With the river too high to reach my preferred release site until late in the week and the rain moving in immediately after that, the hoped-for red tail releases were delayed yet again...
So currently LWR has two highly peeved red tails who’re ready to go and a highly peeved great horned owl who’d like to be in a raptor flight but is stuck inside till the red tails are released.
So currently LWR has two highly peeved red tails who’re ready to go and a highly peeved great horned owl who’d like to be in a raptor flight but is stuck inside till the red tails are released.
And why do rehabbers wait for low-to-no rain chances for releases, you may be asking? Well, most of the time we’re releasing birds into unfamiliar territory. Three days or so of minimal rain chances gives them time to acclimate to their new surroundings, rather than having to learn new territory while simultaneously coping with rain and less-than-ideal hunting conditions.
And yes, of course, in the wild, birds of all species fledge in the rain, near dark, etc.—in less-than-ideal conditions. This also lowers their chances of survival. A fledge—or in this case, release of two older birds—in good weather heightens chances of survival.
Birds of all species face enough of a struggle for survival as it is; anything we can do to improve their chances, we’re gonna do. (And also, from a purely practical human point of view, cameras with enough zoom to capture a good release flight and get post-release photos aren’t gonna be waterproof, so there’s that consideration, as well.)
The good news is that rain chances should slack off mid-week, and none of the rain before then should be heavy enough to cause the river to rise too much, so with any luck at all, next week I’ll be able to report two red tail releases and the great horned owl in the mini-pen!
And yes, of course, in the wild, birds of all species fledge in the rain, near dark, etc.—in less-than-ideal conditions. This also lowers their chances of survival. A fledge—or in this case, release of two older birds—in good weather heightens chances of survival.
Birds of all species face enough of a struggle for survival as it is; anything we can do to improve their chances, we’re gonna do. (And also, from a purely practical human point of view, cameras with enough zoom to capture a good release flight and get post-release photos aren’t gonna be waterproof, so there’s that consideration, as well.)
The good news is that rain chances should slack off mid-week, and none of the rain before then should be heavy enough to cause the river to rise too much, so with any luck at all, next week I’ll be able to report two red tail releases and the great horned owl in the mini-pen!
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