More releases of various kinds

While LWR had three releases back into the wild, we also had three new intakes requiring euthanasia—a release from suffering. Not the best week...

The weather held for the red shoulder releases; as you can see below, they scattered in three different directions so I was only able to catch one video.

The very afternoon of their release, a barred owl came in with a trashed wing, requiring euthanasia.

Two days later a juvenile Mississippi kite (MIKI) came in with an open fracture that maggots had already gotten into and stripped the flesh from the bones. He also required euthanasia. Given the pool of fresh blood at his beak after euthanasia, I suspect he also had some serious internal injuries.

And yesterday a female barn owl came in with an open wing fracture in much the same condition as the MIKI from Wednesday. When it’s hot and humid, maggots infest open wounds quickly and can do a lot of damage overnight. The barnie also required euthanasia.

Aside from banging his head against his box repeatedly in an attempt to escape, thereby scraping his cere, the sharpie remains about as calm as one can expect from an accipiter—the crazy raptors. Could be crazier, though—Coops are even more psychotic. He’s got another few weeks before that wing is due for follow-up x-rays.

And the poor black vulture is STILL working on getting all his feathers in. I suppose I could move him into the main flight now that the red shoulders have been released, but one pen full of carrion to clean up is quite enough at the moment. The mini-pen is carpeted with his leftovers! (And no, one does NOT remove vulture scraps unless one wants to witness a vulture tantrum...) Meanwhile, he still looks like a headless vulture in most of his photos...

Showing his tail...literally...