The yellow-bellied sapsucker is eating well and drumming away on her log, but she’s still unable to fly. We know from the x-rays that nothing’s broken, which means the issue is soft tissue damage. How long that will take to heal—if ever—is anybody’s guess. Only time will tell if she’ll recover and be able to fly. The will is definitely there; hopefully the ability will be, too—and soon.
This barred owl was found in the middle of the road in a neighboring county, so we all figured he’d been hit by a car. He crashed when I got him to Smalley’s Animal Hospital, but we thought we’d pulled him back. He was weak, unable to stand, lethargic, and losing body heat, which can all be symptoms of severe head trauma, so we treated him accordingly and hoped for the best. Unfortunately, the poor fellow died on the way home.
These two rabbits were dug up by a dog. They were rescued before the dog actually mauled them and weren’t injured in any way, so I was cautiously optimistic, but as is too often the case with rabbits, they didn’t survive.
This pair of cottontails was cat-attacked. One had spinal injuries and died shortly after I got home with him. His sib lasted about 12 hours longer, despite showing no signs of injury. I’d started him on antibiotics, but they didn’t even have time to kick in.
When this downy great horned owl fell from his nest, his rescuers did everything right. After several days of heavy rains subsided, apparently the nest simply disintegrated. When they heard the nest crash to the ground, they retrieved the single baby from the debris, secured a laundry basket to a tall stepladder, placed the downy GHO inside, and put it against the tree for the night. The next morning, the lack of food remnants indicated that the parents hadn’t returned for their baby, so the rescuers brought him inside to safety and set about finding a licensed rehabber.
This little guy went to Steve Hicks of Bubba and Friends raptor rehab this morning. He has another downy GHO about the same age. They can learn to be clueless together!
It’s never a good sign when a great blue heron can’t stand. In fact the people who found this poor fellow almost left him for dead, but then he moved, so they brought him to me. He had a broken leg, right at the hip, and was rail thin. Since he came in on a Sunday, my plan was to get him to Smalley’s to get x-rays and see how bad the fracture was ASAP Monday, but he died during the night.
I cringe whenever a caller says they’ve rescued a bird from a cat. Bird vs. cat seldom ends well for the bird. Besides the risk of infection from bacteria in the cat’s mouth, there are puncture wounds and fractures to worry about. This little chickadee was taken away from a cat. He escaped obvious injury but favors his right wing. He was pretty stressed upon arrival, and still a bit shocky, I think. His breathing was also a bit labored.
Within a few hours, he was looking slightly better and had started showing an interest in food and water.
Another few hours, and he’d perked up considerably and I had high hopes for the little cutie. Unfortunately, when I checked on him this morning, he was no longer perching and his breathing was more labored. By the time I got him to Smalley’s, he was in severe respiratory distress. Our best guess is that the cat cracked his tiny ribs and one of them punctured a lung during the night. Another avian fatality thanks to a free-roaming cat…
The chickadee’s rescuer is doing what I wish all cat owners would do—bringing the outside cat indoors. Folks, cats kill birds. They’re predators; killing birds is their nature. You can’t blame them for doing what comes naturally to them, but you CAN prevent the carnage by keeping your cats indoors. It’s healthier and safer for the cat, and it’s definitely safer for the avian population of your property. I have cats. I love my cats. I also love the birds that share my yard. Therefore, I keep my cats indoors. It’s a win-win situation for cat and bird. Please take my advice, follow my example—however you want to word it—and keep your cats inside and away from our native birds!
And rounding out two horrendous weeks, this morning I picked up an adult red-shouldered hawk who’d been hit by a car. Given that, upon a cursory parking lot exam prior to heading to Smalley’s, I found an open wound on his left wing, I was hopeful but not optimistic. Sometimes even hope is misplaced. The open wound wasn’t fatal, but the break in the joint above the wound was. (That white object is actually NOT exposed bone; there was no open fracture.) The joint would have been frozen when it healed, and this feisty little raptor would never have flown again. He also was very thin and had a small wound on his keel that may have indicated internal injuries. He went down so quickly from the euthanasia injection that we suspected this was the case.
And rounding out two horrendous weeks, this morning I picked up an adult red-shouldered hawk who’d been hit by a car. Given that, upon a cursory parking lot exam prior to heading to Smalley’s, I found an open wound on his left wing, I was hopeful but not optimistic. Sometimes even hope is misplaced. The open wound wasn’t fatal, but the break in the joint above the wound was. (That white object is actually NOT exposed bone; there was no open fracture.) The joint would have been frozen when it healed, and this feisty little raptor would never have flown again. He also was very thin and had a small wound on his keel that may have indicated internal injuries. He went down so quickly from the euthanasia injection that we suspected this was the case.
Hopefully the next update won’t be so full of mortal wounds and deaths/euthanasias…if you think it’s difficult to read about, try experiencing it firsthand for a while. It ain’t pleasant, and it never gets easier…
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