Third time’s the charm!

“And there was great celebration in the land…”

The wonky red shoulder finally, on the third try, was released. I’m not sure who was happier, me or him. (I’m thinking me, though!) It wasn’t a picture-perfect release but after flying to the ground—about the third time now that’s happened on a release—he then flew up into the trees and sat twitching his tail excitedly as he surveyed his kingdom.

This freed the main flight for the barred owl whose arrival was pending last Sunday—the first of three barreds who came in last week. He’s a little runt male who had a nasty concussion but no fractures. His flight is still uncertain and wobbly, so he needs a little more time to fully recover from his head injury.

He was followed a couple of days later by a large female barred with a broken wing. It felt like a fracture right in the joint, so the plan was to get x-rays the following day to see how bad it was, but the bird died overnight. Apparently there were also internal injuries.

And Friday barred #3, another female, came in, again with a concussion but no fractures. She’s still out of it nearly 48 hours later, not interested in food yet. This isn’t unusual with head injuries, so we’ll just keep her comfortable and give her time.

For those who’re wondering, barreds are among the most “frequent flyers” in rehab, due to their tendency to hunt near the road. Any raptor on the hunt focuses primarily on the prey, developing a sort of tunnel vision as they concentrate on snagging their next meal. This means they don’t see the oncoming vehicle until it’s too late—or at all. Barreds are also tough birds, often escaping their encounters with metal monsters with only concussions. I like to call ‘em the “Timex birds” of the raptor world—they take a licking and keep on ticking. (Some of y’all will get that reference immediately; for those who don’t, you’re just too young!)