Thankful for another slow week

Only one intake this past week; unfortunately, it was a hit by car (HBC) barred owl—an adult female—whose wing was trashed. Based on the location and nature of the open fracture, I suspect she was hit by the side-view mirror. Her wing faced the complete opposite direction from normal; that, coupled with the fact that it was an open fracture, was a death sentence for the poor lady. If there is an “up” side to a euthanasia, in this case it would be that it’s about a month too early (most years, anyway) for her to’ve had eggs or babies in the nest. Small comfort, maybe, but we rehabbers take what we can get.

My vets and I try to make even euthanasias learning experiences, so I’m offering the same opportunity to you with the photos below—nothing gruesome, so don’t worry!

I’ve posted photos of owl ears before, but here’s another good shot. Owls’ ears are hidden in the “ruff” of feathers around their faces and they’re situated slightly unevenly relative to each other—and yes, they’re enormous in proportion to the size of their heads. This is why owls are such excellent hunters: even when they can’t see their prey in the underbrush, they can home in on the (to human ears) imperceptible noises it makes.

And how do they swoop down silently on their prey—or behind you, startling the living daylights out of you? Take a look at the edges of their feathers below. Those ragged, wispy edges “cut” the air, allowing the owl to glide silently through the night. Neat, huh?

There are just 2 weeks remaining in the LWR online raffle, and  so far only three people have their names in the pot for the drawing.  For those who may need a reminder, Macon, Georgia’s Grand Opera House has very generously donated 2 tickets to Bring It On: The Musical in January and through Dec. 6, donors will have their names entered into the drawing for the tickets, valued at $100. For every $5 donated, your name will go in the pot once, i.e., donate $25 and you’re entered 5 times. You can use the PayPal links located on each page of the website to donate, or mail your donations to Laurens Wildlife Rescue, 1101-L Hillcrest Pkwy, PMB #255, Dublin, GA 31021. The lucky winner will be announced in the Dec. 8 update!

Sales of the 2014 calendars, featuring 12 photos of LWR’s “guests” in 2013 and available from Lulu.com: http://www.lulu.com/shop/laurens-wildlife-rescue-2014-calendar/calendar/product-21282459.html?showPreview=true , are also very sluggish. Remember that all proceeds above Lulu.com’s fees will be used to fund LWR’s operations next year, so buy lots of calendars—they’ll make great Christmas gifts or stocking stuffers! The button below will take you directly to the Lulu site and add a calendar to your shopping cart automatically.

Finally, the flyers are becoming less willing to be photographed or filmed as they mature. For them, this is a good thing, as it means they’re “wilding up” nicely and will be more than ready for release come spring; for you it means fewer opportunities to see the cute little rascals. These days even I rarely see more than a little brown head popping out to see if I’m done putting out their food for the night.

I did manage a short video in which you can hear one of the little darlings “chirping”. The image quality isn’t the best, but the sound is what I wanted to capture, so you know what flying squirrels sound like and can listen for it outside at night.