First baby of the season

LWR received its first 2026 baby last week, and it was… NOT a barred owl! Sorry, couldn’t resist that, since about two thirds of our intakes so far for the year have been barreds.

Nope, the official first baby for 2026 was a great horned owl.

The finder, from northwestern Laurens County, had watched the grounded baby for several days and was sure the parents were feeding it but was worried about predators the longer it stayed on the ground. He couldn’t locate a nest for renesting, and the photo he sent of the bird showed the pupils were unequal, indicating possible head trauma.

I contacted Georgia Wildlife Network, a statewide network of volunteer transporters, and a local transporter stepped up to retrieve the bird and get it to LWR the next day. The pic she sent of the bird once it was in her possession also showed unequal pupils.

However, by the time the bird reached LWR, the pupils were nearly equal.  He—or she, as it’s a bit early to tell just yet—is a hissy, clicky little grump who clearly understands s/he shouldn’t be with humans but also ain’t gonna pass up a meal from any source.

I reached out to colleagues to see if anybody had a buddy for this baby, but no one else has raptor babies yet.

In other news, the barnie finally gained his freedom! Of course, he complained about it—loudly—all the way to the release site and even as he flew off. But fly he did, strong and straight!

The second intake for last week was an adult barred, probably female based on size, and also from Laurens County. She’d been found by the road and her left ear was full of blood. She’s got some major head trauma going on and is still “not right.”

The vulture’s wing is drooping pretty badly now that the swelling has gone down. I was hoping the muscles would be strong enough to keep it in place. We face a Catch-22 with him because of that torn/ruptured tendon—wrap it and risk the tendon shortening as it heals, thereby destroying his chances of flight, or leave it loose, which would again destroy his chances of flight. Retired colleague Steve Hicks suggested wrapping it loosely, just enough to mitigate the drooping, which is the current plan. It sounds like it might give the bird a chance at release.

And the screech seems to have flight issues, which would indicate soft tissue damage—not the best news. He struggles to gain lift. If he was a recent intake I’d say it was a coracoid fracture, but he’s been at LWR for about a month now, so that leaves soft tissue damage as the culprit. We’ll give him more time and hope for the best.