Let’s start with the red phase screech who, after comparing size to the little gray phase, is certainly female—it’s often hard to tell with screeches because they’re so tiny anyway, but having a male and female side by side usually clearly shows a size discrepancy. So...now we know she’s female!
The x-rays showed clear and SEPARATE calluses forming! Vet Peggy Hobby of Smalley’s Animal Hospital and I were beyond pleased at what we saw on the screen. If this progress continues, this lady should be releasable—which would be excellent because she’s probably the fiercest little screech I’ve ever seen. I’m tellin’ ya, if she was as big as she thinks she is, I’d be dead several times over by now! Her genes need to be out there in the screech gene pool, that’s for sure.
Federal law allows for wing amputations at the wrist, so legally we were covered, but of course, he’d be nonreleasable, so I contacted DNR to see whether I could apply to keep him as a foster or if he needed to be placed as an ed bird. I was given latitude to use my best judgment and, although I had potential placement as an ed bird, that person and I decided he might be best as a foster due to his high stress level. He tended to keel over like a fainting goat whenever I peeked into his box to make sure he’d eaten the previous night’s food or took him out for his meds to prevent infection in that stump.
In happier news, the great horned is ready for the main raptor flight this week. We have another week of mixed rain and sun predicted, so how quickly she’s moved will depend on the weather. I love those little feather tufts that will comprise her “horns” when they’re fully grown in!