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’Twas the week before Christmas…

12/18/2012

16 Comments

 
…and all through the house, the raptors were stirring, demanding their mouse. (With apologies to Clement  C. Moore, and I’m aware that’s grammatically incorrect, but it rhymes!)

Yeah, for the past two weeks it’s been a revolving door situation around here with raptors: owls out, hawks in…

But first, a reminder that we do have 2013 LWR calendar available through Lulu.com: http://www.lulu.com/shop/lwr-2013-calendar/calendar/product-20508997.html;jsessionid=9A82168D6909525E23A40D22846C7A80. It features full-color photos of 12 of this year’s intakes, one per month.  It may be too late for a Christmas gift,  but all proceeds ($10 per calendar) over Lulu.com’s printing fees will be used to support our rehab efforts in 2013. The more calendars we sell, the more funds we’ll have toward next year’s expenses, so feel free to buy several, and thanks to those of you who have already done so!

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Support independent publishing: Buy this calendar on Lulu.
Now to your (ir)regularly scheduled update: The GHO from the last update didn’t make it through the night, sadly. The screech and barred owls were luckier; both were released. The screech didn’t hang around once I let go of him, but I did get one good shot of him just before I loosened my grip. He headed straight into the deepest, darkest brush immediately, which is a good sign.
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The barred owl, as befits a larger predator, flew to the tree line of his release site and perched while he preened…
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…and preened…
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…before surveying his territory carefully.
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The flyers are slated for release this week, weather permitting.
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These three gray squirrels, app. 3 weeks old, came in last week. I can’t decide if they’re late fall babies or early winter babies. Either way, they’re struggling. The finder had them for a week, feeding them human baby formula, and called me only after they began looking dehydrated. They were dehydrated because they had diarrhea. I’ve said before, and I’ll reiterate yet again: HUMAN BABY FORMULA USES COW’S MILK. WILDLIFE CANNOT DIGEST COW’S MILK.  Odd, too, how people always manage to miraculously “discover” my number after they’ve nearly killed (or succeeded in killing) some poor wild critter(s) with well-intended but clueless kindness…
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Folks, your FIRST response upon discovering distressed wildlife should be to contact a rehabber; sometimes there’s not even a need to “rescue” the critter in question. Had these babies been left near the tree their nest was in, there’s a very good chance Mama Squirrel would have come back for them and moved them to one of her alternate nests—squirrels have several nests at any given time. I’ve watched them do this before, and it’s one of those sights that’s well worth the viewing. As it is, a week of inappropriate nutrition and dehydration is taking its toll on these babies. They’re surviving but not yet thriving, and honestly, they may never thrive.

As the owls were exiting, the hawks began arriving. First was a first-year sharp-shinned hawk with a broken wing. Fortunately, the break was fairly close to mid-bone, so vet Shelley Baumann of Smalley’s Animal Hospital stabilized and wrapped the wing, and we joked about setting up a pool on how long she’d leave the bandages in place. Sharpies are accipiters: small, quick and very maneuverable raptors whose primary diet is songbirds. They’re also slightly psychotic. Okay, maybe more than slightly. Who’m I kidding? They’re little feathered nutcases!
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This gal will eat ONLY white mice, which she pounces on with great gusto. I offered black and brown mice; she refused them, even when they were cut open. (Hey, I’m just happy she’s eating mice at all, since they’re not her normal diet!) She left her wing alone for a whole week, surprising us all; then politely stepped out of the wrappings. I re-wrapped. She’s out; I re-wrap…all weekend. Yesterday, I took her back in, and vet Peggy Hobby wrapped her wing so securely Houdini couldn’t’ve gotten free. Within 15 minutes she had twisted the bandages so that she’d forced her shoulder into an awkward hunched position. We decided it might be safer to just leave the wing unwrapped and hope she’d at least be still in her box while it continued to heal. So far she’s mostly cooperating…until her next psychotic episode…
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This photo was taken before the sharpie started "unbandaging" herself.
This adult red shouldered hawk wasn’t as lucky. The finders reported seeing him hanging from baling twine (used to secure bales of hay or pinestraw). They cut him down but had not attempted to loosen the twine wrapped around his body.  It only took one look to see that his situation was not good. I rushed him to Smalley’s, where vet Peggy Hobby examined him and agreed that it was hopeless. In his struggles to free himself from the twine, he’d wrapped it like a tourniquet around his wing. As the circulation was cut off, the resultant pain and tingling led him to mutilate his own wing beyond repair.
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Folks, another rant here: PLEASE MAKE SURE TO DISPOSE OF YOUR TRASH PROPERLY. FAILURE TO DO SO CAN HAVE LETHAL CONSEQUENCES FOR WILDLIFE. This was a healthy, well-fleshed bird that the finders had seen flying with his mate a few days earlier. Someone’s laxness in cleaning up their own mess cost this bird his life. That’s inexcusable.

And over the weekend, this gorgeous young female red tail came in. The finders saw her by the roadside, and when she didn’t fly away at their approach, they knew she was in trouble. They got her into a pet carrier and to me ASAP. One of the finders indicated that their neighbor, who raised pigeons, might have shot her, but there were no obvious signs of foul play. She did have a broken leg, but without x-rays it was impossible to say how bad the fracture was.
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Yesterday, we got the x-rays, and—surprise, surprise—there was birdshot all up and down that leg. Birdshot is so small that it doesn’t leave obvious entry wounds; sometimes the wounds close up around the pellet with little bleeding at all. The break is so close to the joint that it’s impossible to splint without actually destabilizing it further, so she’ll be confined to a doughnut for the foreseeable future. Luckily, this is a red tail we’re talking about, so she’s being very cooperative. Because she can’t use her feet to tear her food, she needs hand-feeding bite-size chunks of rodent, which she’s willingly taking from me, which is good. When she stands on her good leg, she props the broken one on the side of the doughnut; when she’s tired of standing, she nestles down in the doughnut.  I’ll also be putting some egg-crate foam in for her to stand on in hopes of relieving the pressure on the good leg.

Will this work? Only time will tell. The lead pellets are small enough that they shouldn’t pose a serious health risk, and it’s my understanding that they usually work their way to the surface.  However, there’s still the very real risk of bumblefoot developing in the good foot from the stress of all her weight being on it.
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Rant the third: People, I don’t care if you’re raising friggin’ gold-plated guinea hens, THERE’S NO EXCUSE FOR SHOOTING A HAWK. NONE. I’ve reported this bird’s shooting to the state and federal authorities, and it will be investigated. Since there were no eyewitnesses to the shooting, though, only suspicions, it will be difficult to make a case. I know that, and that makes me even more infuriated, as the cretin who shot this bird deserves a similar fate, in my book. It’s my sincere hope that well-deserved karma bites this hawk’s shooter in the butt, very soon and very publicly.

Here’s hoping you have a merrier Christmas than this gorgeous lady will…
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16 Comments
Ann Feldman
12/18/2012 07:04:10 am

It never ends does it? Thank God folks like you exist. The Horvath's also found two shot RTs recently, one on Long Island and one in the Bronx. But of course, in a society where folks shoot 6 year old children, what can you expect? Heaven protect us from "human nature". A woman I know wrote a poem to God after her eldest son died. It concerned the human race and was called "Is this the best you could do?" I must see if I can find it.

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Laurens Wildlife Rescue
12/18/2012 07:31:52 am

Yeah, there's definitely a reason (actually, more than one!) I prefer critters to people. I just hope this gorgeous lady heals with no complications. A fraction of an inch higher, and there would be nothing we could do but EU; a fraction of an inch lower, and it could be properly splinted and wrapped. It's just a crappy location for a fracture--like there's ever a good location...

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Catherine Fisher
12/18/2012 08:08:58 am

Thanks for the good work you do and the update on your 'kids'! Happy holidays to you and yours.

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Laurens Wildlife Rescue
12/18/2012 08:16:20 am

Thanks, and hope you have a great Christmas, too!

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Pon
12/18/2012 08:50:11 am

Fascinating site as always and I could kiss that owl with the green shirt (bib?) So cute! Merry Christmas Vonda and God bless you for the incredible work that you do! xoxo Pon

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Laurens Wildlife Rescue
12/18/2012 08:59:08 am

You mean the sharpie? The one with the snowman? The psychotic little bundle of neurotic feathers? LOL. She's a handful! Thanks, and Merry Christmas to you, too, Pon!

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Ida Blanche Suskind
12/18/2012 10:47:30 am

Of course, I treasure your photos, your comments and then the dialogue between you and Pon, another treasure! Perchance, are you going to NYC in February? Thank goodness you are in this world devoted to the care of our very dear and special friends! I shall be forever grateful to that tiny article in the NYT 2 (?) years ago - introducing me to WSP, NYU, Violet & Bobby's chat room and you and the Pipsters!!! Very special for this old lady!

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Laurens Wildlife Rescue
12/18/2012 01:00:22 pm

Hey Kiku, and Merry Christmas! I'll be in the city in January. Yeah, that chat has been something special for all of us.

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Pipette
12/18/2012 12:51:53 pm

Wow, never a dull (or even dull-ish) moment at your place! So sad about the baling twine. And even at this remove I'm angry at the buckshot; I join you in hoping karma comes around to the person who did that.

I wish you a very Merry Christmas, and may 2013 be a great year for you. Thanks again for all you do for these creatures, great & small. In world filled with madness, stupidity, and mean behavior, you are a caring and safe harbor for so many innocent creatures. Wish we could get YOU cloned!

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Laurens Wildlife Rescue
12/18/2012 01:05:34 pm

I think I could handle dull, Pipette, but I never seem to have the chance to try! "Livid" is the most appropriate non-profane word I can think of to describe how I feel about that RT. I've heard back from both the state and feds, though, and they're on it, and the finders are willing to cooperate in any way they can, so maybe we can get justice for this bird.

Merry Christmas to you, as well! (And while *I* rather like the idea of two of me--maybe one of us could get a full night's sleep every now and then--I don't think the world is ready for me to be cloned!)

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Semolina
12/19/2012 03:57:44 am

Awful about the redtail, but at least you've got her -- I hope she does well. Thanks for the update, and I hope you have a great holiday.

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Laurens Wildlife Rescue
12/19/2012 04:38:12 am

Thanks Sem. She's eating well, so that's always encouraging; now if the break will heal with no complications...fingers crossed...Merry Christmas to you, too!

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Kelly Hagood
12/20/2012 03:44:54 am

I got my calendars this week! They are beautiful!! So did that little screech give you one last hiss before taking off? He looks like he's glaring at you in the photo! And I've never heard of a sharp-shinned hawk (aka sharpie) before, but she is lovely, and looks to be full of attitude as well! I pray her fracture and the RT's fracture heal quickly. My heart broke to see the photos of the poor red-shouldered that was tangled in the twine. So horrible! Thanks so much for sharing what you do with us, and for educating folks on how careless (or intentionally agressive) behavior often leads to needless suffering.

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Laurens Wildlife Rescue
12/20/2012 09:07:27 am

Hey Kelly, glad you like the calendars! The screech was too busy giving me the stink-eye to worry about hissing and clicking at me. Go to www.allaboutbirds.com to see what adult sharpies look like--they're even more striking than the first-years! So far, both the sharpie and the RT are doing well. The sharpie is a feathered vacuum cleaner; I swear she could eat a horse and still want more! The RT has a good appetite but I can actually sate her hunger. RTs are just majestic birds; I'm really hoping she's gonna heal properly and be releasable. The red shoulder was a mess, that's for sure. If the finders had seen him earlier, he might have been treatable, but by the time they saw him and cut him loose, it was too late.

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m_pipik
1/1/2013 11:40:15 am

Love the photo of the Sharpie. I wrote a caption: "Not only do I have to be injured, but then I have to wear this insufferable green wrap and snowthingy which makes me look like a Christmas tree ornament. What next? Am I going sent flying by a sling shot? I'm one Angry Bird."
How's she doing?

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Laurens Wildlife Rescue
1/1/2013 12:45:27 pm

Hey M, she's a spastic little fighter, but the wing isn't healing properly. Doesn't bode well for her.

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