Laurens Wildlife Rescue
  • Home
  • I found a wild baby - what do I do?
  • How can I help?
  • Contact us
  • FAQ
  • This week in wildlife

July starts with a bang

7/7/2013

7 Comments

 
No Fourth-related pun intended; it just seems July is gonna compensate for a slower than usual June.  Been a weird, sorta topsy-turvy year anyway, so why not?

Last Sunday evening I got in a single pre-fledgling cardinal, apparently female. The next day, I got in a pre-fledgling male cardinal at about the same stage of development but from a different area. The little female was vocal, alert and hungry from the get-go; the little male less so. You can see the contrast between their behaviors in the video clip below.
Picture
We struggled with the male for several days before he finally decided to check out of the LWR bed & breakfast. At one point, I really thought I had him on the road to eventual release with the female, but then he relapsed.

The same day the first cardinal came in, I also received an adult Mississippi kite from a regional game warden. He and some other game wardens found it grounded and bleeding on one of the Wildlife Management Areas (WMA). The bleeding wasn’t from an open fracture, although the wing was broken. It was a fresh injury and still swollen, so I wasn’t sure how bad the break was. The next morning I took him to Smalley’s Animal Hospital where, since the swelling had gone down considerably overnight, vet Peggy Hobby found numerous additional fractures without even needing an x-ray. Basically, the bones of his wing were shattered—palpably so. We had no choice but to euthanize.
Picture
Picture
The crow, whom my niece dubbed Igor when she was visiting for the Fourth and helping me feed, continues to develop nicely. It’s now my opinion that he fledged too early and that was the reason he was unable to fly. He’s just now started to “fly in place” on his perch as he tests and strengthens his wings for real flight. Typical corvid, Igor is alert, inquisitive and talkative. I’m doing a pretty good job of imitating whatever he’s saying and he seems happy with my “replies”, so I guess I’m not tossing insults at him!
Picture
The person who brought me this hit-by-car (HBC) mud turtle was concerned that he’d get hit again. His wounds were actually old and already healing nicely, so all I needed to do was clean him up a bit, medicate the shell wounds to be on the safe side, and release him after a 24 observation period.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
My sweet little blue jay suddenly developed foot problems. His feet started turning inward and “drawing” like a stroke victim’s hands. I refuse to allow this bird to end up unreleasable after coming in as a 2-day old hatchling and making it to this point, so I rigged him some “snowshoes” that force his feet into the correct position. It’s making a huge difference in his activity level: when his feet started drawing, he started just sitting in the nest and not even lifting his little butt to poop. Now he’s hopping, albeit awkwardly, all over his carrier and even attempting to perch…which, of course, is an exercise in frustration for him right now!
Picture
Picture
Picture
When this little hatchling came in on the Fourth, I really didn’t think it would last the night. To my surprise and delight, it was not only alive but gaping and peeping for food the next morning. Unfortunately, as the day wore on, it stopped gaping first, then stopped peeping, and finally died in the short interval between its 2:00pm and 2:20pm feedings. I have no clue what the sweet, sad little baby would have grown up to be…
Picture
Picture
Picture
Yesterday, yet another mocker came in. This one had been part of a nest of three babies, but the people who found them on the Fourth fed them nothing but bread soaked in water for two days. By the time they called me, one was dead, one was dying, and this poor fellow wasn’t looking great when I got him. Folks, a) when you find wildlife in need of help, CALL A REHABBER ASAP; b) NEVER, but NEVER feed bread—or milk, for that matter—to ANY wildlife, especially birds. THINK, people! It’s the early bird gets the worm, NOT the early bird gets the loaf of bread and gallon of milk!
Picture
Earlier today, these adorable little Carolina wren nestlings came in. They were found late yesterday in the taillight of a truck used for mud bogging—AFTER the mud bogging was over—and the finders called me to see what needed to be done to keep them alive until they could get them to me this morning. I’m happy to say they did everything I recommended and I received the wrens in good shape. Wrens are, as I’ve mentioned before, very stressy little birds, and these babies are cowering at the slightest noise right now. They are, however, less shy about eating!
Picture
The older blue jay and the blue grosbeak are still in the flight pen, awaiting a break in the rainy weather to be released. The yellow-billed cuckoo is proving to be quite an escape artist; nearly every time I feed her, I end up chasing her down after she escapes from her box and flits around the rehab room. For a bird missing part of her wing, she flies pretty darn well! As soon as she’s off her meds, I plan to put her in the flight pen, too, to see what she’s actually capable of. Below is a video of her behavior now when she’s fed—and I’m still hand-feeding because she refuses to self-feed on anything I’ve offered her thus far.
7 Comments
Ann Feldman
7/7/2013 09:56:04 am

So frustrating to see problems with the Blue Jay after all this time. Clever solution though. Birds are so fragile. Found a dead fledgling Robin on a path yesterday..who knows why it died? Some sad news here, 13 year old Big Momma, a Red-Tail (living) resident of Green-Wood Cemetery, has a fracture high on her left leg. Folks are hoping she will be catchable at some point but she is more rural than urban (470 acres of deceased residents) so just don't know. Love your vids! Ann

Reply
Laurens Wildlife Rescue
7/7/2013 10:40:52 am

Thanks, Ann! I think the "snowshoes" might just work for the blue jay--fingers crossed, anyway. Fledging is a dangerous time for songbirds, as they don't fly well when they leave the nest--the robin you found might have been injured in some way while flailing through the trees, or a snake may have constricted it to death, only to realize it was too big to swallow. Hope game wardens and rehabbers can combine efforts to capture Big Momma and see if her leg is fixable. Fingers crossed for her, as well.

Reply
Ann Feldman
7/7/2013 12:54:35 pm

No snakes in Prospect Park that we know of (spouse would move in a heartbeat :-))

Semolina
7/7/2013 02:46:04 pm

I love your crow videos! But what your audience REALLY wants is a video of you talking to him.

Reply
Laurens Wildlife Rescue
7/7/2013 02:52:39 pm

LOL, ain't gonna happen, Sem! I sound like a fool making these cooing, cawing, squeaking noises back at him!

Reply
sandz
7/7/2013 05:39:55 pm

What I love most about your website is, how much so many people care (even if they don't know the finer points) and that you are there, when they find you, and the love and hope and help you give these found wild lifes. Thank you.

Reply
Laurens Wildlife Rescue
7/7/2013 05:46:42 pm

Thanks sandz!

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010
    January 2010
    December 2009
    November 2009
    October 2009
    September 2009
    August 2009
    July 2009
    June 2009
    May 2009
    April 2009
    March 2009
    February 2009
    January 2009
    December 2008
    November 2008
    October 2008
    September 2008
    August 2008
    July 2008
    June 2008
    May 2008
    April 2008

    Categories

    All
    Baby Birds
    Baby Deer
    Baby Opossums
    Baby Possums
    Baby Rabbits
    Bluegray Gnatcatchers
    Carolina Wren
    Common Loons
    Epd
    Fawns
    House Finch
    Mbta
    Migratory Bird Treaty Act
    Mockers
    Mockingbirds
    Orphaned Birds
    Orphaned Deer
    Orphaned Fawns
    Orphaned Opossums
    Orphaned Possums
    Orphaned Rabbits
    Orphaned Wildlife
    Squirrels
    Wildlife
    Wood Ducks

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.