Yeah, welcome to fall in the South: near-freezing temps to start the week and windows open and fans on to end it. At least the wildlife isn’t confused, as their breeding cycles generally revolve around length of day.
The blustery, icy winds that began the week did result in a somewhat unusual visitor at LWR, however. Last Sunday as I was making my “feeder rounds” to top off all the outside feeders, something crashed to the ground right behind me beneath a tree I was walking under. I turned, expecting to see a branch dislodged either by the wind or the gray squirrels, and instead there was what initially appeared to be a fairly large piece of gravel! I looked more closely, and it was a gray tree frog, icy-cold to the touch. He probably fell because he was too cold to keep his grip in the tree. Inside he went, where he spent the night in warmth and safety, and as soon as it warmed up sufficiently Monday afternoon, I placed him back on the tree he’d fallen from. Fifteen minutes later he was long gone!
The blustery, icy winds that began the week did result in a somewhat unusual visitor at LWR, however. Last Sunday as I was making my “feeder rounds” to top off all the outside feeders, something crashed to the ground right behind me beneath a tree I was walking under. I turned, expecting to see a branch dislodged either by the wind or the gray squirrels, and instead there was what initially appeared to be a fairly large piece of gravel! I looked more closely, and it was a gray tree frog, icy-cold to the touch. He probably fell because he was too cold to keep his grip in the tree. Inside he went, where he spent the night in warmth and safety, and as soon as it warmed up sufficiently Monday afternoon, I placed him back on the tree he’d fallen from. Fifteen minutes later he was long gone!
LWR had three new intakes this week: two adult male cardinals and an adult male barred owl. The barred owl was hit by car—actually, I suspect he was “nudged” by car, as he has no injuries aside from a rapidly diminishing concussion. He’s alert, aggressive and headed for the raptor flight in the coming week.
In order to move him into the raptor flight, however, we have to make arrangements for the red-tailed hawk currently residing there. If you’ll recall, he was shot about a month ago and the pellet lodged in his wrist, right at the head of the bone. He has since been unable to fly. Colleague Steve Hicks of Bubba & Friends and I were discussing our “problem patients” earlier in the week and agreed that new x-rays might be in order to see if the pellet has shifted. There’s also the possibility that the pellet is wedged against a nerve. He’ll go back to Smalley’s this coming week to see what we can find. His survival may well depend on the results.
The first male cardinal came in early in the week. He was unable to fly but his wings weren’t broken. He had full use of his legs and a healthy appetite and was quite alert, so I honestly figured he had a coracoid fracture that would just need time and rest to heal. He died 48 hours after intake. I suspect now that he was simply an older bird who’d reached the end of his lifespan. At least he died with a full crop; sometimes that’s all we can offer.
The first male cardinal came in early in the week. He was unable to fly but his wings weren’t broken. He had full use of his legs and a healthy appetite and was quite alert, so I honestly figured he had a coracoid fracture that would just need time and rest to heal. He died 48 hours after intake. I suspect now that he was simply an older bird who’d reached the end of his lifespan. At least he died with a full crop; sometimes that’s all we can offer.
The second cardinal came in this morning. He has all the hallmarks of a windowstrike victim but his finder says there were no windows near where he was found. There was, however, a thick post. I’m guessing he struck the post and compressed vertebrae in his neck. His legs are pretty much useless, his breathing is labored, and I’m not real optimistic about his final outcome, to be honest. We’ll see…
And then we have the flyers…All six are doing well, although getting them all in one photo is…ummm…challenging. I did manage yesterday when they all decided they were thirsty at the same time!
The bird you hear in the video below is the white African collared dove I've mentioned previously. Unscrupulous jackasses raise these birds and then sell them to uninformed and/or uncaring people to release at weddings and funerals, and since the birds are white (a neon "eat me" sign for predators), unprepared for fend for themselves in the wild, and NOT homing pigeons to return home, they're released to their deaths. What better way to commemorate the beginnings of wedded bliss or the passing of a loved one than with the death of an innocent bird, right? (HEAVY sarcasm there, in case you didn't recognize it.)
Okay, now I ask you, how could I resist the comment below for this pic?
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