It’s been a rough couple of weeks for our local wildlife, with torrential downpours last weekend, cold temps in between, and more heavy rain and, in some areas of the state, snow, this weekend. Intakes have been low because people are just not getting outside to see wildlife in need; for the most part, they’re staying inside where it’s warm and dry.
That said, LWR had two intakes this week, a screech owl and a barred owl, both found in the road.
The screech, a tiny red-phase male, came in midweek; he was found in the turning lane of an exit to the interstate. Upon examination, it was obvious he had a ruptured eye and at least one broken wing; the other also felt as if it might be broken. His stress poop, which should have been black, oily and smelly, was instead rust-colored. None of this boded well for the little fellow but he was fairly alert and even tried to preen his wings a bit, so I was hopeful I’d overstated the extent of his injuries.
That said, LWR had two intakes this week, a screech owl and a barred owl, both found in the road.
The screech, a tiny red-phase male, came in midweek; he was found in the turning lane of an exit to the interstate. Upon examination, it was obvious he had a ruptured eye and at least one broken wing; the other also felt as if it might be broken. His stress poop, which should have been black, oily and smelly, was instead rust-colored. None of this boded well for the little fellow but he was fairly alert and even tried to preen his wings a bit, so I was hopeful I’d overstated the extent of his injuries.
You can see the blood and humor draining from the eye here.
However, x-rays at Smalley’s confirmed my initial assessment: the left wrist was shattered; the right ulna was broken in three places, and the right eyeball was totally trashed.
Obviously, the most humane option for this poor fellow was euthanasia. Given that the entire staff of Smalley’s shares my utter adoration of screeches, none of us were happy about the outcome but we also knew we were ending his suffering quickly and humanely.
This morning, a barred owl, also male based on his size, came in after being found in the middle of the road several counties away. His right hip feels broken, and his finders attempted to splint his leg to stabilize it somewhat. He has no neural response in his foot, though, and he also had fresh blood in his poop, in addition to the inside of his mouth being totally white—this indicates internal bleeding. None of this bodes well for the poor bird, but if he makes it through the night he’ll head to Smalley’s for x-rays, as well.
This morning, a barred owl, also male based on his size, came in after being found in the middle of the road several counties away. His right hip feels broken, and his finders attempted to splint his leg to stabilize it somewhat. He has no neural response in his foot, though, and he also had fresh blood in his poop, in addition to the inside of his mouth being totally white—this indicates internal bleeding. None of this bodes well for the poor bird, but if he makes it through the night he’ll head to Smalley’s for x-rays, as well.
With the weather like it is—cold, wet and nasty—it’s hard for raptors to find food. They’re hunting near roadways because people toss their trash on the side of the road, attracting rodents. When the hawk or owl focuses on its prey and swoops in for the kill, it doesn’t see oncoming traffic; it only sees that potential meal. This is how they get whacked by vehicles. The bird may successfully capture the prey and get hit as it lifts back into the air, or it may get hit as it’s diving after the prey or chasing it across the road. Regardless, vehicle versus raptor seldom ends well for the raptor.
What can you do? Aside from either not driving at all or driving so slowly that impact with a raptor would cause minimal damage to the bird—neither of which is practical or practicable—be alert when you’re driving. It’s not called defensive driving for nothing. If you’re alert and watching the sides of the roads you may be able to slow, stop or swerve to avoid hitting a hunting raptor. And for the love of all that’s holy, DON’T toss your trash, not even fruit or other foodstuffs, out on the side of the road to attract raptor prey to dangerous hunting areas. Keep a bag or box in your vehicle for your trash; it takes all of maybe 60 seconds to empty it at home or at a gas station. Those 60 seconds could mean the difference between life and death for a raptor.
What can you do? Aside from either not driving at all or driving so slowly that impact with a raptor would cause minimal damage to the bird—neither of which is practical or practicable—be alert when you’re driving. It’s not called defensive driving for nothing. If you’re alert and watching the sides of the roads you may be able to slow, stop or swerve to avoid hitting a hunting raptor. And for the love of all that’s holy, DON’T toss your trash, not even fruit or other foodstuffs, out on the side of the road to attract raptor prey to dangerous hunting areas. Keep a bag or box in your vehicle for your trash; it takes all of maybe 60 seconds to empty it at home or at a gas station. Those 60 seconds could mean the difference between life and death for a raptor.
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