When other rehabbers need help

We rehabbers are a supportive bunch, as a rule. Often other rehabbers need assistance with funding; as rehabbers ourselves, our funds are limited, but we share their posts and pleas for assistance in hopes that some of our readers can help them. I’m doing that today.

My fellow rehabber Steve Hicks of Bubba & Friends Raptor Rehab is facing a severe funding crisis. As in, he’s out of funds, out of frozen rodents for his current rehabs, and is having to make difficult decisions as to who lives and who dies and who can be released earlier than he’d planned.  Below is a photo of a few of his guests, GHOs in various states of development, from earlier this year.

Several of the raptors under his care came from LWR, as we don’t yet have a raptor flight pen—a situation we will be rectifying over the next few months, thanks to your generosity. In the meantime, please donate what you can to aid Bubba & Friends continue its vital work. Checks may be mailed to:

Bubba and Friends, Inc.
PO Box 103
Zebulon, GA 30295

Here at LWR, it was another slow week; since I’m focusing  primarily on feathers this year, I’m not taking any gray squirrels at the moment, which is why it’s slow for me. Other rehabbers taking grays are reporting massive numbers (but those rehabbers also don’t do birds, so they had a bit of a break when I was up to my eyeballs in feathers!).

This barred owl is a prime example of human-caused harm to wildlife. He was found by the side of the road, right wing and leg both broken, after being hit by a car. Folks, this ain’t nature taking its course. It’s humans having their usual detrimental effects on nature. And no, obviously, there was nothing to be done but euthanize, but a humane death is better than being stung to death by fire ants or eaten alive by maggots.

For those of you who have never seen an owl’s ear, wait no longer. Below are a couple of shots of the barred owl’s ear. It dawned on me after his euthanasia that I’d never posted photos of owl ears, for some reason, and they’re pretty darned interesting to see! The second photo isn’t as clear, but you can gauge the size of that ear by my fingertips on either side of it. Now you know why owls have such amazing hearing!

Sometimes, birds come in with no apparent injuries, as was the case with this runt male red shouldered hawk.  The folks who found him saw him attempt to fly away and slide down a tree instead. To be on the safe side, as he was a bit thin, we treated for frounce and he’s spent a week at the LWR bed and breakfast, putting some weight back on his skinny frame. He’s almost good to go and I’ll be calling his rescuers this week to arrange for his release back in his home territory.