LWR had just two intakes for the last week of the month. Sadly, both intakes were DOA, so let’s just get that out of the way first and move on to more pleasant topics.
The night before Thanksgiving, a barred owl with neurological issues came in. He had difficulty standing, wobbling before falling on his side, and his right eye looked cloudy. His transporters were hopeful he would be releasable eventually, but he died during the night. (The photo below was taken shortly after intake, while he was still alive.)
The night before Thanksgiving, a barred owl with neurological issues came in. He had difficulty standing, wobbling before falling on his side, and his right eye looked cloudy. His transporters were hopeful he would be releasable eventually, but he died during the night. (The photo below was taken shortly after intake, while he was still alive.)
And on Saturday a great blue heron died en route to LWR. His finder had contacted me and sent a good, clear photo of the bird; I could tell he was on his way out and told her the best we could do was euthanize. She was bringing him to be euthanized but he took care of matters on his own.
Balancing out the two DOAs, we had two releases. Both barreds in the raptor flight were released Friday. I managed a VERY short video of one release and got one pretty decent post-release still shot of each owl.
Balancing out the two DOAs, we had two releases. Both barreds in the raptor flight were released Friday. I managed a VERY short video of one release and got one pretty decent post-release still shot of each owl.
The red shoulder’s eye, after swelling to the point I honestly thought it was going to rupture, has finally gone down so the poor bird can open it. It’s still filled with blood but at least it’s open now, and he’s still eating well. He was moved to the raptor flight once the barreds were released.
The flyers got a new nest box this week to give them a bit more space, so I took that opportunity to attempt a photo as they checked out the new box. It's not great, but at least you can see the little rascals.
I also had the bright idea to try Sisyphus in the mini-pen to see if he had any use at all of that wrist now that it’s as healed as it’s gonna get. Negative. He can’t even flit a short distance. He will definitely need to be placed as an ed bird, but given his personality, God help the facility that gets him. I’ll keep him through December, more than likely, as it’s not a good time to be trying to place a nonreleasable bird.
The TBI kestrel’s eye is looking almost totally normal now. He still seems to be totally blind, though, and his personality is still extremely “unkestrelly” sweet (yeah, I made that word up). He is starting to flap his wings while hanging on to his perch, like a brancher testing his wings. He also turns his head completely to the left—never the right—snapping blindly for food, so we’ve still got some serious head trauma there. We’ll give him more time and see what happens. Fingers crossed.
And finally, while Tuesday, Dec. 3, is officially Giving Tuesday, LWR is going to run a short fundraiser for the first 12 days of the month—sort of an early Twelve Days of Christmas. I’m not setting up a whole Fundrazr site for this one, though; those who’d like to help LWR meet our goal of $750 can donate directly through PayPal using the links that appear on each page of this website. Offline donations are also welcome!
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