Couple of clear(ish) days allowed a release

LWR had one release and several intakes last week, making it slightly busier than the previous week.

First, the release: The MIKI’s migration instincts had kicked in big-time by mid-week, and he was calling incessantly, demanding that he be allowed to go on his way—and boy, did he!

With his release, the catbird and blue jay moved into the mini-pen and should be good for release possibly as soon as the end of this week.

One of this week’s intakes was another juvie MIKI who had a nasty shoulder fracture; the only option was humane euthanasia.

Also, a juvie sharpie came in with both eyes severely damaged/infected. Warm compresses, saline baths, ointments and drops made no difference; both eyes were totally trashed. This poor baby was also euthanized.

LWR also had a house finch come in with a horribly swollen and deformed left leg. The poor bird was already beak-breathing on arrival and died as I was preparing to euthanize.

A second-year red tail appears to have a wing fracture in or near the left wrist; he’ll go in for X-rays Monday. Meanwhile, he ain’t a happy camper, not at all…

The two red tails who’ve been at LWR for a while are doing well. The female will be released soon; as you can see in the video below, she’s flying like a champ. The male, who has soft tissue damage, is actually more mobile, although you can’t tell it in the video. He’s laid-back; she’s a pistol!

The hummers are…well, humming right along, if you’ll pardon the pun. They eat and they buzz around. The female has some lift now; the male’s wing shows no signs of improvement.

And Poe the crow has his brace off now. His right leg still wants to splay a bit, but it’s not interfering with flight, landing or perching. He’s a crafty fellow—perches till it’s feeding time, then hops back in his nest and acts like a big baby…With the raptor flight occupied for the foreseeable future, he’ll go into the mini-pen once the catbird and blue jay are released.