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When birds and cats mix

7/15/2012

4 Comments

 
Folks, I’ve said it over and over: birds and cats don’t mix. If you have cats, KEEP THEM INDOORS if you don’t want to see them do what comes naturally, which is kill birds. I have cats, myself. I love my cats. My cats are indoor-only because it’s safer for them and definitely safer for the birds that frequent my yard.

Why lead with a rant? This gentle little mourning dove came in this afternoon, with a broken left wing and deep puncture wounds on the right wing after being taken away from a cat. The left wing is an open fracture at the joint, meaning it’s a fatal break. The bird will require euthanasia.

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Cats kill birds. It’s their job description. You cannot blame a cat for doing what comes naturally, but you can blame people who refuse to take responsibility for their cats and allow them to remain outdoors, with these kinds of fatal results.

In less grim news, the flight pen is a-flutter with soon-to-be-released birds.  The brown thrasher was released and didn’t look back, but was quickly replaced by the house finches and woodpecker from the last update. Today I moved the barn swallows into the flight pen, too, but they haven’t settled down enough yet for any decent photos.

Below are some photos of the current residents in the flight pen.



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These shots of the red bellied woodpecker preening are just neat.

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The adult brown thrasher from last week’s update is still unable to fly properly, so he remains an unwilling guest while we assess the situation. There may be soft tissue damage—a torn ligament or tendon—that will preclude flight for him forever, or it may be a severe muscle strain that just needs more time to heal. We’ll just have to wait and see.

The hummer has been released and while I’ve seen her from a distance at one of my feeders,  she’s not coming down for supplemental feedings.

Yet another hummer came in, with no apparent wing fractures but lacking the ability to fly. Both wings flutter perfectly and evenly; there’s just no lift. Again, we’ll wait and see what happens with her.

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This chuck-will’s-widow came in with a nasty open left wing fracture and some minor damage to the right wing.  This was also a fatal fracture, and given its severity and the accompanying blood loss, I really didn’t figure he’d make it through the night. He did, however, but died as I was loading him up to take in him for euthanasia the next day.

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You can see the exposed bone in this closeup.
Chuck-will’s-widows are in the Goatsucker family, nocturnal birds that eat insects on the wing and tend to fly low to the ground. They have tiny beaks that open to great, gaping maws, aiding them in “scooping” insects from the air in flight. 

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This gorgeous barn owl was found in the bushes near a pond.  She’s quite a conundrum. Her feet suggest an older bird, but her feathers suggest a younger bird. Barnies are usually pretty vocal, with hisses that sound like a gas leak, frequently followed by bloodcurdling screams. She’s made no sound whatsoever. Barnies aren’t known to be especially docile; she’s quite docile. It’s usually a struggle to get barnies to eat in captivity, at least initially. She readily takes food from the feeding forceps.  Her wings aren’t broken but she makes no attempt to fly.

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She was very weak and emaciated when she came in; I haven’t had her long enough to put much weight on her, but a regular diet of proper food has already, in just a few days, improved her strength. She’s also much more alert. She’ll be headed to Steve Hicks of Bubba & Friends early this week, as he has more extensive experience with barnies and is hopeful he can figure out what this girl’s issues are and address them so that she can eventually be released.

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I’ve discussed her at length with Steve, and yep, we’re thinking humans have screwed her up…She doesn’t act imprinted, but she does act as if she’s had extensive—and not very pleasant—contact with humans.  And you have to ask why rehabbers aren’t, as a general rule,  “people” persons?

4 Comments
Ann Feldman
7/15/2012 05:06:45 pm

we used to have night hawks around here, same family as your poor chucks-will-whatever. No more, though, because gravel roofs have fallen out of fashion. Speaking of which, the Portland (Maine) Art museum has a bunch of herring gulls (which should be the state bird of Maine but are not) nesting on their roof. I asked why and the guard wasn't sure but sent me up to look thru a window. Well not only is the roof flat, but it has pebbles! Duh!
Poor little dove, you are so right about keeping cats in the house. And doves are so vulnerable because they are on the ground all the time.
Ann

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Laurens Wildlife Rescue link
7/15/2012 05:23:07 pm

Hey Ann, you're right: nighthawks, nightjars, whippoorwills and chuck-will's-widows are all "cousins", as it were. They're really neat birds, too!

In Laurens County, the gravel/pebble roofs are prime killdeer nesting sites. Pretty birds, but very hard to rehab; I shudder when someone calls with killdeer!

Doves are especially vulnerable to cat attacks, as are all fledglings of any species, and cats will climb trees to raid nests, as well. I feel VERY strongly that cats should be indoor-only or closely supervised if allowed outdoors. Dogs can also be a threat to ground birds and fledglings, but cats are the worst offenders, and I say that as a confirmed cat lover. I'm realistic about their innate drive to hunt, and so for my peace of mind, their own safety and the safety of the wildlife in my yard, my cats aren't allowed outdoors. They don't seem to mind missing out on the heat of summer, the cold of winter, and the rain...and the birds in my yard have one less source of predation to worry about.

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Kelly Hagood
7/18/2012 02:29:05 am

I'm sorry to hear the chuck-wills-widow didn't make it. I have a very fond childhood memory of camping with my family when my dad came and woke my brother and me up to come see a mother chuck-wills-widow with her two chicks that he and my mom had come across while walking up the dirt road. My mom was shining a flashlight on the mother bird who had the two chicks tucked under each wing. What an amazing sight! The next day we rummaged around in the woods and found the nest on the ground with the chicks in it. We left them undisturbed, of course, but took photos to help remember that amazing encounter! To this day I am filled with excitement when I hear a chuck-wills-widow's distinctive call.

Reply
Laurens Wildlife Rescue link
7/18/2012 02:36:16 am

Hey Kelly, chuck-will's-widows and any of the other members of the Goatsucker family are pretty amazing birds. I love early spring nights when I can sleep with the windows open and hear the chuck-will's-widows calling. It's a very soothing sound!

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