Bald eagles always lead, not because I’m particularly fond of them—y’all know my opinions on the ill-tempered, aggressive, unpredictable “just vultures with good PR”—but because people are a bit obsessed with ‘em.
ANYway...yup...first eagle of 2023...he was spotted Saturday morning by Good Samaritan Kim Beck of Dodge County, who had the good sense to leave the bird alone and call the authorities. Game wardens Evan Nobles and Robert Stillwell chased the HBC bird through the woods for quite a spell before capturing him. For the record, even if a raptor is incapable of flight, it can usually run pretty darn fast and hone in on nearly impassable thickets to shelter in. So these intrepid game wardens deserve HUGE kudos for their perseverance.
The eagle has some road rash, a raw spot on his right wing, and a fractured right wing—how bad, we don’t know yet; x-rays are on the schedule for Monday. If the wing is fixable, the bird will then most likely need to go to Carolina Raptor Center in NC, as Auburn is still not taking birds.
ANYway...yup...first eagle of 2023...he was spotted Saturday morning by Good Samaritan Kim Beck of Dodge County, who had the good sense to leave the bird alone and call the authorities. Game wardens Evan Nobles and Robert Stillwell chased the HBC bird through the woods for quite a spell before capturing him. For the record, even if a raptor is incapable of flight, it can usually run pretty darn fast and hone in on nearly impassable thickets to shelter in. So these intrepid game wardens deserve HUGE kudos for their perseverance.
The eagle has some road rash, a raw spot on his right wing, and a fractured right wing—how bad, we don’t know yet; x-rays are on the schedule for Monday. If the wing is fixable, the bird will then most likely need to go to Carolina Raptor Center in NC, as Auburn is still not taking birds.
The red shoulder continues to mature nicely, despite hitting a picky-eating phase. Actually, what he’s hit is the stubborn teen phase, leading to multiple discussions on taking it or leaving it when it comes to his finicky eating habits. Despite this, he’s managed to hit 520g (18.3oz) this week, so he’s not allowing himself to starve! He's ready for the mini-pen once he starts reliably and consistently self-feeding; right now it's hit and miss.
Taken today. He's app. 33 days old today!
The adult red shoulder was released; he spent almost a full minute sitting on the glove screaming at me, even after I turned off the camera and put it away, planning to put the mouthy rascal back in the box and try again another day. THEN he flew away, well into the woods, into one of those thickets where I couldn’t even spot him. But hey, at least I got video of him screaming at me to share with you, right?
The adult barred owl wasn’t as lucky. His head tilt never fully resolved itself but I placed him in the main flight to see what he could do. He flew in tight circles, landed on the ground, and began spinning like a top before falling on his side. Obviously, this was not going to resolve for survival in the wild, so he was humanely euthanized.
The barred twins are ready for the main flight, so they’ll be moved to their new digs this week.
The barred twins are ready for the main flight, so they’ll be moved to their new digs this week.
And today colleague Charydi Gambill delivered a young barred owl found by the roadside in Pulaski County. He’ll join the twins in the main flight.
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