This week was fairly busy, with seven releases and several intakes, as well: one particularly infuriating intake—not the bird itself but the circumstances.
First off, the blue jays are released but still showing up to double-team me for handouts. Not a problem, as I adore blue jays!
First off, the blue jays are released but still showing up to double-team me for handouts. Not a problem, as I adore blue jays!
And all five barred owls were released—got short videos of four of them (but YouTube keeps rejecting the first release vid—no clue why); the fifth took off like a shot before I could even focus the camera!
Not the greatest shot in the world of the grackle, but you can see the growth since last week, and he’s flying beautifully now, as well, so a release is in his very near future.
A second grackle came in late this week, about a week younger than the fellow above, but he’s having issues standing—nothing broken, everything seems to work, but he’ll just list to the side randomly. He’s currently “nesting” with a mocker, for which I apologize to him profusely at every feeding… No pix of these two; just slipped my mind.
These red-headed woodpecker nestlings were found after a storm felled the tree their nest was in. One was caught in a crevice and hanging upside down. His little leg looks pretty rough. Nothing is broken but there does seem to be nerve or soft-tissue damage. We’re giving him time to see what happens.
These red-headed woodpecker nestlings were found after a storm felled the tree their nest was in. One was caught in a crevice and hanging upside down. His little leg looks pretty rough. Nothing is broken but there does seem to be nerve or soft-tissue damage. We’re giving him time to see what happens.
The adult GHO the game warden brought week before last did indeed have a nasty fracture. It was not fixable, as it was right in the joint. He was euthanized.
This gorgeous swallow-tail kite was somewhat luckier. I knew his wing was broken on intake; I just wasn’t sure how bad the fracture was. When we x-rayed in at Smalley’s, we discovered the reason for the fracture was a pellet. Vet Peggy Hobby and I were furious that anyone would shoot this gorgeous creature, and I will tell you now there’s a special place in hell for the jackass who did. The state and feds have been notified but since he was found on a rural road, the chances of discovering who shot him are slim to none. The good news is Peggy’s fairly sure the bone will heal for flight. He’s the first swallow-tail I’ve had, that I can remember.
As far as older guests, the GHO who came in as an eyes-closed downy baby is ready for the flight pen as soon as I can get him out there. I broke my foot when I released the barreds, so I’m limiting my walking as much as possible for a while.
The sharpie is good for release and since the release site is on a rural road I can drive to the release site safely with my bum foot; the goal is to release him this week.
The red shoulder who came in as a starving fledgling is hale and hearty now and ready for the raptor flight after the GHO finally gets his turn.
The probable Coop is looking and sounding pretty darn “Coopy” now.
And finally, while this sweet one came in early in the week, I’ve saved him for last because he’s just so adorable.
Day of intake, 6-26-18
Today, 7-1-18
This, folks, is an Eastern kingbird, a member of the flycatcher family. He was a nestling on intake; he’s getting ready to fledge now, just five days later—that gives you an idea of how rapidly songbirds mature—that’s why proper nutrition from the get-go is essential. He’s the first very young kingbird I remember having, and I’ve been totally captivated by him. Flycatchers as a rule have the sweetest personalities anyway, and then he had all that raptor-like down on intake, which he’s losing now…he’s just precious!
RSS Feed
