Hooo boooy...

Y’all ain’t gon’ believe this. As I had just started writing this update, DNR called; they were about to pick up another bald eagle and were checking to make sure I had room. Per DNR, it appears to be a juvie; its wing appears to be broken. It should arrive in the morning. I’ve already alerted the head of Georgia DNR’s eagle program and vet Peggy Hobby at Smalley’s and have transport arranged, and we’re aiming at streamlining the process tomorrow and getting the bird en route to Auburn ASAP. Other FWS and DNR officials will be notified once the bird’s actually here and has been examined/x-rayed. So y’all have that to look forward to for next week’s update. Two eagles three months in...gonna be an interesting year...

The great horned is nearly ready for the flight pen; most likely she’ll go outside mid-week, when our late cold snap is done. At least it was just a cold snap, not a blizzard like we had in 1993 that left us with snow on the ground and no power the entire weekend. Although some in the community did lose power this weekend, ours only flickered incessantly.

The screech with the wing fracture is doing well. His eye continues to clear up nicely. Let’s hope the calluses on those bones don’t fuse together as they heal.

And a second screech came in mid-week after being sideswiped by a car. Aside from a minor concussion he’s fine and will go in the mini-pen mid-week, again once the weather moderates. Once I’m sure there’s no soft tissue damage, he’ll be good for release.

The barred that came in with the massive head trauma went into the mini-pen early last week and was so antsy I offered a soft release within a couple of days, so no photos or videos of his release. I just left the pen door open slightly before dusk and he was gone half an hour later.

Yeah, this is a “just the facts” update—sorry ‘bout that. Gotta get all my ducks in a row for the insanity that ensues with a pending bald eagle intake...