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.
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.
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.
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.
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…
Sadly, the tiny chipping sparrow from last week had a nasty fracture that did require euthanasia.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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