In discussions with colleagues about the emotional landscape of wildlife rehab, every now and then I’ll hear a turn of phrase that so perfectly sums up what we do that it just becomes a part of my “vocabulary”—and a point of reference for trying times. Years ago, Steve Hicks of Bubba and Friends succinctly and accurately summed up what we do: “It’s the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, sometimes within the same day.”
And this week saw me at the summit and in the valley, albeit not in the same day.
The barred owl awaiting release was taken back to his home territory by the folks who initially brought him to LWR, and they reported he wasted no time heading back into the woods.
This freed up the raptor flight for the big ol’ female red-tail, who is doing so well that she could be looking at release by the end of the week.
And this week saw me at the summit and in the valley, albeit not in the same day.
The barred owl awaiting release was taken back to his home territory by the folks who initially brought him to LWR, and they reported he wasted no time heading back into the woods.
This freed up the raptor flight for the big ol’ female red-tail, who is doing so well that she could be looking at release by the end of the week.
The crow was ready to go, so I opened the escape hatch on the songbird flight and sat down nearby with camera trained on the opening. Took him less than five minutes to see his way out and take advantage of it, and less than five minutes later he was being checked out by a vanguard from the local murder, who decided he was “tol’able.”
Alas, the low was yet to come…
Tuesday, the same day the crow was released, a panicked call came in from a lady who’d run over a nest on the ground with a bulldozer. Mama and all sibs except one were killed; she was seeking help for that sole survivor. I couldn’t for the life of me imagine what songbird already had babies in FEBRUARY, so I asked her to send me a photo while I was trying to arrange transport.
It was a woodcock chick. And oh, he was so adorable! I’d never had a woodcock in rehab, so this was gonna be interesting!
We got transportation arranged; I set about preparing nesting, heat and food for the wee one, and when he arrived, he was hungry, active and alert, and weighed just 12g. Based on his weight and the softness of his beak, I guessed he was a recent hatchling, probably only a day or two old. While woodcocks are considered precocial birds, they don’t immediately start self-feeding upon hatching as other precocials do; Mama feeds them for the first week or so—and 90% of their diet is earthworms, which I’d laid in a supply of while he was en route, along with other soft insects and such for variety.
Tuesday, the same day the crow was released, a panicked call came in from a lady who’d run over a nest on the ground with a bulldozer. Mama and all sibs except one were killed; she was seeking help for that sole survivor. I couldn’t for the life of me imagine what songbird already had babies in FEBRUARY, so I asked her to send me a photo while I was trying to arrange transport.
It was a woodcock chick. And oh, he was so adorable! I’d never had a woodcock in rehab, so this was gonna be interesting!
We got transportation arranged; I set about preparing nesting, heat and food for the wee one, and when he arrived, he was hungry, active and alert, and weighed just 12g. Based on his weight and the softness of his beak, I guessed he was a recent hatchling, probably only a day or two old. While woodcocks are considered precocial birds, they don’t immediately start self-feeding upon hatching as other precocials do; Mama feeds them for the first week or so—and 90% of their diet is earthworms, which I’d laid in a supply of while he was en route, along with other soft insects and such for variety.
Because he’d missed the better portion of the day’s feedings, I stayed up till the wee hours feeding, hoping to avoid weight loss, but when I finally crashed for about four hours, he lost a gram and a half, which I managed to pack back on him during the following day. Wednesday night, I stayed up all night, offering food whenever I heard him peep, and by Thursday morning, he’d gained a gram over his intake weight. All seemed to be going well, and I was hopeful…and then Thursday afternoon, he crashed. Hard. Because he was struggling to breathe, I suspected he’d been given or fallen face-first into water and had developed aspiration pneumonia, so I started meds immediately. By around 11 that night, he was gone. Based on the blood draining from his beak after death, however, I now suspect he had a badly bruised internal organ that finally ruptured, causing him to bleed out.
And yes, it sucked, and yes, it hurt my heart to lose such a precious little one. But again, as many of my colleagues and I have discussed, the day the deaths stop hurting is the day we need to give up our permits.
The screeches are being housed together now, but the fellow found in the middle of the road is having severe eye issues. We initially didn’t think his eye was too badly damaged, but it’s not looking good now. He’ll be headed back to Smalley’s for a follow-up visit soon.
And yes, it sucked, and yes, it hurt my heart to lose such a precious little one. But again, as many of my colleagues and I have discussed, the day the deaths stop hurting is the day we need to give up our permits.
The screeches are being housed together now, but the fellow found in the middle of the road is having severe eye issues. We initially didn’t think his eye was too badly damaged, but it’s not looking good now. He’ll be headed back to Smalley’s for a follow-up visit soon.
The oriole is near-impossible to photograph; below are examples of one day’s attempts. I’m worried about that coracoid fracture, too, as he still refuses to move his left wing.
The flyers popped their heads out briefly Friday night as I was freshening their food. The first photo was with my cell and no flash, as it was all I had handy. Even though it’s a bit fuzzy, it was too funny seeing those three little heads peering out! The second is with a proper camera and flash, but one of the rascals had gone back inside the nest box by the time I got back with the camera.
The red shoulder and barred owl recovering from wing fractures are tentatively slated for follow-up x-rays next week, and the barred with the dislocated wing might be ready to flight-test after a follow-up vet visit, as well. Fingers crossed; I need to be “cleaning house” to get organized and make room for upcoming baby season!
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