Nestling osprey not a common guest at LWR

LWR has had its share of juvenile and adult ospreys through the years, but never a nestling. This bird came from a neighboring county and because it seemed late in the year for a baby I called DNR’s Bob Sargent, who’s over the state’s eagle program but also monitors osprey nests, for some guidance. He said it wasn’t unusual to have nestling ospreys as late as early August, so this fellow’s right in line with that time frame. Look at those blue-tinged baby feet!

I knew Steve Hicks of Bubba & Friends had a better setup for ospreys—meaning a larger flight pen—so I contacted him upon intake of the bird Thursday, and we set the transfer in motion. Thanks to intrepid volunteer transporter Joy Daniels, the bird headed to Bubba & Friends this morning.

Also on Thursday an older juvenile barred owl came in with a concussion. After 48 hours of dark, quiet isolation, he perked up yesterday and ate his first meal since intake last night. Although he’s still a bit loopy, he’s now in the raptor flight with the slightly younger juvie already in there, and she ain’t happy about it!

The MIKI is self-feeding now but still requires his mice to be chopped up. Mice aren’t their normal diet; MIKIs are aerial insectivores: They snag and eat their insect prey on the wing. However, in a rehab setting, they generally readily accept mice.

The red tail is going through a complete molt. The bottom of his box is lined with molted feathers every day!

The Coop is rarin’ to go and will be released next week, making room for the red tail in the mini-pen.

And, of course, we have the crow, who has grown so much in the past week that he doesn’t even look like the same bird. He does have a left leg/foot issue, which could be a nest injury or the result of his fall from the nest. Nothing is broken; he just tends to curl that foot inward. That’s something I see fairly often in smaller songbirds, so I’m leaning toward nest injury—improper positioning of the foot in the nest.  Most birds adapt and by the time they’re releasable it’s not even obvious they ever had a problem.  Since he’s considerably larger and heavier than the average nestling songbird, though, we may end up having to brace or boot that foot/leg to give him a little help. I’m waiting a few more days to see, as he’s showing improvement on his own at the moment, just not as quickly as I’d like.

It’s not at all obvious who’s my favorite current guest, huh?!

Don’t forget about the Name That Crow fundraiser, ending July 31. Participation has been sparse, which kinda surprises me. I thought folks’d be eager to have a say in naming this gorgeous fellow! Fundraiser details are below:

1. From now till the end of the month, y’all can make donations and LIST YOUR FAVORITE NAME from those below with the donation. Donations can be via PayPal or mailed check; PayPal links are on each page of the website and here: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?token=aO-V5zbhpx1TToyCsUjfOlBVCJTO5t2FwAxt7l6IsAfqUWrA1vMLXrBIv2zxb6LqR0AoH0&country.x=US&locale.x=US. Mailing info is under the “How can I help” tab here: http://www.laurenswildliferescue.org/how-can-i-help.html
   
2. The name that receives the highest amount in TOTAL donations by July 31 will become the crow’s name.
   

As y’all can see from the total donations listed below, Crowvid is currently in the lead. We’ll see if that changes before July 31…

1. Crowvid—$60
2. Poe—$25
3. Tarbaby
4. Cawrona —$25
5. Br’er Crow