…’cause this may take a while. What a week!
First, the painted bunting was released. No video, no post-release photos. I had the camera out, on and ready, finger on the shutter button, and when I opened his box, he was outta there faster’n greased lightnin’, before I could even fully open the box, much less focus the camera.
And then a second red shoulder, this one a late nestling, came in. After some typical red shoulder mouthing off, she’s settled in nicely and is currently housed with the red shoulder now-fledgling, who’s pretty clearly a male when “stacked” next to this big ol’ gal.
First, the painted bunting was released. No video, no post-release photos. I had the camera out, on and ready, finger on the shutter button, and when I opened his box, he was outta there faster’n greased lightnin’, before I could even fully open the box, much less focus the camera.
And then a second red shoulder, this one a late nestling, came in. After some typical red shoulder mouthing off, she’s settled in nicely and is currently housed with the red shoulder now-fledgling, who’s pretty clearly a male when “stacked” next to this big ol’ gal.
Then a blue jay came in, a fledgling, the first of three last week. He wasn’t looking so hot—very lethargic and toes already “clawed”. He didn’t survive three hours after intake.
Hot on his heels came an adult Mississippi kite with an old open wing fracture. He was rail-thin and the bone was already dried out—no blood supply to it at all. He was humanely euthanized.
Then an adult black vulture came in with a horrific open wing fracture and was immediately humanely euthanized. The photos below were taken post-euthanasia.
On Wednesday, blue jay #2 came in, DOA. Not gasping, not on his last breath—quite literally dead on arrival, poor baby. He’d been cat-attacked the previous night and his finder simply sat him in a tree, where he was cat-attacked again the next morning. The poor bird didn’t have a chance…
In happier news, all three robins, the cardinal, the single house finch and the mockingbirds were released. It’s deafening walking over to the “feeding tree” and having five house finches, four bluebirds, a brown thrasher, a cardinal, three robins and three mockingbirds all vying for your attention! But those bluebirds and robins, especially, as “cousins” in the thrush family, are absolutely the sweetest birds. They never fail to make me smile.
Two red tails came in, one DOA and one euthanized. The DOA simply couldn’t stand, although he was well-fleshed and nothing appeared broken.
The second was seen being hit by a car, and although his wings and legs were just fine, his esophagus was badly ruptured. He was again immediately humanely euthanized.
When folks showed up Friday night with an adult male great horned owl, I initially thought he was another literal DOA; when I picked him up for an intake exam, his head lolled listlessly and he didn’t respond at all to being handled. He then began having tremors throughout his entire body, like mini-seizures. He was just…out of it. Badly. Unsure if this was really bad head trauma from a collision with a car, I opted to give him the night to see how he fared the next morning, but he died overnight.
Yesterday, two brown thrashers, nestlings, came in after being dragged from their nest, one after the other, by a marauding outdoor cat. Although their wounds were minor and I started antibiotics, one died within an hour of intake and the other died overnight.
When the first thrasher died, I placed this sweet little nestling bluebird found in a cardboard box that was about to be trashed in with the (at that time) surviving one. The poor little bluebird was sitting next to a dead thrasher this morning but she’s doing well at the moment. (While her wing feathers are just starting to emerge, they’re the dusty blue that marks a female.)
And in the “third time’s a charm” category, a third fledgling blue jay came in today, this one with a swollen and somewhat bloody right leg and what looks like a possible left hip fracture. He’s also pretty dirty, suggesting to me he might have been rolled around in the dirt by a cat, so he’s on antibiotics. He’s alert and eating well, so we’ll see…
The barn swallow is doing well; no new photos of her this week.
The wood ducks…well, when they’re not swimming, this is my normal view of them…
The wood ducks…well, when they’re not swimming, this is my normal view of them…
The barred owl pulled from fishing line was released. While his release flight made for a sort of “meh” video, when I turned off the camera and started in his direction to see if I needed to recapture him, given that low flight, he suddenly discovered that those wings had lift. By the time the camera was back on, he was out of sight.
The red tail, however, more than made up for the less-than-stellar optics on the barred release. She took off long, strong and steady. She’d been at LWR since February, so I was delighted to see her finally regain her freedom.
And, of course, the screeches are no longer tiny balls of down. They’re branching a bit, in a larger box to accommodate a perch along with their nest, and totally refusing any “handouts” from me. “Just put the food down and back away, slowly, lady, or we’ll kill you with cuteness.” Gotta love a screech…or three!
Finally, we’re at $900 on the “soft” fundraiser—just $100 to go, folks! Thanks to those who’ve already donated; for those who haven’t, let’s get that last $100! PayPal links are on every page of the website.
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