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This year’s first (and maybe only?) bald eagle

5/9/2021

2 Comments

 
Yup, what used to be an every three or four year occurrence now is a nearly-every-year event—and sometimes a couple of times a year.  This one came from Burke County and was seen hitting a power line. His wing was pretty messed up. I got the call about him from DNR late Wednesday, and they told me they’d have him to me early Thursday morning, so I immediately contacted vet Peggy Hobby of Smalley’s Animal Hospital to alert her to an incoming bald eagle. I then contacted volunteer transporters Joy and Doug Daniels; Doug was available to transport the bird to Auburn’s Southeastern Raptor Center.

DNR arrived right on time with the eagle. I didn’t even do a cursory exam; loaded him up in the car and let Peggy know I was en route. Once at Smalley’s we examined the wing more closely and x-rayed it. There were no fractures but extensive soft tissue damage...and maggots. Peggy treated for the maggots, we weighed him—7 lb, 15 oz—and then boxed him back up and I took him back home for Doug to pick him up and head to Auburn. They’ve not updated their website to include him yet, so no updates since his arrival there.
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The same day the eagle came in, a fish crow came in with a massively bruised and swollen wing. I was pretty sure it was broken but it was still such a fresh wound that I couldn’t tell how badly. At the moment, it’s looking like a joint fracture, or pretty close to the joint. He’ll need x-rays early in the week to confirm.
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And that night, Joy and Doug once again proved they’re worth their weight in gold by picking up a nestling red shoulder and delivering him to LWR. He quickly let me know the next morning that he was around and hungry. Red shoulders are...ummm...quite vocal. About everything.
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And then this sweet little nestling of as-yet undetermined species came in after his nest was blown from a tree in high winds and his three sibs killed. Unfortunately he was covered with the inappropriate diet his finders fed him all night.
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Three things here, y’all:
  1. Most birds don’t eat at night.
  2. DON’T feed birds unless under the direction of a rehabber.
  3. IF you feed birds, clean them up! Would you allow a human baby to have food all over its head, eyes and mouth? Then WHY would you allow a baby of any other species to marinate in its food?
We’re still in the cleanup phase; it has to be done a little at a time so the poor baby doesn’t get stressed or chilled. But he does look somewhat better now and is gaping and eating well for the moment.
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As for older guests at the LWR B&B, the great horneds are pretty much ready for release as soon as they pass the live prey test.
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The barred quartet all finally started perching and with the red shoulder intake, the two younger barreds had to go into the min-pen, as well, where the smaller of the two hid behind his larger sib, who gave a pretty impressive little threat display before settling down a bit. They're still not perching.
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The woodpeckers and house finch are pretty much good to go; no photos of the finch this week, as she won’t be still long enough these days.
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Also no new pix of the screeches, as they’re doing nothing but sulking after being brought back inside to allow the barreds to go into the mini-pen.

The vultures, however, are just as cute as ever!
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2 Comments
Ann Feldman
5/9/2021 11:02:33 pm

I'm exhausted just reading this...

Reply
Laurens Wildlife Rescue
5/23/2021 04:11:56 pm

It's baby season!

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