Let’s start with great news: We had two releases!
The barred owl was released late last Sunday afternoon and wasted no time taking his leave.
The starving red tail with what I thought was a foot injury turned out to have a shattered femur and required euthanasia. Peggy and I suspected an impact injury, confirmed when colleague Kathryn Dudeck of Chattahoochee Nature Center looked at the x-rays and said she’d seen similar impact injuries when red tails fought and one got slammed to the ground. Because the entire head of the bone was in pieces and almost the entire length of the femur was shattered, there was no humane option but euthanasia—and yes, it sucked to have to put down a bird who was perfectly healthy in every other respect and rapidly regaining the weight he’d lost in the wild before being brought to LWR. I was at least able to make sure he died with a full crop; that much I could do for him, poor baby.
And then yesterday, a new game warden from Baldwin County called with an injured barred owl. His leg appears to be broken at the hip, which doesn’t bode well for his future, either.
Dec. 18--MONDAY
Dec. 24—Christmas Eve, no update
Dec. 30--SATURDAY