No new releases for this past week, although the Eastern phoebe and blue jay are headed that way pretty soon.
The other mocker is doing well, though, and chasing crickets around the flight pen. He’s getting pretty good at it, too!
When LWR volunteer Amy called about a great blue heron with what the finders told her was a leg injury, we weren’t real hopeful this was a fixable problem. Still, she arranged for a neighbor who works for DNR to capture the bird and get it to volunteers Laurie and Marshall, who transported it to me.
Folks, feathers need to be PRISTINE on birds. First, goop on the feathers as they’re coming in and growing out can lead to deadly infections. Second, gooped-up feathers can interfere with flight capability, making a fledgling who’s already at a disadvantage as a “learner” flyer an even easier target for predators. Third, cat or dog food is an acceptable emergency diet ONLY for 12-24 hours because IT WILL CAUSE MASSIVE DIARRHEA, AS WELL AS NUTRITIONAL DEFICIENCIES.