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

Seeing the best and worst in people

2/12/2017

2 Comments

 
Yeah, it was THAT kind of week: a gunshot hawk, a Good Samaritan who staged a nighttime raid to rescue said hawk from abusers and get it help, a couple who found an injured bird near dark and made a two-hour round trip to get it to LWR…There are a few folks out there who keep me from losing all faith in humanity.

Let’s start with the poor gunshot red-shoulder. On Monday Verizon decided to not register calls or send voicemails from two people calling about the hawk. I got their messages at 2:30AM on Thursday—and yes, I was livid, and you better believe Verizon got an earful from me. I call them to cuss them out so often I’m probably on some kind of list.
​
The first caller had actually been calling on behalf of the second caller, who, as soon as I made contact and explained Verizon’s snafu, said he could get the bird to me ASAP. He’d seen the bird go down Monday and thought it might have been shot; when he subsequently found the bird, it was with what he described as “delinquents” whom he suspected of being the shooters, if the bird had been shot. He said they had the bird caged and were tormenting it by poking it with sticks. They refused to hand over the bird, so our hero and a friend staged a nighttime raid to “liberate” the bird and get it to me late Friday. The poor bird was thoroughly traumatized and his right wing was trashed. Under any other circumstances, I would have euthanized that night, but I needed x-rays and I also wanted the hawk to have at least one decent last meal, which he got.
Picture
​Saturday morning, I took him to Smalley’s for x-rays, which confirmed lead and a shattered wing. Both DNR and FWS have been notified, and I let the hawk’s rescuer know that he might be receiving calls from both agencies. He’s indicated, against my advice, that he’s going to “find the shooters.”  I understand his rage—believe me, I understand completely—but don’t want him to do anything that will jeopardize his safety or the investigation into the matter.
Picture
Picture
​Also on Friday, a couple called near dark, saying they’d found an injured hawk in the middle of their road. He didn’t move as they approached in their vehicle and was sluggish when they approached him on foot, so they caged him and called LWR. Upon this sharp-shinned hawk’s arrival around 9PM, an exam revealed a bloodied left wrist and what I suspected at that point was a wrist fracture. He also headed to Smalley’s Saturday for x-rays.
Picture
Picture
​To both my and vet Peggy Hobby’s delight, the wrist wasn’t fractured; it was instead the metacarpals—the bones corresponding to the human hand between the wrist and fingers. And neither was badly displaced—even better news! So this tiny accipiter will be a guest at LWR for the next few weeks while we give that broken “hand” a chance to heal. Accipiters are spazzy, high-strung birds—think Cooper’s hawk—so this should be interesting…
Picture
Picture
Picture
​Sadly, the tiny chipping sparrow from last week had a nasty fracture that did require euthanasia.
Picture
​The yellow-bellied sapsucker, however, who was eager to leave LWR last week, before he’d completely healed, was released without a hitch this week.
​I’ve identified several potential release sites for the barnies, as their release is approaching rapidly.
Picture
​The flyers will be released into the colony in the woods near my house. Remember, flyers are social little things, unlike their larger diurnal cousins the gray squirrels, who tend to be solitary and quarrelsome.
Picture
Picture
​The tufted titmouse shows no signs of feather regrowth yet but continues to eat well and has even started chipping to let me know when he’s running low on mealworms. He tends to finish them off before he does the black oil sunflower seeds, also a favorite of—well, practically all wildlife, honestly.
Picture
​And a reminder: the Great Backyard Bird Count is next weekend, Feb. 17-20. It’s the least formal bird count out there. There’s no set time or place: you can observe for 15 minutes or three hours or for one day or all four days; it’s up to you. You can visit a park one day, use your back yard the next, or head to the river to count—whatever floats your boat. (No pun intended…) If you see birds you don’t recognize and can’t seem to find in your guide, no worries—just indicate that you’re not listing all the birds you saw. Hey, if nothing else, it’s a chance to get outdoors and just relax for a while. I encourage you to participate!
Picture
2 Comments
Ann Feldman
2/13/2017 04:42:30 pm

A suggestion: buy a digital answering machine and tell Verizon to get stuffed. I would never trust them with messages. The egg story you posted on FB is infuriating but boys in particular go through an odd stage sometimes that they later outgrow. As for the ones who shot and tormented the hawk, they will likely move on to torture humans, so best they be caught and punished. Kids who torture animals do not "outgrow" it and should be monitored for life.

Reply
Laurens Wildlife Rescue
2/13/2017 05:08:23 pm

Hey Ann, I do have a landline with answering machine through the rural telephone coop, but I use my cell pretty much exclusively for rehab, as it's always with me. Sadly, in my rural area, Verizon has the most extensive coverage; none of the other carriers even come close...

Apparently there were both genders involved in the egg caper; I'll get more details when the lady arrives. She had a ways to drive. But my argument is that no one raised properly would be such an ass.

And agreed totally on the hawk shooters. Part of me kinda hopes the rescuer does engage in a little backwoods justice...

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.