Meanwhile, the fundraiser is still active for another two weeks, and we’re at $2590, 47% of the $5500 goal, with no new donations in two days. Part of the problem, I think, is that there’s not that sense of ownership with wildlife; you can’t pet a hawk or cuddle with a blue jay, or physically adopt them. So while people will donate out the wazoo to domestic animal groups, they’re less likely to see funding wildlife rehab as “their” problem—until they need a rehabber and discover there are none available because they all shut down from lack of funding. Then there’s a huge hue and cry about how “somebody oughta do something.” Well, folks, YOU are that “somebody” and it’s better to act now than bemoan the lack of rehabbers when it’s too late.
We should all view wildlife as a trust, to be maintained for future generations. We don’t “own” wildlife like we do cats or dogs, but it’s our duty to protect our wildlife so that our children and their children can see these creatures in their natural habitat, not read about extinct species in books or see them only in museums or zoos.
An adult chimney swift was DOA; a post-mortem exam showed that the left wing was broken but the bird was also rail-thin and had probably starved to death en route.
Hot on the swift’s heels was an adult Mississippi kite with an open wing fracture, also left wing. Despite his alertness and overall health otherwise, the wing fracture was a death sentence.
They’re doing great, though, and should be ready for the flight pen by late in the week, I’d guess.
The final intake for the day—and, as it turned out, the week—was a juvenile hummingbird, a female ruby-throat. Her finder kept her for a solid week, giving her sugar water laced with vitamins—sorta like giving your child a steady diet of Sprite and multivitamins and then wondering why the young’un has health problems, huh?
The last four killdeer were released…
The robin is doing beautifully in the songbird flight and should be releasable as soon as we have several days of low/no rain chances.
And in closing, I’ll leave you with this photo taken with my phone camera mid-week; it was all I had handy when this gorgeous scene appeared. Of the several shots I took, this one is my favorite because of the bird. It serves as a reminder to me that things will work out somehow, so I’m trusting in the universe and generous donors to aid and abet that “working out” so LWR can continue its mission.