smalley’s, with no success, I loaded the buck up and took him in for vet Jim Hobby to examine.

Jim, along with vet student Richie Hatcher, worked on that deer for almost two hours, tubing to try and release the trapped gas, x-raying to try and determine if there was a blockage of some kind, inserting a small cath into the abdominal cavity to try and drain gas and fluids...none of it worked for long - he kept swelling back up - and we could visibly see the poor baby failing fast, so Jim offered the last-ditch option of surgery, which he admitted the deer would probably not survive. Given that his body temperature was dropping rapidly and he was becoming more and more unresponsive, we decided euthanasia was a kinder option.

This isn’t the first time the folks at Smalley’s have gone beyond the call of duty for my wildlife: they’ve waited for me after hours when I called just as they were closing and asked if they could treat a just-received injured animal; they never complain when they have to squeeze me into an already full schedule - the vets and the staff there are among the most caring people I’ve ever seen, and they all maintain a high level of enthusiasm, curiosity and wonder about the wild and domestic animals they treat. I can’t praise them enough.

You see, a wildlife rehabber can only be truly effective when s/he has good vets to work with, and I think I have the very best. (And yes, I’ll cheerfully admit to extreme bias on that!)

Now, on to the critter update!

Bijou the blue jay has been released and is doing great. He still comes down for food, of course - blue jays are slow to become independent. It’s really funny to see him drop a juicy worm to come to me for food, or come down with berry juice staining his beak, begging for a snack! Here he is at the end of a begging display.


Georgia the brown thrasher has also been released and still visits daily, as does Golda Meir, the goldfinch. At right is Georgia sunning herself; below we have Golda perching on a flower stalk.


I’ve also received a bluebird who fledged too early. Little Blue has been with me for about two weeks now and is finally beginning to sort of trust me. The heartbreaking thing about her situation is that when she came in, she was unable to fly or perch, and 24 hours later, she was doing both. Apparently she was the last in her clutch to hatch, probably 24 hours after her sibs, who flew the coop a day before she was ready or able to do so, although she tried to follow them and ended up grounded. Just 24 hours later, and she could have stayed with her sibs and parents, poor little girl. She's shown at left when she came in and below in a shot taken just yesterday.


 I’ve also received another mocker - remember, earlier this year I said they’re the most common birds I receive. This little rascal was found in the middle of a paved road with no nest in sight, so I’ve named him Traveller. At right is Traveller when he came in; below is a shot from yesterday.


I have two app. 6 week old squirrels who came in last week with their eyes still closed, but they opened toward the end of the week. I named them Heloise and Abelard - if those names don’t ring a bell, Google ‘em; they were sort of the medieval Romeo & Juliet - but they quickly acquired the nickname "Screamin’ Demons." Squirrels apparently go through some sort of major physiological changes as their eyes begin to open, and they get VERY vocal, but as soon as their eyes open, they quiet back down again. It’s happened with nearly every squirrel I’ve ever rehabbed. At the moment, these babies are still mostly sleeping; that will change in a week or so. Below is a cute shot of one of 'em sleeping in an adorable pose - I didn't wake him/her up to see whether it was Heloise or Abelard.


I also briefly had a young Mississippi kite with a broken wing - old injury but not completely healed. He’s been transferred, since he’s a raptor - kites are small hawks - and we’re hoping for complete recovery, as he was attempting to use that broken wing when he came in. Gorgeous bird...as an adult he’ll be silver with black wings - nothing like the juvie you see here!


Just two of the deer are still hanging around, and they’re pretty much keeping their distance. Aren’t they beautiful?


And I think that gets us back up to date for another couple of weeks, as feather season winds down and second fur season kicks in...

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010
    January 2010
    December 2009
    November 2009
    October 2009
    September 2009
    August 2009
    July 2009
    June 2009
    May 2009
    April 2009
    March 2009
    February 2009
    January 2009
    December 2008
    November 2008
    October 2008
    September 2008
    August 2008
    July 2008
    June 2008
    May 2008
    April 2008

    Categories

    All
    Baby Birds
    Baby Deer
    Baby Opossums
    Baby Possums
    Baby Rabbits
    Bluegray Gnatcatchers
    Carolina Wren
    Common Loons
    Epd
    Fawns
    House Finch
    Mbta
    Migratory Bird Treaty Act
    Mockers
    Mockingbirds
    Orphaned Birds
    Orphaned Deer
    Orphaned Fawns
    Orphaned Opossums
    Orphaned Possums
    Orphaned Rabbits
    Orphaned Wildlife
    Squirrels
    Wildlife
    Wood Ducks

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.