Let’s lead with some good news for a change: the red shoulder whose future was highly questionable in last week’s update started eating again, and with great gusto! Better still, she’s standing evenly on both feet and jumping up to snatch her food with a foot! Next step is to try her out in the songbird flight—not ideal, but she can’t go in the raptor flight with the screeches. If all goes well, she’ll be released sometime this week. (And yes, that’s a mouse tail sticking out of her beak in the photo below.)
The hummers are still buzzing about but neither looks likely to make migration at this rate. To be honest, the female’s wing is more than likely gonna preclude sustained flight, period, and the male still simply cannot attain any real lift. In other words, neither appears to be releasable, but I’m going to give them a bit longer, just in case.
They were less cooperative on the photo front this week—I only take photos when I’m about to change their paper, so pardon the messy paper under them…Birds poop, and even tiny birds like hummers can make quite a mess!
They were less cooperative on the photo front this week—I only take photos when I’m about to change their paper, so pardon the messy paper under them…Birds poop, and even tiny birds like hummers can make quite a mess!
This purple finch had an advanced case of mycoplasmic conjunctivitis, aka mycoplasma or “finch eye”—so called because it’s very common in finches. Unfortunately, it’s also highly contagious to other birds. If you see finches in particular flying uncertainly and unusually low to the ground, or if they’re on the ground and make little or no effort to escape when you approach, look for finch eye. (They could also just be injured, so don’t rule out that possibility—but finch eye is something to always look for.)
While finch eye can be treated, the high incidence of recurrence and the disease’s high rate of contagion lead many rehabbers, me among them, to euthanize infected intakes. Better to put down that one bird than end up with dozens of infected birds.
The finch was brought to me while I was at Smalley’s Animal Hospital, where vet Peggy Hobby agreed with my assessment and euthanized the poor fellow for me.
While finch eye can be treated, the high incidence of recurrence and the disease’s high rate of contagion lead many rehabbers, me among them, to euthanize infected intakes. Better to put down that one bird than end up with dozens of infected birds.
The finch was brought to me while I was at Smalley’s Animal Hospital, where vet Peggy Hobby agreed with my assessment and euthanized the poor fellow for me.
The screeches continue to be delightfully screechy. Of all the nocturnal raptors, screeches are probably my favorite, which I’m sure isn’t the least bit obvious…
We’re gonna attempt a live prey test this week, and if they can catch their own food, they’re good to go.
We’re gonna attempt a live prey test this week, and if they can catch their own food, they’re good to go.
And we had a surprise visitor at LWR this week: a first-year Cooper’s hawk, female by the size of her feet. She lurked about the yard for several days but never caught anything that I could see—and usually when a hawk nabs a bird, there will be an explosion of feathers left behind. Because I knew the bird was likely starving to be hanging around and making little attempt to hide, I attempted to net her so I could confine her for a week or so, get some weight on her and make sure she could hunt properly. Of course, since she could fly, this was a no-go. I then placed some small mice out where she could see them, but they didn’t appeal to her. No sign of her in two days, so I’m hoping she’s okay.
This is the time of year we see so many first-year birds who come in starving to death. Their parents have cut off the gravy train; their hunting skills aren’t sufficiently developed; they keep getting driven out of territories already claimed by older birds...I can’t help wishing this bird had eaten the offered mice or that I’d been able to capture her and ensure she had sufficient hunting skills before placing her back in the wild.
And yes, I’m aware we can’t save ‘em all and that nature is cruelly efficient in weeding out those raptors lacking survival skills. But I also know that sometimes all a young raptor needs is a few extra days or weeks of help to ensure they have the skills to survive. And when a young raptor shows up in my yard and I suspect it needs help, because I have the skill, permits and means to assist it, I’ll do whatever I can for that bird. In the case of most of my readers who lack the training, supplies and required permits, if you suspect a raptor needs assistance, don’t hesitate to call your local rehabber ASAP. Sometimes even one day can mean the difference between life and death for that bird.
This is the time of year we see so many first-year birds who come in starving to death. Their parents have cut off the gravy train; their hunting skills aren’t sufficiently developed; they keep getting driven out of territories already claimed by older birds...I can’t help wishing this bird had eaten the offered mice or that I’d been able to capture her and ensure she had sufficient hunting skills before placing her back in the wild.
And yes, I’m aware we can’t save ‘em all and that nature is cruelly efficient in weeding out those raptors lacking survival skills. But I also know that sometimes all a young raptor needs is a few extra days or weeks of help to ensure they have the skills to survive. And when a young raptor shows up in my yard and I suspect it needs help, because I have the skill, permits and means to assist it, I’ll do whatever I can for that bird. In the case of most of my readers who lack the training, supplies and required permits, if you suspect a raptor needs assistance, don’t hesitate to call your local rehabber ASAP. Sometimes even one day can mean the difference between life and death for that bird.
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