Yeah, it was a GOOD week. Sadly, rehabbers don’t often have really good weeks, but this past week was amazing. LWR had 3 releases and one of the week’s intakes has made spectacular progress.
So let’s start with releases, as those had been postponed for what feels like forever due to weather.
The red tail wasted no time leaving when offered his freedom.
So let’s start with releases, as those had been postponed for what feels like forever due to weather.
The red tail wasted no time leaving when offered his freedom.
Barred 1 also skedaddled.
Screech 2, however, had to sit and think about it a while, long enough to draw the attention of a very peeved ruby-crowned kinglet who, not content with cussing him out from a safe distance, insisted on dive-bombing him to the ground when he finally decided his release site was acceptable. He recovered and flew off, kinglet in hot pursuit. Talk about being too big for your britches!
And rounding out the amazing part of the week, a red shoulder with a massively infected left eye came in on Monday. On intake, it was such a mess I honestly didn’t think there was an eyeball to be saved. Once the eyelid had been rinsed enough to gently pry open, blood, pus and tears poured out like a small river, and I still couldn’t tell if there was a viable eyeball in that swollen mess.
But I started oral and topical meds, and just LOOK at the results…
Jan. 30
Jan. 31
Feb. 1
Feb. 2
Feb. 3
This morning, Feb. 4
He’s still got a while to go, but look at that progress!
The second intake of the week was another barred owl, this one apparently pulled from a vehicle grille at a convenience store overnight and stuffed in a box and put inside the store. A couple who stopped there the next morning saw the poor bird and got him to LWR. His left wing is broken; we’re aiming at x-rays next week to see if it’s a fixable break. His jaw may also be dislocated, as his beak grinds when he tries to click it in threat.
The second intake of the week was another barred owl, this one apparently pulled from a vehicle grille at a convenience store overnight and stuffed in a box and put inside the store. A couple who stopped there the next morning saw the poor bird and got him to LWR. His left wing is broken; we’re aiming at x-rays next week to see if it’s a fixable break. His jaw may also be dislocated, as his beak grinds when he tries to click it in threat.
The other barred owl, also slated for release last week, proved unable to fly. Given that there are no wing fractures, this is most likely a case of coracoid fracture, which will just take time to heal.
Of the two remaining screeches, the likely nonreleasable pair, the red remains shy and has shredded the box lining to make a makeshift nest. The gray has slammed himself into the sides and top of his box to the point that he’s “scalped” himself a bit, poor fellow. He’s the one I think may surprise us all and end up being releasable.
Red shoulder 1 will be switched out with the falcon this week, so he can have a chance to build his flight muscles back up: red shoulder in main flight and falcon in mini-pen. Then maybe he can get his long-awaited release, as well.
And while colleague Steve Hicks will be working with the falcon in the interim, we have found placement for her with Steve Longenecker, a raptor educator in NC. Thanks are definitely due to Georgia raptor educator Beth Thomson of Blue Ridge Raptors, who saw Steve L.’s post about needing a falcon and passed it along to me. Once all the paperwork is approved by the feds, she’ll be on her way to NC—but the wheels of government move slowly, so it will likely be months before the transfer takes place.
Here’s hoping this week is, if not as amazing as last week, at least not one of “those” weeks…
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