Outgoing and incoming

The antsy red tails were released—FINALLY! The July 4 bird flew low but steady; the September one took almost the same course. Videos and post-release photos are below; I used a new camera and I’m still learning its ins and outs, so forgive the lack of zoom on the videos.

I got so focused on the September bird after his release I didn’t see where the July 4 one flew off to. I started out of the release site with the boxes, camera in bag...and walked right under him, startling us both. And I watched in awe and frustration as he flew off—awe because it was a much better, stronger  flight than the one I captured on video when he shot out of the box and frustration because I was holding boxes and the camera was in its bag over my shoulder, so I missed a gorgeous flight video. Oh well...

With both red tails gone, the mini-pen and the raptor flight were open. Given that the great horned owl had been kept waiting two weeks past what I’d intended due to rain delaying the hawk releases, I moved him right into the raptor flight, where he’s showing me that in another week or so, he’ll also be good to go.

Friday vet Richie Hatcher at Magnolia Grove vet clinic texted me that someone had brought them a bird that had apparently crashed into a local eatery’s window. The accompanying photo was a thrush but I couldn’t tell from the pic what kind of thrush. When I got the bird, it turned out to be a wood thrush, only my second wood thrush ever—and I adore wood thrushes.

He looked rough, sitting with eyes closed, not eating or drinking or pooping, and I honestly figured there was internal damage from the window strike. That night at lights out, I didn’t hold out much hope he’d be with us come morning, but to my delight, he was alert, active, pooping and eating well Saturday morning.

I worried that he might have a coracoid fracture but his wings were level and he was so active this morning I tried him in the mini-pen, where he flew beautifully—ground-to-roof, front-to-back, side-to-side. So I left the pen door open and stood to the side with the camera around the corner to video him as he flew out...only he didn’t. He sat there. And sat there. And sat there. So I carefully eased back in, and he flew to the ground and sat there. I picked him up, and he calmly sat in my hand, but then two hours later wanted nothing to do with me—maybe lingering head trauma making him act wonky.

But his little talons are insanely long for a wild-raised bird, making me suspicious. If not for those talons I’d say it was just the head trauma causing erratic behavior. I ran my suspicions by colleague Maureen Eiger of Help Wild Birds and sent her some photos. She agreed that it seemed likely I might have a bird who’d been raised illegally and released without proper survival skills. I’m gonna give him some time to see if he wilds up sufficiently for release, and we’ll go from there.

Saturday morning a caller reported finding several dead birds in her yard and one live injured one. The photo she sent of the live bird showed it was a bluebird—also in the thrush family and also among my favorite birds—but the lighting was such I couldn’t tell if it was male or female.

When she arrived, we had a feathers-fluffed bird with one eye closed and a scab on the left side of her neck. Yep, she was a little female, and the fading spots on her chest indicated she was one of this year’s babies just getting her full adult color. I started her on meds, in case her wound was from a cat attack, but she died about four hours after intake.