…so we’re just gonna dive right in.
The fundraiser is going well; we’re at $1020 as of this morning—almost halfway there! And we really need the funds—as of yesterday, we hit 219 intakes thus far this year. That’s the GRAND TOTAL of intakes for 2015, and we still have the tail-end of baby season and then migration to deal with. Thanks to those who’ve donated already, and if you haven’t donated yet, remember your donations are tax-deductible!
The fundraiser is going well; we’re at $1020 as of this morning—almost halfway there! And we really need the funds—as of yesterday, we hit 219 intakes thus far this year. That’s the GRAND TOTAL of intakes for 2015, and we still have the tail-end of baby season and then migration to deal with. Thanks to those who’ve donated already, and if you haven’t donated yet, remember your donations are tax-deductible!
We had several more releases this week. Another mourning dove took the plunge into independence, but those stubborn Carolina wrens are gonna have to be netted and given the boot, it looks like. The house finch was released after a short stint in the songbird flight, and he didn’t look back.
The broadwing was released back into his home territory, where volunteer AJ said he took off like a shot upon hearing his mate. Both barred owls were released, incensing the local blue jays at their release site—see videos of their releases below!
The juvy Mississippi kite was transferred to Steve Hicks of Bubba & Friends, in exchange for a merlin who is likely slated to be an educational bird; we’re still working on the details on this one, and he’s still too unsettled for photos at the moment.
An adult Mississippi kite came in with a nasty wing fracture. The bone was snapped right at the joint and the wrist faced backwards when he tried to move the wing. The only release we could offer was an end to his suffering.
An adult Mississippi kite came in with a nasty wing fracture. The bone was snapped right at the joint and the wrist faced backwards when he tried to move the wing. The only release we could offer was an end to his suffering.
Last week’s singleton swift was joined by four others, transferred from colleague Lynn Schlup, who was headed out of town due to a family emergency. Unfortunately, neither the original singleton nor the four transfers fared well. Swifts, in my experience, either do exceptionally well or exceptionally poorly; there seems to be no in-between.
Several days later, another set of four swifts arrived, after having been without food for 24 hours. Given their rough start, they’re doing better than I expected but this could change rapidly. Nutritional deficiencies at such a young age can cause nasty side effects later on, so at the moment I’m cautiously optimistic about these siblings.
The red shoulder Steve sent for x-rays last week required euthanasia. The fracture, an old injury, was too close to the joint and had corkscrewed as it healed. There was no way this bird would’ve ever flown again.
Last week’s red-headed woodpecker continues to mature nicely. Red-headeds tend to be shyer and less aggressive than red-bellies.
This matters because when this younger red-bellied woodpecker came in late last week from mammal rehabber Libby Carey, I was unable to house him with the red-headed, as he would’ve bullied the older bird! He’s currently in a box similar to what swifts are normally housed in.
Last week’s neuro red-belly has actually improved enough to go into the songbird flight, where he’s able to climb the mesh and fly short distances, but his landings are painful to watch at the moment. I’m still not sure he’s gonna be releasable, so we’ll have to play it by ear with him.
This red-shoulder hawk was hit by a car and although he was transported to LWR posthaste, it was still too late. He died en route, shortly before the volunteer transporter arrived here.
This red-shoulder hawk was hit by a car and although he was transported to LWR posthaste, it was still too late. He died en route, shortly before the volunteer transporter arrived here.
Other late-week arrivals via Libby included a Carolina wren, mocker fledgling and brown thrasher pre-fledge. All are doing well and currently housed together, which makes for interesting sleeping arrangements. The pre-fledge thrasher was nestled in with the Caro this morning but moved before I could snap a photo!
The crow is still showing up for handouts, along with two of the recently released great-crested flycatchers, a recent mocker release, one of the blue jays, and a red-belly released over a month ago who’s taking full advantage of the handouts for as long as he can.
The screech is now in the flight pen, where maybe his poor cere can finally heal now that he’s no longer slamming it into mesh repeatedly. He’s just not so sure yet how he feels about his new digs, as you can see from his expression!
And the mallard is still impossibly cute and growing like a weed—he’s at least tripled in size in just the past week…
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