And so it should come as no surprise that LWR ended up with a juvie peregrine falcon late last week.
Yup. You read that right: a falcon. In Middle Georgia—not exactly “falcon central” by any stretch of the imagination. Although in the interest of fair disclosure, the bird came from South Georgia, where she apparently was found in a hospital parking lot and taken to a local state park, whose superintendent sent the bird to LWR.
There were no apparent wing fractures, but given that dove season had just ended, it seemed best to take the peregrine in for x-rays to make sure there was no birdshot in her body. To our delight at Smalley’s, the wings and body were clear, but something seemed “off” about a toe on her right foot, so we x-rayed her foot and…she has a broken toe, right at the talon.
She’s a drama queen but is eating well and is as calm as a falcon can be. Her reflexes are lightning-fast, as two of my poor fingers can attest—payback for laughing at her toe fx, I suppose. Colleague Steve Hicks suggested I just decide where I want my new scars; I replied that it appears she’s making those decisions for me.
She’ll be at LWR for a good month, which Kathryn, who deals with peregrines on a much more regular basis than I do (LWR has had three falcons in 20 years; Kathryn sees them yearly at CNC), says shouldn’t impact her migration; she’ll still be good for release, rather than overwintering. Thank goodness. She’s gorgeous but good Lord, the melodrama…