Late summer lull

Last week was typical for late summer, with few intakes—just three, to be exact.

Monday a juvenile male ruby-throated hummingbird came in, left by someone at Smalley’s. His wing is pretty badly displaced and probably won’t heal for flight but we’re gonna give him time to see.

And the week ended with yet another hummer intake, a female, whose wings are perfectly level but she can’t fly. It’s possible she has a coracoid fracture, so I’d guess she’s got a better chance at release at this point. Time will tell.

Also on Monday, a juvenile Coop came in with partial paralysis; she didn’t survive the night.

We’re down to one MIKI, as the older of the two self-released early last week, bouncing off the top of my head and straight out of the mini-pen when I went in to feed them. He’d been antsy for several days and I’d been cautious when entering and exiting the pen, as I was half-expecting him to make a run for it—and he did. He flew due south, typical for MIKIs.

The younger MIKI is also getting antsy now, so I’m actually aiming at a proper release for him by mid-week.

The red tails continue to inhale food. The female is flying beautifully and would’ve been released last week except for high rain chances throughout the week. Maybe this week…

The male, a gorgeous lighter-colored bird, is still having issues with that soft tissue damage. I’m hopeful, though, that he’ll make a full recovery. It’s just gonna take a while.

The catbird is ready for the mini-pen as soon as the MIKI is released, and the blue jay will join him. He’s about the quietest jay I’ve ever had. Nary a peep from him most of the time—not at all normal jay behavior. But he’s alert, active and eating well!

And Poe the crow is flying and perching quite well; we may do one more week of leg hobbles just to be sure we’ve corrected as much of the splay as possible.

And that’s it for this week—short and sweet. I rather like these late summer lulls!