While most folks were enjoying a quiet (or festive) Labor Day, LWR was receiving birds—three for the day. Then the pace slacked off the rest of the week, with only one additional arrival.
First, I’m happy to report the barred owl I suspected might have vision impairment last week does NOT. He can see just fine and would have been released last week but for lingering uncertainty about Dorian’s path till late in the week. So he’s slated for release this week.
First, I’m happy to report the barred owl I suspected might have vision impairment last week does NOT. He can see just fine and would have been released last week but for lingering uncertainty about Dorian’s path till late in the week. So he’s slated for release this week.
One of Labor Day’s three arrivals was a juvenile male cardinal, just going through his juvenal molt. (Yes, this is the correct term: juvenile birds experience juvenal molts—although there’s a growing trend not to use the word. But I like it. So there.) He’d been found in a swimming pool and was missing tail feathers but seemed alert and spunky, so I started meds and honestly thought he’d be an eventual release.
He was dead the next morning—whether from internal injuries or chlorinated water ingested while in the pool, who knows?
He was dead the next morning—whether from internal injuries or chlorinated water ingested while in the pool, who knows?
Next up was a barred owl whose wings were fine, although his right shoulder seemed swollen. The bigger issue, though, was his inability to stand or use his legs and feet at all. He showed no neural response, but I was hopeful maybe a little steroids would bring down any inflammation that might be causing the non-response. And the next morning he did actually flex his feet and wrap them around my fingers—progress! Alas, that was the last of his progress. I gave him another 48 hours, and he remained unable to stand. He was euthanized.
Finishing out the day was an adult mourning dove with a wing fracture who’d been kept for about a week by an elderly woman who didn’t drive. A neighbor found out and volunteered to bring the bird to LWR. The wing had already begun healing—avian fractures begin calcifying quickly—but despite a pronounced wing droop, the dove could move the wing fairly freely and strongly. After an additional week of cage rest, he was placed in the songbird flight yesterday, where he’s actually doing better than I expected, to be honest. He may be releasable in another couple of weeks; we’ll see.
And then the rest of the week passed with no intakes until Friday, when a barred owl with a broken wing came in. His fracture is at/near the wrist, and we’re awaiting X-rays this week to see if it’s fixable. My gut says not, but I can’t tell with certainty if the fracture is in the joint or just really close to it, so…we’ll wait and see.
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