And I obviously got to see a really neat bird last week—an anhinga! In twenty years I’ve only had one other anhinga, an adult male. This one was either a juvenile or an adult female—their coloration is the same. I’m leaning toward juvie, as this guy wasn’t nearly as aggressive as the only other one I’ve seen.
Friday evening one of the local game wardens called with the anhinga—also called water turkey for their turkeylike tail feathers or snake bird due to their unique method of swimming with their bodies submerged and only their head and neck above water.
This anhinga had a fish hook embedded in his neck. Initially I thought the game warden and I could probably handle it but it was embedded too deeply, so I called vet Jim Hobby of Smalley’s after hours to give him a heads-up I’d be bringing the bird in Monday, as Smalley’s is closed on the weekend. Jim, God love him, told me to bring the bird by Saturday morning while they were feeding and medicating the animals at the clinic. It took him less than five minutes to remove the hook—skill is everything!
While the anhinga ate the fish I force-fed him, he was not thrilled at the method of delivery and refused to eat the live fish from a deep dish of water. They’re more diving birds—and those beaks have sharp edges in addition to that pointed end. I sliced my fingers through gloves at every feeding—it was like rubbing a razor blade.
So given that I’d medicated the entry and exit sites for the hook for a couple of days, I decided today to release him. Sorry the for the quality of the video; my “real” camera froze—wouldn’t zoom, wouldn’t start recording, wouldn’t take photos, wouldn’t turn off—so thank God for cell phones, even if it is a really awful digitally zoomed video—at least you can see how anhingas earned the nickname snake bird!
Friday evening one of the local game wardens called with the anhinga—also called water turkey for their turkeylike tail feathers or snake bird due to their unique method of swimming with their bodies submerged and only their head and neck above water.
This anhinga had a fish hook embedded in his neck. Initially I thought the game warden and I could probably handle it but it was embedded too deeply, so I called vet Jim Hobby of Smalley’s after hours to give him a heads-up I’d be bringing the bird in Monday, as Smalley’s is closed on the weekend. Jim, God love him, told me to bring the bird by Saturday morning while they were feeding and medicating the animals at the clinic. It took him less than five minutes to remove the hook—skill is everything!
While the anhinga ate the fish I force-fed him, he was not thrilled at the method of delivery and refused to eat the live fish from a deep dish of water. They’re more diving birds—and those beaks have sharp edges in addition to that pointed end. I sliced my fingers through gloves at every feeding—it was like rubbing a razor blade.
So given that I’d medicated the entry and exit sites for the hook for a couple of days, I decided today to release him. Sorry the for the quality of the video; my “real” camera froze—wouldn’t zoom, wouldn’t start recording, wouldn’t take photos, wouldn’t turn off—so thank God for cell phones, even if it is a really awful digitally zoomed video—at least you can see how anhingas earned the nickname snake bird!
The anhinga bookended a week that started with a nestling barred owl who’d been found May 29 and fed NOTHING until June 1, when he was fed “a few worms and 10 crickets.” Yeah. Some cretin kept a BABY owl all weekend and fed it NOTHING until Monday morning, and it was Monday EVENING before the bird arrived at LWR.
Angry doesn’t come remotely close to describing me at that moment. The poor bird was begging for food and so hungry he was trying to eat my fingers. I couldn’t slice up his mice fast enough—and he inhaled them like the starving baby he was.
For the record, if you wouldn’t let a human child go an entire weekend with no food, what the hell makes you think it’s okay to let a baby raptor go hungry all weekend? I won’t even get started on that rant again; I’m furious all over again just thinking about it.
The sweet little fellow is doing well, despite his harrowing weekend. He’s alert, when he’s awake, and eating very well. Below are some shots of him, and a short video of him sleeping. Baby owls face-plant to sleep—they literally fall face forward, legs outstretched, and sleep. It’s adorable.
Angry doesn’t come remotely close to describing me at that moment. The poor bird was begging for food and so hungry he was trying to eat my fingers. I couldn’t slice up his mice fast enough—and he inhaled them like the starving baby he was.
For the record, if you wouldn’t let a human child go an entire weekend with no food, what the hell makes you think it’s okay to let a baby raptor go hungry all weekend? I won’t even get started on that rant again; I’m furious all over again just thinking about it.
The sweet little fellow is doing well, despite his harrowing weekend. He’s alert, when he’s awake, and eating very well. Below are some shots of him, and a short video of him sleeping. Baby owls face-plant to sleep—they literally fall face forward, legs outstretched, and sleep. It’s adorable.
Friday and Saturday saw two cat-attacked brown thrasher fledglings come in, from two different counties. Both are doing well and on meds. Friday’s bird has some nerve damage to his right leg; Saturday’s has a neck wound.
An adult barred owl also arrived Saturday, emaciated and lethargic. Nothing was broken but his left eye was totally trashed, and it was an old wound. Normally an owl with only one good eye will still be able to hunt and survive, as they hunt primarily by hearing rather than sight. Apparently this poor bird never adapted to having only one good eye. I’d planned to euthanize but he died quietly before I could.
The blue jay I thought I might have to evict from the mini-pen decided to leave on his own and is, of course, still screaming down for handouts. I love blue jays; they’re such intelligent clowns.
The red shoulder juvies are in the raptor flight and doing well. As soon as they pass their live prey test, they’ll be releasable.
The red tail is in the mini-pen and intimating he’s ready to go. I disagree; he needs another week to ten days. I have opposable thumbs and can work the lock; he doesn’t and can't. He’s staying another 7-10 days.
The juvie barred owl from last Sunday’s update not only has the wing fracture to deal with; he also has some vision issues and he’s still really loopy. Head trauma can take a while to fully resolve. We’ll see how this plays out.
And the screeches would very much like their turn in the mini-pen, which should come soon. They’re getting antsy!
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