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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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…
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…
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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