Thanks to generous supporters, LWR’s $1500 fundraising goal was surpassed, garnering a total of $2025—in two weeks! That means y’all don’t have to put up with my yammering about fundraising for an entire month, as I’d said the fundraiser would run for a month or until the goal was met. Thank all of y’all who donated; the birds (and I) appreciate the “mouse (and quail) money!”
The juvie bald eagle went back in last week to have his wing unwrapped and get new x-rays to see if there was any healing occurring. Sadly, we saw no healing, which means this bird will likely be an ed bird, as right now his prospects for release look slim. FWS has approved me holding him for another 30 days while we see how things pan out and possibly begin the process of placement.
 Rads from July 10 |  Rads from August 8 |
He’s young, he’s trainable, and he’s actually got a pretty decent temperament, so I’m confident he’ll do well as an ed bird, but the process isn’t as easy as with other raptors. After a letter from the vets at Smalley’s certifying that he’s nonreleasable—the standard procedure for any raptor—he then must be offered to American Indian tribes as a program bird; if no tribe opts to “adopt” him, then he can be offered to other facilities. FWS has a couple in mind already, so placement shouldn’t be an issue.
And let me stop right here and state for the record that the folks at FWS and DNR, as well as my colleagues in wildlife rehab and my vets, who’ve worked hard with me on these two eagles, are top-notch. Without their support and, in the case of the state and feds, approval, I couldn’t have worked with these birds long-term, and they’ve all been highly responsive throughout this entire process. They’re good people to have in your corner, and I appreciate their trust in me. Having the privilege of working with these two juvie eagles has vastly improved my opinion of the species as a whole.
And let me stop right here and state for the record that the folks at FWS and DNR, as well as my colleagues in wildlife rehab and my vets, who’ve worked hard with me on these two eagles, are top-notch. Without their support and, in the case of the state and feds, approval, I couldn’t have worked with these birds long-term, and they’ve all been highly responsive throughout this entire process. They’re good people to have in your corner, and I appreciate their trust in me. Having the privilege of working with these two juvie eagles has vastly improved my opinion of the species as a whole.
He was NOT impressed with the rain we received from Debby.
By that evening he'd decided under the blind and out of the rain was a better location!
The second-year red tail sulked for several days after his abortive release attempt, facing the corner of his box with his back to me and refusing to eat. Didn’t take long for hunger to win out over temper tantrum, though, and he started eating again.
The sole new intake last week came in yesterday afternoon, a severely emaciated great horned owl from a coastal county that had been badly impacted by Hurricane Debby. Given that he was alert and aggressive on intake, it really seemed that the couple who found him had rescued him in time, but this wasn’t the case. Despite small, frequent meals, he died overnight.
And everybody’s favorite juvie red tail is starting to attempt adult calls every now and then. It’s strangled and cuts off abruptly, but hey, he’s trying! He definitely takes the prize for most photogenic, too!
Thank y’all again for helping LWR surpass our fundraising goal!
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