First baby of the season

LWR’s first baby of the season, a nestling barred, came in last week, which was a head-bangingly frustrating week.

The nestling barred was spotted under a tree in a young woman’s yard, and she did the right thing in leaving him there for a couple of nights to see if the parents returned or were feeding. By the third night she decided he needed help, so she picked him up and then, based on her account (and my eye-witness when she arrived with him nestled on her shoulder like a human infant), proceeded to tote him around like a ragdoll for a couple of days. This bird is young enough to imprint easily, so I’ve been in touch with a colleague who has two barreds about the same age, and we’re working on transferring this baby to her so he can be with others of his species and hopefully not end up nonreleasable due to imprinting.

Y’all, when ANY wild baby needs rescuing, there are simple steps to follow:

1. Remove the baby from the dangerous situation.
2. Place it in a cardboard box lined with an old sheet, t-shirt or puppy pad.
3. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO FEED OR GIVE WATER TO THE WILD BABY.
4. Place the box in a quiet, safe place—away from dogs, cats, children, loud music or other noises.
5. MINIMIZE HUMAN CONTACT.
6. CALL A REHABBER IMMEDIATELY and arrange transport ASAP. Follow any other instructions the rehabber gives you as to heat, etc.

A second barred came in after being hit by a car, and again, it was a frustrating situation. The person who hit the bird couldn’t or wouldn’t drive it to LWR, so he found someone who would after a day or so of trying, and after I had given him the number of a volunteer transport group that he did not utilize. The person he found locally delayed getting the bird from him for another day, so it had been almost a week before the poor barred made it LWR. Thankfully, he only had a concussion and is eating well and alert now, so he’ll likely be released within a couple of days.

He came to LWR in a wire dog crate wrapped like a Christmas present in a blanket, and the crate itself had a leash and a USB charging cord wrapped tightly around it. Both had to be cut to even get into the crate.

Revising the above instructions for adult wildlife:

1. Remove the injured wildlife from the dangerous situation.
2. Place it in a cardboard box lined with an old sheet, t-shirt or puppy pad.
3. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO FEED OR GIVE WATER TO THE INJURED ADULT.
4. Place the box in a quiet, safe place—away from dogs, cats, children, loud music or other noises.
5. MINIMIZE HUMAN CONTACT.
6. CALL A REHABBER IMMEDIATELY and arrange transport ASAP. Follow any other instructions the rehabber gives you as to heat, etc.

 
A third barred owl was DOA after being rescued from the side of the road. The finders in this case had actually done everything pretty much by the book, but the bird was too badly injured and died en route to LWR.

And God only knows what happened to the fourth barred, as the caller never responded to my message. This person indicated there was a rehabber in their area and I know for a fact there’s no one with the proper permits there, so this one most likely needs to be turned over to DNR to check out, but I’ve tried to give the caller time to do the right thing.

So…yeah…one of those bang-head-on-desk weeks pretty much all the way around.

In better news, the screech is doing well, although I’m not sure he’ll be releasable. We’ll just have to wait and see, and if he’s not releasable, I may already know of potential placement for him as an ed bird.

And in fist-pumping, triumphant-yell news, the red tail is flying quite well now and should be good to go in another couple of weeks.

In conclusion, to be honest, given the events of last week, your incensed rehabber is insufferably pleased that she made it through this entire update without cussin’ even once…