As y’all may have noticed by now, this has been a raptor-heavy year, in addition to the usual full complement of songbirds and a few flying squirrels. As of today, LWR has seen 217 intakes, about half of which have been raptors, and the year is only half over. Things should slow down considerably after July, when baby season begins to wind down, but raptors are generally long-term guests who will still need feeding. This many birds, raptors especially, means pretty hefty monthly expenses, to the tune of an average of $1500 a month thus far this year. With that in mind, we’ve started a fundraiser to make sure we have sufficient funds to see us through the end of the year—hopefully without having to hold a second fundraiser later in the year, as was required last year. The goal is $5500, and the fundraiser will run throughout the month of July. Please donate as generously as your budget will allow, and remember that your donations are tax deductible.
In other news, it was a week of releases, with all five red shoulders, a barred owl, both brown thrashers, a red-bellied woodpecker and four killdeer sent on their merry way to life in the wild.
This adult male red tail, pulled from the grille of an 18-wheeler, required euthanasia; both wings had open fractures.
Four more mockers came in after a dog destroyed their nest in a hedge and the dog’s owner decided it was a smart idea to post on Facebook trying to give them away. Fortunately, one of his friends tagged me and I was able to get the dog’s owner to bring the birds to LWR, where they joined the single mocker from last week.
A sixth mocker came in yesterday from mammal rehabber Libby Parker-Carey, a younger nestling than the others. He was found on the ground covered with ants but is doing well at the moment.
Libby also sent a fledgling crow with a wing fracture, but he died en route. The volunteer transporting these two birds stopped along the way to collect a cat-attacked Carolina wren. The cat’s owner swore her cat couldn’t have attacked the bird. Yeah, and hell ain’t hot, either. The photo she sent Libby showed a bird so drenched in cat saliva that when Libby forwarded me the photo I couldn’t even guess at species. He had raw spots on his head and a swollen wing that may or may not have been broken. As lethargic as he was all yesterday, I was not surprised to find him dead this morning.
People, I know I’m preaching to the choir on this, but even if you keep your cats inside, there are idiots who don’t. Spread the word; use every opportunity to explain why outdoor cats are a danger to wildlife, as well as at risk themselves. I’m sick and tired of people refusing to take responsibility for their marauding moggies.
The younger quartet of killdeer continue to mature and will be fully feathered fledglings before you know it. With the release of the older four, larger digs became available for the younger ones, who initially weren’t sure about all that space.
The younger quartet of killdeer continue to mature and will be fully feathered fledglings before you know it. With the release of the older four, larger digs became available for the younger ones, who initially weren’t sure about all that space.
The mourning dove is doing well and just needs to learn to self-feed to make everybody happy now; then he can go into the songbird flight and in short order gain his freedom.
When LWR received a message that a falcon had been found by the roadside, I was positive it was in fact NOT a falcon; we don’t see them in Middle Georgia too often. Sure enough, when the finder showed up, he had a mature red-shouldered hawk who was starvation thin and “eat up” with frounce. He seemed to be responding well to both frounce treatment and regular meals and was even totally self-feeding, as opposed to having to be force-fed when he came in, but after casting two slimy gray pellets late yesterday–not their normal color or consistency—he died last night.
When LWR received a message that a falcon had been found by the roadside, I was positive it was in fact NOT a falcon; we don’t see them in Middle Georgia too often. Sure enough, when the finder showed up, he had a mature red-shouldered hawk who was starvation thin and “eat up” with frounce. He seemed to be responding well to both frounce treatment and regular meals and was even totally self-feeding, as opposed to having to be force-fed when he came in, but after casting two slimy gray pellets late yesterday–not their normal color or consistency—he died last night.
Let me digress a bit here for a public service announcement: People, I don’t care how docile and “friendly” a raptor may appear to be, it’s still a wild bird with talons that can inflict serious damage if they dig in and a beak capable of ripping flesh and—in the case of some raptors—breaking fingers. DO NOT handle these birds bare-handed and don’t EVER assume they’re safe to just tote around like a ragdoll. They’re not. Use common sense and proper precautions when handling raptors: gloves are a given; if you don’t have gloves, a towel, blanket or even a sheet folded several times will give you a means of picking up the bird without acquiring interesting new body piercings. Sometimes you can even herd them into a cardboard box—and here again, NEVER assume because a raptor is stunned or lethargic that it can’t or won’t suddenly go ballistic when you start your vehicle. ALWAYS restrain the bird in a box BEFORE you start your vehicle.
I also have a huge “oopsie” to admit to—the downy baby that had been fed hamburger and worms for two weeks before being surrendered to LWR is NOT a red shoulder. He is, in fact, a broadwinged hawk. Broadwings “officially” aren’t supposed to breed in Georgia, so even when this fellow didn’t act or sound like a red shoulder should, I chalked it up to his two weeks of less-than-stellar conditions before arriving at LWR. But no, he is a broadwing, which became obvious this week. The young broadwing is now in the raptor flight. The plan was to move the screech out there after the red shoulder quintet was released, but this fellow was going stir crazy, while the screech is in an inside pen large enough to flit about a little, so…change of plans.
I also have a huge “oopsie” to admit to—the downy baby that had been fed hamburger and worms for two weeks before being surrendered to LWR is NOT a red shoulder. He is, in fact, a broadwinged hawk. Broadwings “officially” aren’t supposed to breed in Georgia, so even when this fellow didn’t act or sound like a red shoulder should, I chalked it up to his two weeks of less-than-stellar conditions before arriving at LWR. But no, he is a broadwing, which became obvious this week. The young broadwing is now in the raptor flight. The plan was to move the screech out there after the red shoulder quintet was released, but this fellow was going stir crazy, while the screech is in an inside pen large enough to flit about a little, so…change of plans.
The wood ducklings continue to grow and make bigger and bigger messes in the process. They’re getting real good at splashing water over the edge of the tub during their daily swims…
And the pileated and red tail recovering from wing fractures are doing well and due for follow-up x-rays as soon as I have time to get them in.
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