Last week was more like a May/June week than a late April one; of course, this April has already been a record-setting month in terms of intakes. While there is good news to report, it was also, unfortunately, a deadly week…
This mature great horned owl was found as pictured below, hung in barbed wire; the finder cut the fence, leaving the barb in place, as it was too deeply embedded to pry loose.
This mature great horned owl was found as pictured below, hung in barbed wire; the finder cut the fence, leaving the barb in place, as it was too deeply embedded to pry loose.
Upon intake late last Sunday, I realized we’d need to anesthetize the bird to even attempt removal. Moreover, there was a strong smell of infection and the owl was lethargic, so if she made it through the night, I wasn’t sure she’d survive anesthesia. After a dose of antibiotics and thorough cleaning and medicating of the wing, she was settled in for the night. My main worry was maggots, as there were already eggs in place, hence the thorough cleaning.
By Monday afternoon, however, the wound was crawling with maggots; they were deeply embedded in the body and wing tissue. Vet Peggy Hobby at Smalley’s Animal Hospital agreed that given the severity of the wound, the lethargy of the owl and the massive presence of maggots, the kindest option for the bird was euthanasia.
When a caller said she had ten wood ducklings, I cringed, to be honest. Wood ducklings are notoriously stressy little birds. When we met, she said she’d found them on railroad tracks near her home, not in good shape at that point, with no adults in sight. She managed to catch all of them and had them a day before calling LWR. Because they wouldn’t eat, she’d been dipping their beaks in food and water. They were not as noisy and jumpy as healthy wood ducks should be: normally the little rascals peep nonstop and can jump amazingly high.
I provided heat and a feather duster surrogate mama for them, and after eating a bit they flocked to it and settled down for the night. I figured half to two-thirds wouldn’t survive the night, based on previous experiences with large groups of wood ducklings.
I provided heat and a feather duster surrogate mama for them, and after eating a bit they flocked to it and settled down for the night. I figured half to two-thirds wouldn’t survive the night, based on previous experiences with large groups of wood ducklings.
To my dismay, all 10 died during the night.
The next day callers reported finding an unnested Eastern phoebe. They knew where the nest was but could not reach it and also thought the nestling might be injured. Upon LWR’s intake of the little darling, their suspicions were confirmed; the poor baby had a massive bruise on its belly, which was marble-hard. Not good…
The next day callers reported finding an unnested Eastern phoebe. They knew where the nest was but could not reach it and also thought the nestling might be injured. Upon LWR’s intake of the little darling, their suspicions were confirmed; the poor baby had a massive bruise on its belly, which was marble-hard. Not good…
Still, although lethargic, once rehydrated and warm, the sweet little thing did start peeping and gaping a bit, and its poop looked normal, not black or tarry, which would be a sure sign of internal bleeding. By nightfall, I was cautiously optimistic he’d at least pull through the night, but it was not to be. He died during the night.
These two nestling mockingbirds were found near dark in the middle of a field with no trees nearby. Because it was so close to dark and mockers don’t eat at night, the finder and I agreed to meet the next morning. I explained an appropriate emergency diet until she could get them to me, and they’re both doing very well, despite the slightly older sib’s bad habit of hopping from the nest to explore his pen.
As for previous guests at LWR, the brown thrasher, pine warbler and bluebirds are all in the flight pen now. We did lose a couple of the bluebirds last week—no clue as to why. They were active, alert and gaping for food right up to lights-out, and dead the next morning. This is one of the most frustrating aspects of wildlife rehab, when an apparently perfectly healthy baby—or adult, for that matter—just keels over without warning.
The pine warbler is flying like a champ.
The pine warbler is flying like a champ.
The brown thrasher, while not attempting flight yet, is mastering perching with his curved leg. When I took the barbed wire GHO in Monday, I also asked Peggy to take a look at his leg. She agreed it was never broken; this curvature is a nest injury.
The bluebirds are adorable as only bluebirds can be and are starting to flit around low to the ground.
The GHOs are adjusting nicely to each other and the flight pen. While the newest arrival, who’s actually the older of the two, had us worried that he might be imprinted or at least severely habituated, a week with his adopted younger sib has really wilded him up. Midweek, he actually bowed up in full-on threat display, which was a gorgeous sight to behold.
Both owls are flying well and eating like typical bottomless-pit GHOs. Basically now, we’re waiting for the older one to totally wild up, the younger one to mature more, and both to pass a live prey test, and then they’re good to go.
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