In keeping with the intakes-on-holidays tradition, LWR received a first-year red tailed hawk on New Year’s Eve and a first-year sharp-shinned hawk on New Year’s Day. It’s the RT that leads to my combined last rant of 2013 and first rant of 2014.
I had suspicions about this bird based on his behavior at intake, but he was stressed, so I gave him time to calm down some before attempting more than a cursory exam, which revealed no injuries. This was good news. However, my interaction with this RT during the exam and afterward confirmed my earlier suspicions. He’d been in human hands—abusive human hands. He fell on his side, wing raised defensively, when I reached in for him. He flinched when I moved my hand while holding him. His eyes bugged out and the pupils pinned when he looked at me—and he watched my hand movements like he expected to be hit. His talons were overgrown enough that I blunted just the tips of them so he didn’t puncture his own foot when he balled his feet up in stress and fear. He was dehydrated. He refused to eat on his own, but gave the juvenile begging call for food, so I had to hand-feed him, after which he would crouch in the bottom of his box. His flight muscles didn’t feel developed to me. He showed signs of having worn jesses. In short, everything about this bird suggested he’d been in captivity since he was very young—and had not been treated kindly or with any degree of skill or training. And then he’d been dumped to fend for himself without any survival skills.
I had suspicions about this bird based on his behavior at intake, but he was stressed, so I gave him time to calm down some before attempting more than a cursory exam, which revealed no injuries. This was good news. However, my interaction with this RT during the exam and afterward confirmed my earlier suspicions. He’d been in human hands—abusive human hands. He fell on his side, wing raised defensively, when I reached in for him. He flinched when I moved my hand while holding him. His eyes bugged out and the pupils pinned when he looked at me—and he watched my hand movements like he expected to be hit. His talons were overgrown enough that I blunted just the tips of them so he didn’t puncture his own foot when he balled his feet up in stress and fear. He was dehydrated. He refused to eat on his own, but gave the juvenile begging call for food, so I had to hand-feed him, after which he would crouch in the bottom of his box. His flight muscles didn’t feel developed to me. He showed signs of having worn jesses. In short, everything about this bird suggested he’d been in captivity since he was very young—and had not been treated kindly or with any degree of skill or training. And then he’d been dumped to fend for himself without any survival skills.
Are you steaming yet? I still am, every time I think about it.
I discussed his behavior with Steve Hicks of Bubba & Friends, who agreed with my assessment, and since Steve currently has two first-year RTs in rehab, we decided the best outcome for this RT would result from being with Steve and these other two RTs. After the transfer, Steve called me to confirm again that our initial assessment was correct. It will now take Steve months of work to undo what some damn fool, in their sheer arrogance and stupidity, did to this bird.
His box is a mess in the video clip below, as I had to wait until after I'd fed him to change the paper; otherwise he fell over on his side and wouldn't eat.
I’m not even gonna sugar-coat this, people—if I could find out who screwed up this bird in this fashion, I promise you, I could provide like treatment for them and sleep like a baby afterwards. There’s just no excuse. I don’t wanna hear, “Well, I didn’t know…” If you don’t know what you’re doing, then here’s a wild guess: You’re not properly licensed for whatever you’re doing, so you’re breaking the law. FIND A PROPERLY PERMITTED INDIVIDUAL AND SURRENDER THE BIRD TO THEM. And if you claim to have a permit and this is the result of your “training”, your permit should be revoked and you should never be allowed near birds again, upon pain of death. Harsh? Not as far as I’m concerned. Don’t harm Georgia’s native wildlife and expect me to tolerate your stupidity without expressing my very strong opinion and my burning desire to return the “favor”.
Stepping off my soapbox, let me thank Telfair County 911, the Telfair County deputy who found and captured the RT and the Telfair firefighter who brought him to me. All these individuals cared enough about our native wildlife to do the right thing. We need more people like them!
On New Year’s Day, this poor sharpie came in with both wing and leg fractures on the right side. The wing fracture was open; the leg fracture was right at the joint and there appeared to be nerve damage to the foot. Either fracture alone would have been a deal-breaker; combined, they gave this poor bird no chance at all. He was euthanized.
Stepping off my soapbox, let me thank Telfair County 911, the Telfair County deputy who found and captured the RT and the Telfair firefighter who brought him to me. All these individuals cared enough about our native wildlife to do the right thing. We need more people like them!
On New Year’s Day, this poor sharpie came in with both wing and leg fractures on the right side. The wing fracture was open; the leg fracture was right at the joint and there appeared to be nerve damage to the foot. Either fracture alone would have been a deal-breaker; combined, they gave this poor bird no chance at all. He was euthanized.
And on Friday night, a couple found a hawk huddled against a building in Bulloch County in a downpour. Unfortunately, he died of starvation en route. This first-year Cooper’s hawk was rail thin. There was nothing that could have been done for him, even if he’d survived the trip to LWR. Once birds reach a certain threshold, there’s nothing that can pull them back from death’s door. His pitifully exposed keel was stark evidence that he’d passed that threshold. It’s been that kind of winter for our raptors: too little food and bad hunting weather have combined to create too many HBC and starving raptors.
The bald eagle is doing well, per Steve: http://www.bubba-and-friends.org/living-wild-in-georgia.html . (My face is healing just fine, too!)
The barred owl slated for a Christmas Eve release did indeed get his release, which sorta got overshadowed by the BE intake that night. Normally, I release owls closer to dusk, but given that this guy had one eye with only partial vision, I released him earlier, so I could track him down more easily if he ran into trouble during the release. It can happen—not often, but I’m paranoid!
The barred owl slated for a Christmas Eve release did indeed get his release, which sorta got overshadowed by the BE intake that night. Normally, I release owls closer to dusk, but given that this guy had one eye with only partial vision, I released him earlier, so I could track him down more easily if he ran into trouble during the release. It can happen—not often, but I’m paranoid!
I did manage a few shots of the flyers, so enjoy!
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