And so when I got down to just two critters last week, Nature decided to fill that vacuum!
First was this squirrel, about 10 days old when he came in.
First was this squirrel, about 10 days old when he came in.
Here he is today.
Then came a juvenile brown thrasher with a sad tale. This poor bird was found in the middle of the road about a month previously. The finder kept him inside, feeding him a crap diet and treating him like a pet. After he’d had a month of malnourishment and habituation to humans, I got the call: “I’ve had this bird for a month and he can’t seem to eat on his own and I thought I knew what I was doing and I don’t know how to let him go and he won’t eat on his own…” It’s always a variation on this theme, and I’m always amazed that after they’ve managed to screw up a bird’s life without any help at all, the callers suddenly realize they have no clue what they’re doing and—even more amazing—manage to find my number and want me to clean up their mess. Just short of a miracle, huh?
Just look at the mess his tail feathers are in. You can clearly see the stress bars that indicate poor diet, and how that will affect him later is anybody’s guess. I’ve got him on a nutritionally balanced diet in hopes that the worst of the damage can be reversed, but there’s no guarantee.
At least he’s flying well enough to be in the flight pen; I hope once his strength is built up and he’s had at least another week of proper food he’ll be in good enough shape to release. We’ll see…Soapbox rant time, people: As a gentle reminder, POSSESSION OF WILDLIFE WITHOUT A PERMIT IS ILLEGAL; POSSESSION OF WILD BIRDS WITHOUT A PERMIT IS PUNISHABLE BY FINES OF UP TO $25,000 AND PRISON TIME. You ARE, of course, allowed to retrieve ill, orphaned or injured wildlife in order to transport it to a licensed rehabber.
Next up were three nestling mockers in as many days. Sadly, the third one came in with a really nasty open fracture on his left leg (Look at your leg. Now imagine it ripped open just below the knee, broken bones exposed, and twisted so that your toes face your butt.) and required euthanasia.
Not sure what sliced open this gopher tortoise’s shell, but it does appear to be fixable, with time and the proper antibiotics. As I don’t have proper facilities for long-term care of a gopher tortoise (meaning a pen he can’t dig his way out of), he’ll be heading to Steve Hicks of Bubba & Friends and from there possibly to Kathryn Dudeck of Chattahoochee Nature Center.
We think this adult red shouldered hawk suffered a mild concussion, as he was found on his back after a storm. Nothing is broken, and he’s very alert and paranoid today, and eating on his own, so after a couple more days’ observation, he should be ready for release back where he was found.
Speaking of red shoulders, I have a “boy, is my face red” confession to make: Remember last week’s juvie red shoulder? He screamed and carried on like a true red shoulder…until this past weekend, when he suddenly reared back and cut loose with a textbook perfect Mississippi kite cry. Yep, he’s a little juvie M. kite…You’d think by now I could tell the difference—actually, I can; I knew he was small for a red shoulder, but he had the RS loud mouth! Also, logic should have dictated that it’s too late in the year for a juvie red shoulder—to be honest, that thought DID cross my mind, but I figured that it was a late nest because the first nest/eggs/babies hadn’t been successful. More evidence that I need to learn to trust my gut in these cases…
And just today, beginning August on the right note, this gorgeous juvie male red tailed hawk came in, found in the woods by vet Jim Hobby of Smalley’s Animal Hospital. He favors his left wing, but x-rays show no fractures. He’s very thin, his cere looks bruised, and he has frounce. Note the mussed feathers on the left side of his head, also.
We think the wing may be just bruised or maybe has some soft tissue damage, like a torn tendon or ligament. The frounce is treatable when caught early enough; I started treatment this afternoon. Best guess? He tangled with prey that fought back or was maybe whacked hard by an adult RT when he wandered into its territory. We’ll never actually know, but speculating is a good way to kill a few nonproductive minutes!
And finally, I leave you this week with a shot of the recently released juvie red bellied woodpecker, who still comes down several times a day for a handout. Here he’s perched on my roof, debating whether to beg for a handout or find his own food. Self-sufficiency won in this instance—always a cause for celebration!
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