“Three young hawks, see how they grow...”

Yes, I’m aware that’s not how the old nursery rhyme goes, but it seems especially appropriate for LWR’s trio of youngest red shoulders.

Just look at this lady, the first red shoulder nestling to come in only 20 days ago!

And then the “twins,” who came in just ten days ago...

The older two are now in the mini-pen. Once the one I worried might have a pelvic fracture settled down and realized food was plentiful, he began not only standing up but also screaming his fool head off. I actually had to wear earplugs when feeding him until he began eating on his own and could be moved outside.

And yes, one more red shoulder came in late Saturday, for an even half-dozen now. The photo below was taken right after intake, when he was still stressed to the max. He’s old enough to be in the mini-pen but very thin, so I’m keeping him inside till we get some weight on him. He was found grounded in a yard, near where woods were being clear-cut. My guess is the parents couldn’t find adequate food, as their habitat was being destroyed, or perhaps they'd cut the apron strings and he just wasn't a skilled enough hunter on his own.

The barred owl is in the main flight now and does NOT want the paparazzi hanging around. It took all week to manage this one halfway decent photo. We’ve got rain predicted all this week but as soon as the rain chances diminish for a few days, he should be good to go; he’s already passed his live prey test. (And trust me, no one in Middle Georgia, at least, is complaining about the rain; we NEED it.)

Sadly, the youngest black vulture, the one who was critical on intake last Sunday, didn’t make it. She was doing great, standing up, growling and hissing, and demanding food, so Tuesday I switched her from slurry to small fuzzies—teeny mice that we normally use with very young hatchling raptors because they’re easy to digest. By Wednesday she was experiencing full crop failure again. The food just wasn’t moving from her crop. I talked to colleague Kathryn Dudeck, as she’d triaged the bird before she came to me, and we agreed there was some sort of disconnect between the crop and the rest of the digestive system and that the probability was high that the parents had cut their losses and abandoned this young one because she couldn’t, in fact, digest her food properly. We also agreed that euthanasia was the best option at this point.

Despite this, I held off for another 24 hours, using old falconry tricks for treating crop slowdown, including gentle crop massage, to see if we could jumpstart her crop function. It didn’t work, so I made the call late Thursday to euthanize her.

The older black vulture, however, needs a coal shovel for his feedings. His appetite is voracious, and his “hiss-trionics” and growling are hilarious. Y’all know I love “my” black vulture babies!