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January’s nearly done?

1/29/2023

Wow, the first month of 2023 flew by!

Unfortunately, last week saw a couple of euthanasias and a DOA (dead on arrival), so the end of the month isn’t shaping up to be all that spectacular on the rehab front.

As indicated was likely last week, the Coop was euthanized. He was unable to fly more than two or three feet, only a couple of feet off the ground, after almost two months in the flight pen. I’m not even gonna attempt to sugarcoat it; it hurt my heart to put down this Coop. He was probably the calmest healthy accipiter I’ve ever worked with.

With his euthanasia, the main flight was open, so I moved the first-year red tail into it before taking him in for x-rays...and realized x-rays weren’t needed. The droop in his left shoulder from the old, healed fracture was much more pronounced once he was out of the indoor housing. This wasn’t an injury he could ever learn to work around; he flat-out couldn’t fly ever again. And red tails are hard to place as ed birds—not because they’re difficult to work with but because they’re SO easy to work with that every facility needing or wanting a red tail (or two) already has its full quota.

Sadly, he also required euthanasia.

A first-year sharpie came in after he jumped into a woman’s kayak and sat there, sopping wet and lethargic, until she returned to shore. She said she placed him on the shore and then waited to see if he’d dry off and fly away. He didn’t, so she called LWR. On intake, the sharpie could barely lift his head and he was starvation thin. I told his rescuer his chances were slim, at best, but at least he didn’t drown or end up freezing to death, as we were about to have another sub-freezing night. I’d placed him in a donut to make it easier for him to breathe and was about to mix up a slurry to try and get some nutrition into him when he flared his wings and tail and died.

Within an hour of the sharpie’s intake and death, a mature male red tail arrived. He’d been seen sitting by the side of the road the previous day and when he was still there the following day, he was captured and brought to LWR. On intake he refused to stand, although nothing felt broken anywhere. His eyes, nares and throat were clear, which is always good. By the next morning he was standing but would hunker down like a setting hen whenever I walked over to his box. As of today, he’s standing (except when I walk over to check his food) but still not eating, but his intake weight was reasonable and he’s alert, so we’ll see what happens with him.

And with the temps bouncing from above freezing to below freezing on two nonconsecutive nights this past week, the screech had to come in for two nights, and lemme tell y’all right now, he’s about fed up with this in-and-out business. He purely cusses at me now when I go to bring him inside, and he really, really likes to bite my fingers in protest while giving me pro-level stink-eye. I swear, it is impossible for anybody with a soul not to utterly adore a screech...so much attitude in such a tiny package!

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More o’the same

1/22/2023

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It was another slowish week, with just one intake, a first-year red tail.

The red tail was found in a neighboring county and taken to a falconer there, who called LWR to make sure we had room and were taking birds, since many facilities still aren’t due to HPAI, the avian flu.

This fellow has an old almost-open fracture under his left wing. It’s healed already aside from some outer scabbing, but I still wanted x-rays to see just how bad the break had been and how “wrongly” it had healed. Unfortunately, my car has been in the shop for repair, so his vet visit will come next week after I get the car back. The flip side of that is that it’s fortunate that it’s an old injury and didn’t require immediate vet attention.

The Coop’s flight hasn’t improved at all, so it looks as if we’ll need to make a decision on his fate this week. As harsh as it may sound, from a purely pragmatic point of view, he’s consuming resources needed for other birds; from a humane viewpoint, he’s not likely to ever be happy as an ed bird. Coops are psychotic and despite this fellow’s laid-back (for a Coop) personality, it would likely be a struggle to glove-train him and the stress of public programs on a high-strung bird would likely kill him.

The screech continues to bide his time till spring, when he can be released. His appetite is good; his flight is good—he just needs to remain at LWR for another couple of months so when he’s released he’s not struggling to find shelter in cold and inclement weather.

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Another round of winter temps for Georgia

1/15/2023

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And of course, sub-freezing nighttime temps mean the red-phase screech has to come inside till temps are more moderate. He’s not a happy camper but will be back outside after tonight, when we’re back to above-freezing nighttime temps.

The hoped-for but not anticipated miracle for the gray phase didn’t materialize; he was humanely euthanized mid-week.

The Coop remains remarkably laid-back for an accipiter, although he’s starting to get a bit more antsy. There’s still no further improvement in his flight capability, leading me to think his soft tissue damage is permanent—always a risk, as we saw with the gray-phase screech. But as long as he remains calmish he may still have a chance as an ed bird; we’ll see on that.

No new intakes, which is weird; this is great horned owl (GHOW) baby season and colleague Steve Hicks and I were just discussing the fact that neither of us has gotten any baby GHOW calls yet. My personal opinion, as I’ve stated previously, is that HPAI—the avian flu—is more widespread and devastating than officials realize, as much of their data comes from public reports...and people these days have their noses too buried in their cellphone screens to notice the world around them...

We shall see...meanwhile, the slower pace provides time to get my annual reports to the state and feds done. What, y’all thought rehabbers just took in wildlife and didn’t have to account for its ultimate outcome? HAH! Any time the “gubmint” gets involved, there WILL be paperwork; I promise y’all that!

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Back to our normal schedule...

1/8/2023

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...If anything about wildlife rehab can be considered normal, that is. As a sign I own states, “Abnormality is the normality at this locality.” Kinda sums up wildlife rehab!

No calls that resulted in intakes last week, so LWR is currently holding steady with the overwintering screech, the screech who’s now slated for euthanasia, and the Coop whose progress has stalled, making his future uncertain, as well.

The overwintering red phase screech continues to become more and more “screechy” in his behavior. Recall, if you will, he’d been held illegally for 3 months before coming to LWR, arriving with severely compromised feathers from bad caging and questionable nutrition. He was traumatized and acted nothing like a normal pissy screech. Now, after several months of a proper diet, a late-season full molt, and being left alone except when being fed (or moved inside during cold spells), he’s truly a proper screech again: hissy, pissy, glaring at me when I place his food in the mini-pen—the whole nine yards. And it’s glorious to see!

The gray phase, however, remains huddled in the corner, and he stands on that wing even more than he did when he was inside. He makes no attempt at flight. Again, if you recall, he was taken in for x-rays right after intake and nothing was broken, so this is massive nerve, tendon or ligament damage—i.e., soft tissue damage. Sometimes this sort of damage will heal given time, but his has shown absolutely no improvement, and it’s reached the time to call it on him. Barring any last-minute miracles, he’ll be humanely euthanized this week.

The Coop, whose progress seemed promising last week, has stalled at that level of half-flight, very low to the ground. That won’t work for any raptor, and especially not for a Coop, whose main diet in the wild is songbirds. We’ll give him a little more time to see if maybe his flight progress resumes, but I’m not holding my breath. He has an unusually laid-back personality for a Coop, though, so we may explore placement as an ed bird.

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Happy New Year!

1/2/2023

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Hope y’all all had a very Merry Christmas and a good start to this brand-spankin’ new year. (I know, two days in, it’s hard to say, right?)

LWR stayed busy, with three releases between Christmas and New Year’s.

The barred owl who’d been here since late November was good to go and quite antsy during his weather-induced stay inside—see the photo below of what a bored barred will do to a box!

A second barred came in late last week and proved his flightworthiness immediately, so he was also released.

A game warden from the Peach County area brought a young Cooper’s hawk who’d been captured after flying inside a warehouse in pursuit of food. He was hyper, alert, and aggressive, with no injuries, so given Coops’ spazzy natures, I told the game warden to follow me down the lane by the house, and we watched as the Coop flew off. Not a great video—it focused on the bird perfectly until he flew off, then...meh...

A third screech came in Christmas Day after being pulled from a car grille. He was unresponsive and lethargic on intake, with a fracture near his left wrist. The goal was to get X-rays Tuesday when the clinic reopened after Christmas, but the lethargy was apparently from internal injuries rather than head trauma; he died overnight.

Both the gray phase and red phase screeches are in the mini-pen now; the gray phase is still making no effort to use that wing, and his temperament is just not suited for ed bird or foster bird status, so after another week or so just to be sure, I’ll be calling it on him, reluctantly.

The red phase is good to go after his late molt but again, with no established cavity to roost in during the winter, he needs to overwinter at LWR and be released once the weather warms up this spring. Although if temps remain moderate and we have another rain-free stretch come up, he might just gain his freedom early...we shall see...

The Coop who came in close to starvation is in the main flight and shows indications of some sort of soft tissue damage—he had no fractures on intake but favors his left wing in his attempts to fly. He’s staying aloft longer and maintaining flight for greater distances, though, so perhaps time and conditioning will allow for his release. Fingers crossed.

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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...

The gray phase continues to practice his invisibility by keeping those eyes tightly closed so I can’t see him...

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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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.

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.

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.

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.

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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Owls’r’still us

11/27/2022

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Hope y’all all had a good Thanksgiving! It was a blessedly quiet day for LWR; as a rule, rehabbers tend to get a fair number of holiday calls, but we always welcome those quiet holidays that are the exception to the rule.

The red phase screech’s molt continues apace, and he’s really starting to look good now. Our temps moderated to more seasonal last week, so he was able to go back outside into the mini-pen and, of course, screeches are SUCH grateful and gracious little raptors...

I do love screech attitude! They’re so fierce for their size, it’s impossible not to adore ‘em.

Look at those tail feathers, though, and all the feathers coming in on his head/face. I’m thrilled that a good diet and safe environment have made a difference for him this quickly; I honestly didn’t expect the molt until next year.

The gray phase isn’t stepping on that nerve-/soft tissue-damaged wing as much but he’s also totally not using it, which doesn’t look promising for a release. For once I did manage to snap a quick shot with his eyes open, though; the past few weeks, he’s slitted ‘em up so he looked like he had no eyes. So now y’all have photographic proof that he does indeed have two very pretty, functional eyes!

The barred owl with the blood-filled eye and wonky-looking beak is doing well. He’s very alert and inhales everything offered, so his appetite and beak are both functioning normally, even if the beak does look weird. As you can see, the eye still has a fair amount of blood in it, but that should continue to clear up. In just a week, it already looks much better than it did on intake. Next step for him is the main flight to make sure we have no soft tissue damage that would preclude flight.

And that’s it for this week, so get back to your Thanksgiving leftovers or your pre-Cyber Monday online shopping—and remember that you can designate LWR as your preferred Amazon Smile charity!

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Owls’r’us, part the second

11/20/2022

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It was another “owly” week at LWR, with two more barred owls coming in.

The more recent of the two barred intakes has some serious head trauma but no fractures. His right eye is still too filled with blood to see if there’s any permanent damage; it will take a while for that to reabsorb so we can see what the eye actually looks like. His beak is slightly off-kilter, as well, which will also need further assessment.

The earlier barred had an open wing fracture, which, as you know by now, is fatal. He was humanely euthanized.

After colleague Steve Hicks made the wise observation that as cold as it was here, it was even colder two hours north, where Bubba & Friends is located, our backup plan was to send the bird to Auburn but, in a disturbing sign that HPAI (the avian flu I keep mentioning) is more prevalent than is publicly acknowledged, Auburn’s Raptor Center is closed to intakes. Sadly, the osprey died a couple of days later; they’re reluctant eaters in rehab, and I suspect the stress of force-feeding, coupled with the cold, was more than he could tolerate.

The gray phase screech still favors that left wing but has at least stopped stepping all over it—recall that x-rays showed no fractures, so the wing issues are likely a result of tendon/ligament/nerve damage.

As for the red phase who was illegally held for 3 months, I’m so proud of his progress! Not only did he finally start molting, as I mentioned last week, he also absolutely lunged at the camera when I took the photos below, hissing and clicking his beak. YES! He’s acting like a real little screech now!

Next week the weather looks like it’ll warm up enough for him to go back into the mini-pen; until the gray phase starts using that left wing, though, he’s stuck inside, bless his pissy little heart.

Hope everybody has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

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