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Hitting the “two-century” mark with flair

9/28/2015

6 Comments

 
Yep, LWR officially surpassed 200 intakes for the year this past week; we’re at 203 as of last week. Only seven of those intakes weren’t birds. This sort of volume is why I opted several years ago to “specialize” in birds and flying squirrels. One person, simultaneously rehabbing and working a paying job full-time, simply cannot rehab every single species that draws breath—at least, not effectively. Lord knows I tried for several years, but when I was struggling to juggle feeding possums, deer, rabbits, gray squirrels, birds of every species, and a few reptiles thrown into the mix—all at once, more or less—I felt my level of care dropped for all my charges. Focusing my energies on the species I most enjoy working with allowed me to raise the level of care I provide—and I do occasionally take in a few species other than birds or flyers, as you know, but never during baby bird season.
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The red shoulder whose fate was iffy before she made a miraculous recovery was released last week.  It was what rehabbers call an “ugly release.”  Instead of soaring to the trees, she flew out of the box straight to a clump of grass and sat there hurling expletives at me…and I replied in kind as I gloved up, fully expecting to have to nab her and return her to confinement.
​Fortunately for us both, she gathered her wits and flew off to a nearby tree as I approached. I’m not gonna lie and say I was happy with the release; I wasn’t. It was one of those I didn’t have a good feeling about afterwards but she was able to fly away and elude recapture, so…we’ll keep our fingers crossed that all went well post-release.
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Early last week I received a call about a Canada goose that had probably been hit by a car (HBC). Upon intake, the goose had numerous nasty looking wounds: the head was raw and bleeding; both wrists were ripped open; the right wing was broken at the wrist; the right foot had at least one broken toe and an open wound that was bleeding profusely.
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Once all the open wounds were treated and the goose was given some pain meds, it calmed down somewhat. My goal was x-rays the next morning, but there were apparently also some major internal injuries. The goose bled out during the night.
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​Hot on the heels of the DOA goose came a HBC pine warbler.  The driver of the vehicle said the bird flew up, initially avoided the windshield, and then bounced back into it. The bird was stunned and in shock on intake but there were no signs of any fractures. Again, however, there were internal injuries, as this poor little bird also bled out during the night.
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​This barred owl came in with a wing fracture, right at the wrist. He’s slated for x-rays later this week to see if the break can be fixed. Honestly, my gut is saying it ain’t gonna happen, and his level of aggression rules out the possibility of him becoming an ed bird, so…we’ll see…
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​The hummers are showing no signs that they’re ever gonna be flight-capable again, and with the window for migration fast closing, I really should call it on ‘em, but for some reason I find it incredibly difficult to make that call on hummers as long as they’re not in pain and are eating well. I think it’s because in the back of my mind I think that since hummers are such miraculous little birds anyway, maybe they’ll pull off a miracle and fly properly for me so I can release ‘em…Hope outrunning reason, the majority of the time, but there are always those one or two who defy the odds and give me cause to allow extra, extra, extra time to see what non-flighted hummers might do…
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​And while the screeches haven’t passed the live prey test yet, their number has increased. Colleague Steve Hicks of Bubba & Friends raptor rehab had a singleton late juvie screech that he felt needed to be with other screeches so they could learn to be aggressive little snots together. (And I say that with great affection—as you well know by now, screeches are my favorite nocturnal raptor.) So now there are three gorgeous screeches in the raptor flight who need to show me they can hunt their own food. 
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6 Comments
Pipette
9/29/2015 12:05:54 am

Don't care how "late" your updates are - I am always amazed that you have time to do them at all, on top of working & rehabbing!

Poor goose...

Those hummers are so gorgeous... can you keep them over the winter, or is that impossible?

The 3 screeches look like they are planning Halloween already!

Reply
Laurens Wildlife Rescue
9/29/2015 09:05:53 am

Thanks Pipette--my secret is severe sleep deprivation and massive amounts of chocolate!

Yeah, the goose was pretty messed up, poor thing.

Hummer can be overwintered but that's most likely to work when they're more fully flighted than these two. Hummers' little feet aren't designed for long periods of perching, and when they DO have to perch a lot, it can lead to severe stress on those tiny feet and eventually to the development of all sorts of foot problems.

Yeah, those screeches are hysterical! Now if they can just pass the live prey test...

Reply
Pam
9/29/2015 10:54:49 am

Still got hummers here in Golden, Colorado...I think a little extra time is warranted! That's a cool fact about their feet, didn't know that. Great update.

Reply
Laurens Wildlife Rescue
9/29/2015 11:41:02 am

Thanks Pam! Yeah, they'll keep getting extra time, until I'm fully convinced they simply cannot fly at all. Aren't their little feet just amazing?! (As is pretty much everything about hummers, to be honest...)

Reply
Ann Feldman
9/29/2015 05:07:26 pm

Despite the fact that they died, wasn't it nice that they were brought to you, especially the little bird who hit the windshield. Nice driver. Points for good karma. Why not just keep the hummers as pets? They eat on their own, don't they? Shame to put them down. Love the Screeches!

Reply
Laurens Wildlife Rescue
9/29/2015 05:47:51 pm

Hey Ann, you're right--I always tell people that even if the wildlife they bring me must be euthanized or dies overnight, at least it's a humane ending, with meds to ease the pain.

By both state and federal law, nonreleasable birds (and other wildlife) cannot be kept as pets. Legality aside, from a purely ethical point of view, a life of captivity for a wild bird or animal is no life at all. Some nonreleasables can be used as ed birds/animals, and although I acknowledge the usefulness of educational wildlife, this is an issue I still struggle with, as I firmly believe wildlife belongs in the wild in order to live the life Nature intended. So in a nutshell, no, the hummers cannot legally--or morally--be kept as pets. It's not fair to them.

The screeches just ooze ill-tempered attitude, don't they?! I can't wait to see them all pass the live prey test and take their rightful places in the wild!

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