Laurens Wildlife Rescue
  • Home
  • I found a wild baby - what do I do?
  • How can I help?
  • Contact us
  • FAQ
  • This week in wildlife

Rain-related fatalities, pending surgery and rain delays

11/8/2015

4 Comments

 
It’s rained pretty much nonstop in Georgia for the past two weeks now, which I’m sure has added greatly to the number of vehicle-deer collisions. Additionally, we’re still experiencing migration, so I shudder to think how that’s been impacted. And in the case of one unlucky migrating coot, the rain was fatal.

Last week, a late evening call reported a medium-sized bird with a broken leg at a storage facility. The caller met me with the bird and a quick parking lot exam revealed it was an American coot with a nasty-looking open leg fracture.

Coots, like grebes and loons, look for water to land in, especially overnight. At dusk, in the rain, the water-coated roofs of the storage buildings and the surrounding asphalt must have looked just like a body of water to this poor coot, who apparently landed awkwardly and snapped his leg.
​
A more detailed exam once we were home led me to believe we might be able to save the coot, as the fracture was recent—still bleeding—and appeared to be mid-bone. 
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
​The next day, however, vet Peggy Hobby at Smalley’s Animal Hospital, after looking at the x-ray of the leg, felt that because of the location—closer to the joint than I had originally thought—and the thinness of the skin, which was already severely damaged, we didn’t have much hope of fixing the coot’s leg, and so he was euthanized.
Picture
There IS good news, however: Peggy agreed with Richie that while the chances were slim that surgery would benefit the gorgeous female red tail from last week, it was worth a try, so her surgery is scheduled for Monday—tomorrow.  

Please understand that this is not a sure thing by any means. The callus may have fused the fractured bones together at that awkward angle so that they cannot be repaired. They may shatter during the procedure. The possibility of her ever flying again is very slim, BUT… that small chance in this instance has been weighed and deemed worth the risk.

In the meantime, this laid-back lady has decided to try and eat me out of house and home, inhaling 4-6 jumbo mice a day. I’ve been jokingly threatening to toss a steer in the rehab bathroom with her, betting she’d be picking her beak with a rib bone the next day!
​
She’s sitting calmly on an open perch in the rehab bathroom—the raptor flight pen is still filled with screeches—and taking mice from the glove, very gently. This girl knows the drill, which makes her situation all the more infuriating to me and Steve Hicks, who’s recovering nicely from his recent heart attack. 
Picture
NOTE: For those with weak stomachs, Her Ladyship rips into one of her mice quite enthusiastically in the video below!
​And finally, yes, the screeches are still awaiting release. They’ve passed the live prey test but we need several consecutive rain-free days before they can be released…and next week is looking much like the past two weeks, according to the current weather forecasts… So yeah, their release is officially experiencing a rain delay!
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
4 Comments
Ann
11/8/2015 07:04:21 pm

Hon, those screeches are not going anywhere. They shake their rain sticks every night. Good luck with the hungry RT..are you saying you think some jackass had her and screwed up? Even if the surgery doesn't work, you learn something from every try. But she's such a cool bird I'm really rooting for her. Maybe I'll toss a prayer or two to my good friend St. Jude Thaddeus. ;-)

Reply
Laurens Wildlife Rescue
11/8/2015 07:40:14 pm

Ann, I'm beginning to think you're right about the screeches. I'd confiscate their rain sticks if I could find 'em!

Yes, I'd mentioned to Steve that I suspected the fractures occurred prior to her being dumped, and after he had a chance to view the x-ray, he agreed it looked overwhelmingly like it was a result of poor human handling to him. Which makes her trust of me all the more amazing, if you stop and think about it. All prayers appreciated for this gorgeous gal!

Reply
Pipette
11/8/2015 11:13:06 pm

Add me to the list of those who are praying that magnificent red-tail pulls through.

And those screeches are not goin' anywhere; they are conspiring behind your back. Do you have their Christmas stockings ordered yet?

Reply
Laurens Wildlife Rescue
11/9/2015 01:17:56 am

Thanks Pipette! If prayers and good wishes count in her case, she's got a bounty, so...fingers crossed...

As for the screeches, if the rain doesn't stop soon, I may need to start looking at Christmas stockings for 'em!

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010
    January 2010
    December 2009
    November 2009
    October 2009
    September 2009
    August 2009
    July 2009
    June 2009
    May 2009
    April 2009
    March 2009
    February 2009
    January 2009
    December 2008
    November 2008
    October 2008
    September 2008
    August 2008
    July 2008
    June 2008
    May 2008
    April 2008

    Categories

    All
    Baby Birds
    Baby Deer
    Baby Opossums
    Baby Possums
    Baby Rabbits
    Bluegray Gnatcatchers
    Carolina Wren
    Common Loons
    Epd
    Fawns
    House Finch
    Mbta
    Migratory Bird Treaty Act
    Mockers
    Mockingbirds
    Orphaned Birds
    Orphaned Deer
    Orphaned Fawns
    Orphaned Opossums
    Orphaned Possums
    Orphaned Rabbits
    Orphaned Wildlife
    Squirrels
    Wildlife
    Wood Ducks

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.