The first babies of spring, a nest of five house finches, came in last week after their nest was destroyed when the damaged light fixture it was in was replaced. The workers who found the nest, after the fixture had been removed and the nest damaged, called LWR but only after the finch nestlings had been without food for at least FOUR hours—and they had been sitting in the remnants of their nest in a plastic bag lining an old paint can that entire time.
First, please remember—baby birds MUST eat every 15-30 minutes. This isn’t an option; it’s NECESSARY for their survival. Four hours without food meant those babies had missed about 16 feedings. Imagine a human baby who’d missed 16 feedings. Getting the picture now?
These babies were so weak and cold when they came in that they’d given up even gaping and calling for food. It took a while to get them warm and hydrated enough to even start gaping again.
These babies were so weak and cold when they came in that they’d given up even gaping and calling for food. It took a while to get them warm and hydrated enough to even start gaping again.
Second, as I’ve stressed repeatedly in this space, birds are HIGHLY sensitive to chemicals. These poor babies had been exposed to the leeching chemicals and fumes from the paint can for four hours. Four hours of their tiny little systems exposed to toxic materials…
The general rule of thumb in songbird rehab is to attempt, as far as possible, to compensate for the missed feedings by continuing feedings as long as needed past sunset. (The parents feed from approximately sunrise to sunset.) These little finches were fed every half hour until 11:30 PM and I was cautiously optimistic they would pull through, except for the runt—I was pretty sure he wouldn’t survive the night.
Unfortunately, the odds were stacked too greatly against them; all five died later that night.
Folks, please, PLEASE, if you find unnested baby birds, time is of the essence. Get them to a properly permitted bird rehabber ASAP—and only place them in boxes or containers that haven’t previously held chemicals. Their little systems are so fragile…
Unfortunately, the odds were stacked too greatly against them; all five died later that night.
Folks, please, PLEASE, if you find unnested baby birds, time is of the essence. Get them to a properly permitted bird rehabber ASAP—and only place them in boxes or containers that haven’t previously held chemicals. Their little systems are so fragile…
The first-year red-tail is still doing the hunger strike thing and we’ve resorted to force-feeding. I spoke with a couple of colleagues about his behavior this week, and Kathryn Dudeck of Chattahoochee Nature Center offered a couple of helpful suggestions and said she’s seeing similar behavior from male red-tails she’s getting in. Apparently it’s hormonal, as this is their breeding season, and it’s affecting this youngster even though he’s too young to breed.
So as soon as the predicted cold snap for tonight moves through, I’m placing his stubborn feathered butt back in the raptor flight.
So as soon as the predicted cold snap for tonight moves through, I’m placing his stubborn feathered butt back in the raptor flight.
He’ll be joined by a second-year female red-tail, and thereby hangs a tale. We had rough—and I mean really nasty—weather move in late Thursday and hang around through Saturday morning. Late Thursday, near dark, a call came in about a downed hawk on an empty lot in town. I explained to the caller that by the time I got there it would be totally dark and too dangerous for the bird for me to be chasing it, possibly into the street, in the dark. I explained how she could attempt to capture it to get it out of the approaching storm, but she was unable to do so.
Friday morning was godawful in town, so during a break between successive bands of torrential rain and high winds, I headed to town and drove by the lot to see if I saw the bird. No sign. I called the lady who’d contacted me the night before, and God bless her, she left work and took her break to help me look for the hawk. Again, nothing, and our Good Samaritan had to get back to work.
Meanwhile, two volunteer transporters had met a third to pick up and deliver a cat-caught cardinal, so when they called to say they were nearing town, I told them where I was and when they arrived, the three of us scoured the lot. I suggested the hawk might have taken refuge from the storms in an old burned-out church building across the street, so after debating trespassing, we opted to take our chances.
As luck would have it, the people who lived next to the abandoned church were in their yard, so I walked over to ask if they’d seen the hawk. Not only had they seen it; it was around the corner of their house and they had been trying to figure out what to do about it!
While the volunteers watched the bird, I went back across the street for gloves, box and net. The hawk, a thoroughly rain-soaked red-tail, wasn’t too keen on being captured, so I ended up chasing her into yet another yard before netting her. A cursory exam after capture revealed no obvious injuries, and I had less than half an hour to get her to Smalley’s Animal Hospital for a more comprehensive exam before they headed to lunch.
Have I mentioned lately how much I love my vets? When I called and asked if they could squeeze me in before their lunch break, they said to come on. It was just across town, so I made it with time to spare, and vet Richie Hatcher agreed that all this aggressive gal needed was an anti-inflammatory and some cage rest.
Friday morning was godawful in town, so during a break between successive bands of torrential rain and high winds, I headed to town and drove by the lot to see if I saw the bird. No sign. I called the lady who’d contacted me the night before, and God bless her, she left work and took her break to help me look for the hawk. Again, nothing, and our Good Samaritan had to get back to work.
Meanwhile, two volunteer transporters had met a third to pick up and deliver a cat-caught cardinal, so when they called to say they were nearing town, I told them where I was and when they arrived, the three of us scoured the lot. I suggested the hawk might have taken refuge from the storms in an old burned-out church building across the street, so after debating trespassing, we opted to take our chances.
As luck would have it, the people who lived next to the abandoned church were in their yard, so I walked over to ask if they’d seen the hawk. Not only had they seen it; it was around the corner of their house and they had been trying to figure out what to do about it!
While the volunteers watched the bird, I went back across the street for gloves, box and net. The hawk, a thoroughly rain-soaked red-tail, wasn’t too keen on being captured, so I ended up chasing her into yet another yard before netting her. A cursory exam after capture revealed no obvious injuries, and I had less than half an hour to get her to Smalley’s Animal Hospital for a more comprehensive exam before they headed to lunch.
Have I mentioned lately how much I love my vets? When I called and asked if they could squeeze me in before their lunch break, they said to come on. It was just across town, so I made it with time to spare, and vet Richie Hatcher agreed that all this aggressive gal needed was an anti-inflammatory and some cage rest.
Hormones notwithstanding, she’s inhaling food as she awaits placement in the raptor flight with the first-year male as soon as it warms back up Monday.
While I was at Smalley’s, I asked Richie to take a look at the cat-caught cardinal, as well. Again, there were no fractures and we could find no puncture wounds, so he agreed that antibiotics and cage rest were appropriate for her, as well. She was alert and aggressive—typical cardinal.
Unfortunately, she’d been cat-attacked two days prior to her intake at LWR, so the meds were too little, too late, and she died during the night.
Cat saliva is toxic to birds, as are the bacteria in cat claws. Generally speaking, without treatment a bird will die within 24-48 hours after a cat attack—with baby birds, 12 hours without treatment is often long enough to be fatal. If you suspect a bird has been cat-attacked, please don’t delay in contacting your local songbird rehabber; that bird’s life depends on prompt treatment.
The great horned owl is doofusing along, eating well and hissing at every movement near him. Once the red-tails are out of the rehab bathroom, we’re gonna try to put Mr. Doofus back in there and hope he doesn’t trap himself in the tub again…
Cat saliva is toxic to birds, as are the bacteria in cat claws. Generally speaking, without treatment a bird will die within 24-48 hours after a cat attack—with baby birds, 12 hours without treatment is often long enough to be fatal. If you suspect a bird has been cat-attacked, please don’t delay in contacting your local songbird rehabber; that bird’s life depends on prompt treatment.
The great horned owl is doofusing along, eating well and hissing at every movement near him. Once the red-tails are out of the rehab bathroom, we’re gonna try to put Mr. Doofus back in there and hope he doesn’t trap himself in the tub again…
RSS Feed
