Yeah, it’s that time of year. I managed this year to hold off coming to you, hat in hand, till August, though, so there’s that, at least. Briefly, here’s the situation: raptors, which LWR sees more and more of each year, are costly to rehab. Add to their mice costs the costs of insects and formula for both songbirds and flying squirrels, plus replacing feeding syringes, bedding, nest boxes, etc., that wear out yearly from heavy use, and well, it gets expensive. The LWR account is down to just over $900 at the moment, with five months left in the year—that won’t cover enough mice to see us through December, given that the fall of the year is when we start seeing intakes of migrating raptors and first-year raptors looking for a territory to claim…and there’s always the very real chance we’ll see baby barn owls in the fall, as barnies have no set breeding season. So I’m aiming at $3000 for this fundraiser, to see us through the end of the year. Please donate as generously as you can to help keep these birds (and flyers) fed!
Now on to more pleasant topics: after a week of rain, the skies finally cleared late Friday and the songbird flight quickly emptied Saturday as restive birds took advantage of the open “escape hatch.” Three blue jays, the loggerhead shrike and the robin have joined the jay and grackle who’re still coming down for handouts, so it gets…interesting walking in my yard these days.
Two more MIKIs came in, one a slightly older bird and the other about the same age as the original three. Unfortunately, the second MIKI of the week, who seemed alert, with no fractures and a healthy weight and appetite, died the night of intake. That came outta nowhere, lemme tell ya. I walked in the next morning and as I flipped on the lights, it looked like the two newest arrivals were cuddled together—and they were, sort of. The older one was nestled next to the body of the younger one, who had not a mark on him but was already in rigor. Not the best way to start your morning.
Looking at the calendar, I realized we needed some “fruitbasket turnover.” The MIKIs have to be ready for migration, and soon—by the end of this month, optimally. So the younger GHO had to come back inside while the MIKIs all went out to the raptor flight. So far they’re acting like awkward little doofuses, giving me cause to wonder if they’ll even survive migration. They need to get their acts together pronto.
Last Sunday’s mocker and dove both died overnight, which I can’t say I was surprised about. Both were suspected HBC (hit by car) and there were apparently internal injuries for both.
This osprey was just as unlucky. He was rescued from a lake in a neighboring county and taken to a vet clinic there, from whence he came to me—crammed in a cat-sized pet crate.
I don’t like pet crates for transporting birds—for one thing, they run the risk of injuring themselves or worsening an injury while struggling to get out; for another, extracting them from a pet crate also must be done carefully to avoid injuring the bird or exacerbating an existing injury. Trust me, there is a VALID, LOGICAL reason rehabbers request that you bring wildlife to them in CARDBOARD BOXES. Cardboard “breathes” so you can close the flaps without worry. It’s dark inside, calming the wildlife. The risk of the wildlife doing further damage to itself in the box is low. And it’s easier for the rehabber to extract the wildlife.
At any rate, the poor bird’s wing was broken at the wrist and, probably in the struggle to get him in the crate, it had become an open fracture—there was fresh blood and lots of it on the wing. He required euthanasia.
This osprey was just as unlucky. He was rescued from a lake in a neighboring county and taken to a vet clinic there, from whence he came to me—crammed in a cat-sized pet crate.
I don’t like pet crates for transporting birds—for one thing, they run the risk of injuring themselves or worsening an injury while struggling to get out; for another, extracting them from a pet crate also must be done carefully to avoid injuring the bird or exacerbating an existing injury. Trust me, there is a VALID, LOGICAL reason rehabbers request that you bring wildlife to them in CARDBOARD BOXES. Cardboard “breathes” so you can close the flaps without worry. It’s dark inside, calming the wildlife. The risk of the wildlife doing further damage to itself in the box is low. And it’s easier for the rehabber to extract the wildlife.
At any rate, the poor bird’s wing was broken at the wrist and, probably in the struggle to get him in the crate, it had become an open fracture—there was fresh blood and lots of it on the wing. He required euthanasia.
The older GHO and the swallowtail kite continue to heal; the swallowtail is due for a follow-up vet visit this week. To be honest, the way he’s flung himself around two consecutively smaller boxes, I’m not hopeful he’s allowed that wing to heal, but we’ll see.
This mocker was found in the middle of the road, with nary a nest in sight. He’s doing well but is a food slinger, necessitating thorough cleaning after EVERY feeding (photo is post-feeding, pre-cleaning, as he’s quite...um…unhappy post-cleaning). Yeah, I’ll be one more happy rehabber when he starts self-feeding on the mealworms in his box!
This mocker was found in the middle of the road, with nary a nest in sight. He’s doing well but is a food slinger, necessitating thorough cleaning after EVERY feeding (photo is post-feeding, pre-cleaning, as he’s quite...um…unhappy post-cleaning). Yeah, I’ll be one more happy rehabber when he starts self-feeding on the mealworms in his box!
When callers said they found a young cardinal beneath their window, I recommended they box him up, place him in a cool, quiet, dark place, and give him a few hours to see if he was just stunned. Several hours later they called to report he was still unable to fly. Nothing appears broken, so we may just have lingering head trauma. We’ll see how things progress.
And this nestling house finch is just days away from fledging but his finders said he was alone in the nest and refused to remain in the nest, although his wing feathers are still half-sheathed, after they re-nested him several times. They saw no adults. Who knows? At this point in the year, like most rehabbers, I’ve given up trying to make sense of how babies end up in our care.
Just a closing reminder—please donate as generously as you can to the fundraiser. Your donations are tax-deductible, plus you get the warm, fuzzy feeling that comes from knowing you did your part to help our native wildlife!
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