Greetings from the soggy South! 02/04/2010
And soggy it is—it rained so much a few days ago that my deer pen was briefly a deer pond. I’ve got to get some edging/flashing up to divert these incessant deluges… The red tailed hawk from the 1-21 update took a decided turn for the worse the very afternoon I worked on the website, beginning to have seizures and rip at her wing, so after a phone discussion with Steve Hicks of Bubba & Friends raptor rehab, we opted for that final vet trip. There were obviously issues we couldn’t see and I hated to euthanize, but I hated more watching her suffer. The same week that she came in, LWR received yet another red screech owl, a male this time, and a barred owl. The screech was in fairly good shape aside from a concussion and an eye injury, so he’s with Steve now; the barred owl had severe head trauma that resulted in massive seizures, complete with piteous moans. Again, after consulting Steve, I had the barred owl euthanized. As I said in the last update, this is not a pleasant time of year. Steve swears, only half-jokingly, there will be no orphaned raptors this year because he has all the adults in rehab—and there are days I think he’s right. The cold, wet weather has made it difficult for raptors and songbirds alike to find food, and the raptors are getting so desperate that they’re taking chances they wouldn’t normally take. It’s that or starve. Unfortunately, those chances frequently end in disaster, with the bird brought to rehabbers so severely injured that euthanasia is the only option.  An exception to this rule is the first intake for February, an adult great horned owl (GHO). He was found hung in a barbed wire fence and brought to me by DNR, after hanging from the fence all night in a cold rain. At first glance, his injuries looked pretty serious, but once we got him dried off and vet Peggy Hobby examined him, we discovered that his injuries weren’t as severe as we’d thought.  This was one more lucky bird—instead of having his wing broken or horribly slashed by the barbed wire, he escaped with massive feather loss and lots of raw, irritated skin. This is not the norm: usually GHOs who hit barbed wire fences are not savable. This guy is on his way to Steve, where he’ll finish out a round of antibiotics and be tested for flight-readiness. Once he’s deemed capable of flight, he’ll come back to me for DNR to release where he was found. Why put him back in an area where he might not be so lucky the next time? He’s an adult, which means he has an established territory that he needs to be returned to; also, he more than likely has a mate who may be on the nest now and will soon be needing his help with babies.  While this has been a harsh winter for wildlife, spring is on the way. For those who doubt it, look at the buds on the red maple in these photos of an Eastern bluebird, taken yesterday. Bluebirds are year-round residents in Georgia, as are robins, the fabled harbingers of spring.   Finally, a reminder that the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) is next weekend, Feb. 12-15. This is a fun, easy way to become a “citizen-scientist” while spending as little or as much time as you like counting the birds in your area. It gives researchers a real-time snapshot of where birds are, and you don’t have to be an expert birder to participate: you can list only the birds you recognize. For more information, click on the GBBC button at right or visit www.birdcount.org . Shortly after the Jan. 3 update, animals began trickling in. I really hate this time of year, as most of what I see are adults who’re injured too badly to save. Add to that the polar temps Georgia experienced for nearly two solid weeks, and it didn’t bode well for the five animals I’ve had come in thus far this year. The first intake of the year was an adult chipping sparrow with an open wing fracture. Hot on the heels of getting the call on this sweet little bird, I received a call about a great blue heron in a culvert in Dublin. The sparrow was in another county, but we’d arranged a halfway point to meet, so I picked up the sparrow and headed to town with my waders to get the heron out of the icy water in the culvert. The poor heron was a victim of old age and cold weather. He was starving to death, with a breastbone so rail-thin it was almost like a razor blade. With the unusually cold temps we’d been having, he’d not been able to find enough food and was too weak to get out of the frigid water—not a good combo. Birds need much, much more food when the mercury drops, because they burn off so much energy staying warm. The great blue’s chances didn’t look good. Both birds obviously went to Smalley’s immediately for a thorough vet exam. Vet Peggy Hobby confirmed the open facture on the chipping sparrow, which meant our only option was euthanasia. We discussed the great blue’s options and decided to give him 24 hours—maybe warmth and food would start him on the path to recovery. I picked up some shiners (small fish) on the way home to feed him, but he was too weak to eat on his own. I force-fed him a few small fish—too much food too quickly will kill a starving animal—and hoped for the best, but he died during the night.  Five days later LWR received an adult screech owl, probably female, based on her size (remember, female raptors are generally larger than males). She had been hit by a car and was in pretty bad shape. It was again Peggy Hobby who saw this bird. The lens of her right eye was torn loose and her beak was cracked along the left side. Adding to her general misery, she had a massive headache from a severe concussion and just sat hunched over in pain. Despite the severity of the injuries, we thought she had a chance, so I took her home and made her comfortable in a warm, dark room for the remainder of the day.  By the next morning she was looking much better and was alert enough that I felt safe attempting to feed her very tiny, soft bits of food, which she ate eagerly. She was transferred to Steve Hicks of Bubba & Friends raptor rehab shortly thereafter, and at last report, she’s doing quite well. Fast forward another five days, and an early morning call resulted in the intake of a Canada goose. One wing was pretty obviously broken, so we headed to Smalley’s, where vet Jim Hobby & I discovered that in fact, both wings were broken. There was nothing to be done for the goose but end his suffering humanely.  Photo courtesy of Tommy Martin And just two days ago, I got a late afternoon call about a downed red-tailed hawk. Based on the caller’s description, the bird wasn’t in good shape: he said she was on her back in his yard. When I got there, she hadn’t moved from that position, so I scooped her up and headed to Smalley’s again.  Photo courtesy of Tommy Martin  X-rays showed no fractures and her reflexes seemed normal, but the confusion in her eyes was heartbreaking. Vet Shelley Baumann showed me the bird’s cloudy lungs on the x-ray and said that indicated pulmonary bruising—in other words, her chest and lungs were bruised. Shelley drained excess air and blood from the hawk’s chest cavity, which seemed to ease her breathing considerably.  As of today, she’s eating well and pooping normally, although she’s still not attempting to use her legs or wings. At this point, though, we’re still too close to when the injury occurred to expect really drastic improvement. I’ve talked with Steve Hicks and we’ve agreed to delay transfer until she’s a little more stable—after all, our goal is to assist the bird in returning to the wild, not stress her into further injury or death. And on an “up” note, now’s the time to put out bluebird boxes if you want these lovely cavity nesters to hang around your yard. The best location is facing a meadow or lawn, but with trees or shrubs nearby so fledging babies later this spring have somewhere safe to make their first clumsy flight to—and remember, no chemicals in the wood of the box or on the lawn! That goes for all birds: chemicals, pesticides, rat poisons, etc., are deadly to all birds, including birds of prey. A slightly weedy lawn is well worth the extra wildlife it will attract. 2009 wrap-up 01/03/2010
 Hope everyone had a great Christmas and a good start to 2010. I was able to release the pigeon whose wing had been broken; she flies well but is hanging around the house still. That’s funny, because her favorite perch is the peak of the roof, where one of last year’s mockers also likes to sit and swear at me. So far, we have an impasse—they glare at each other but no feathers have flown. In a showdown, though, my money’s on the mocker!   The flying squirrel will be offered the option of soft release within the next week and a half or so, and I suspect he’ll take leave of his rehab digs. Before being moved into a pre-release pen, he managed to escape from his indoor cage every single night, as well as one morning while I was attempting to secure the cage. Now THAT was hysterical: I’m working away on rigging the cage door so he can’t unlatch it (something no other flyer has ever done), and the next thing I know, he’s on my arm, watching me “escape-proof” his cage. Obviously, it was time for a move outdoors… The red tail who was having seizures had a major seizure the day after I uploaded the last update and began tearing the flesh from his own wing, down to the bone. I conferred with Steve Hicks of Bubba & Friends raptor rehab, and we decided to call it and end the bird’s suffering. The GHO is with Steve now, and our initial assessment of imprinting seems to have been on target. The bird acts more like a feathered cat, according to Steve, and this level of imprinting is probably irreversible. He’s slated to become an educational bird, as he’s not releasable. This is the time of year I start working on the state and federal year-end reports, so I figured I’d give y’all a brief rundown of numbers, etc. If that sort of stuff bores you, well, sorry. Some people like to see random facts and figures! Laurens Wildlife Rescue received a total of 209 intakes in 2009, with an additional 3 held over from 2008, for a total of 212 critters. I’ve not broken that down into mammals and birds yet—haven’t gotten that far on the state and federal paperwork! I can, however, give you a breakdown of final outcomes for those 212 animals: · 1(the flyer) is still pending · 20 were transferred · 40 were euthanized · 23 died in care · 22 were DOA (dead on arrival) · 106 were released Taking the transfers, DOAs, pending and euthanized out of play, that means that my release rate for the year was 82%. That amazes even me! (Leaving the euthanasias in, I still have a release rate of 63%, which is above the national average of 50%.) I received 94 calls that didn’t result in an intake; many of these were from the Atlanta area and were referred to rehabbers closer to their homes, and several were from out of state. The others were cases where I was able to advise the caller so that mama and babies were reunited or never separated in the first place. There were also 18 e-mails seeking advice, one from Ireland! I racked up 7260 miles picking up, transferring and running animals to the vet, which at the federal mileage allowance of $.50/mile, equates to $3630 in gas expenses. Food, bedding and other supplies totaled $3914, while professional memberships and registrations and such came to $127. Of the $2000 facilities grant LWR received, $1971 was used to build a new flight pen and to purchase mammal caging and carriers that serve as pre-fledgling bird “nests.” Leaving the improvements funded by the grant out of the final expenses, it took a total of $7671 (that includes the mileage allowance) to “give Nature’s children a second chance” in 2009. Donations totaled $940, only 12% of LWR’s total operating costs. Where did the remainder come from? My own paltry coffers. This is why I stress that praise is nice but cash is better. Providing for these animals and giving them a second chance at life isn’t cheap, and everyone seems to assume that someone else will step up and help cover the costs. That leaves me making up the rather substantial difference. Sadly, this is true for most rehabbers: we are among those few who can honestly say that we put blood, sweat and tears into our work, along with vast amounts of our own limited funds. Both intakes and expenses increased in 2009, and they will probably increase again in 2010. Please keep in mind that YOU are the “somebody else” whose tax-deductible donations can help us continue to compensate for general human stupidity (which, oddly enough, I’m not allowed to list as a reason for the animal’s need for rehab) and return these animals to the wild. (Hint, hint: there are PayPal links at the bottom of every page on this site except this one!) Not a creature was stirring??? 12/18/2009
Yeah, right! They just keep trickling in…Since the last update—in the past five days, in fact—LWR has received a juvenile flying squirrel, an adult female red tailed hawk and an adult male great horned owl (GHO). First, a progress report on the pigeon with the broken wing from the last update: we may be able to release this bird, after all! Her wing does seem now to be healing; she’s been exercising it by flapping it a lot lately. (Her pen is too small to allow more than that; the idea is to minimize movement while the wing heals.)  The flying squirrel is pretty close to releasable already; he was close to leaving the nest when the tree his nest was in was chopped down. Of the three babies in the nest, he was the only survivor. As you can see in the photo, he’s still pretty traumatized by the whole experience. I’ll hang on to him for another couple of weeks, just to be sure that he’s able to fend for himself, and then we’ll offer a soft release, which basically means he’ll be able to leave the “nest” at his own pace, just like he would have in the wild. Some late-fall babies stay with their mothers through the winter, so he’ll have a similar option, as well, with a soft release.  The red tail came in with what we suspected was a bruised wing and a concussion. Vet Peggy Hobby’s thorough exam revealed no broken bones, so we were pretty happy…until later that day, when the bird began having seizures. After listening to her thrash around in her box all night, I took her back to Smalley’s Animal Hospital, where it was Peggy’s husband Jim’s turn to see the hawk. I was figuring euthanasia was our only option, but Jim wanted to try one more time to save the bird—and she is SO gorgeous—so I agreed. We have her on an intensive course of fluids and antibiotics, and the seizures have slowed. She had just one today and is on her feet again—wobbly, but standing—so this is good. She’s not out of the woods by a long shot, but she’s drastically improved over 24 hours ago.   The GHO was hit by a car or, more accurately, a truck. The people who brought me the bird said he hit the grille hard enough to crack it, yet there wasn’t a mark on this gorgeous fellow. I took him in for a vet exam, and Shelly Baumann could find nothing wrong, either—no broken bones, eyes clear, not a feather out of place. Again, we figured severe concussion and possible imprinting, given the bird’s very calm demeanor. The jury’s still out on the imprinting, though, as sometimes head trauma can cause a bird to act tame until the lights come back on, figuratively speaking.  Both these birds will, of course, be transferred to Steve Hicks of Bubba & Friends raptor rehab as soon as we feel the red tail is stable enough to move. Right now, we’re afraid moving her could cause a severe and possibly fatal setback, so Steve gets several-times-daily progress reports via phone and/or e-mail, along with photos when warranted. Ain’t technology grand!? Our next update will be after New Year’s Day, so Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to everyone. Slower, but they’re still coming… 12/04/2009
Since the last update, Laurens Wildlife Rescue has received four birds and no mammals. Almost immediately after the 11-17 update, a pigeon with a broken wing came in, followed in short order by a HBC barred owl, and then about a week later, a sharp-shinned hawk and on Nov. 30, a Carolina wren. Let’s begin with the pigeon—she’s got a broken wing. It’s not badly broken, but it doesn’t look to be healing properly, so she has another couple of weeks before I have to make a call on her. Sometimes an injury will heal in a less than aesthetically pleasing but still functional manner, so we’re hoping that will be the case with her. And yes, I’m aware that the prevailing opinion of pigeons is that they’re feathered rats, but even the lowliest animal deserves a second chance at life if we can provide that at LWR. Maybe we can for this lady, but it’s not looking too hopeful at the moment; keep your fingers crossed.  The barred owl was hit by people who then placed the unfortunate bird in a bucket—yes, you read that correctly, a BUCKET—in the back of their truck and left him there for two days. When a neighbor discovered this, she insisted they give her the owl and immediately called me. The owl is imprinted and blind, whether from damage done when he was hit by the vehicle or an improper diet in captivity, we don’t know. Normally a blind bird is euthanized, as it’s nonreleasable, but Steve Hicks of Bubba & Friends raptor rehab is hoping this guy will make a good surrogate parent for the orphaned barred owls he receives. He’s successfully used nonreleasable birds as surrogates before, so maybe this gorgeous fellow will have a second chance at life  The poor sharpie had flown onto someone’s screened-in back porch in hot pursuit of a songbird, his species’ favorite meal, and couldn’t get back off. The door was open when he flew on; the family didn’t realize he was there in the midst of the chaos involved in moving, and when they realized they’d closed the door and trapped the bird, they did the responsible thing and called me for advice and assistance. My first instinct was to tell them to open the door and shoo him toward it, but then one of the people there said they could touch him, which is never a good sign with any wild animal, so I suggested tossing a towel or blanket over him and placing him in a box for transport to me.  Sharpies are very small raptors, about pigeon-sized—well, maybe a little larger—and they make up in viciousness and insanity what they lack in size. This rascal nailed me every time I touched him, and I handled him twice daily for 2 days, while Steve and I assessed his condition. Now, remember, Steve is a good 100 miles away, so we used those newfangled devices—you know, cell phones, digital cameras and computers—for consultations. I e-mailed him photos with a written description of the bird’s behavior, etc., and then we called back and forth for further details and instructions. Steve was pretty sure the bird was just stressed, and I agreed, based on the mussed condition of his head feathers where he’d banged his head against the screen trying to get off that porch. Since we were fairly certain that was the only issue the bird had, other than being a sharpie, which is pretty much a curse in itself, Steve advised observation and feeding for 48 hours, followed by release if the bird seemed back to (ab)normal within that time frame. He did indeed, so I was delighted to release him two days after he came in.  This sharp-shinned hawk was released after 48 hours' observation confirmed that he was as normal as his species can be. The Carolina wren wasn’t as lucky, poor baby. The person who found her saw her fluttering in a nearby yard, stuck to a glue trap. She and her husband managed to pry her off the glue without damaging any remaining feathers or causing the bird to lose a foot to the glue, and she was such a hyper little thing that I thought maybe she had a chance. I was able to clean the glue off her feathers, but I could look at her and tell that the stress had been too much. After a while, you just learn to recognize that look that says the animal won’t be with you in the morning. Still, I dried her off, put her on low heat in a quiet enclosure with food, and hoped for the best. She died during the night. Carolina wrens are very stressy, high-strung little birds, but I absolutely adore them; it’s just impossible not to. Folks, if you need to control pests in your household or garage, use snap traps or no-kill traps or some other method that doesn’t threaten non-pests. That poor bird probably swooped down to pick a tasty-looking insect off that blasted glue trap, and she paid with her little life for trying to grab a meal. Glue traps are inhumane, no matter how you look at it, and too many innocent victims—like birds—get caught in them. Bottom line—use other, safer methods of pest control. If you’re looking for gift ideas for Christmas, let me suggest bat boxes, owl nesting boxes, bluebird nest boxes (preferably with predator guards), bluebird feeders (which will also entail purchasing mealworms, about the only thing that will entice a bluebird to a feeder), squirrel nesting boxes and even wood duck nest boxes. All of these will aid our feathered and furred friends in the coming months, especially since owls are looking for nesting sites now, squirrels will soon begin their early mating season (usually Dec./Jan., with late mating season being app. July/Aug.), and by mid-January, bluebirds in Georgia will be looking for potential nesting sites. Fall slowdown really begins? 11/18/2009
 I have only one new intake to report since the last update, a common nighthawk. They’re called common because they’re found over such a wide range of territories during breeding season. Unfortunately, this poor bird had a wing injury that prevented him from making the fall migration to South America. X-rays showed no broken bones, but after nearly two weeks, his wing still dangled. Vet Peggy Hobby & I agreed that there was soft tissue damage, a torn ligament or tendon, which isn’t fixable in a small songbird. He never would have flown again, and nighthawks eat on the wing. See that tiny beak in the photo? It opens to a huge maw—nighthawks, like chuck-will’s-widows and whippoorwills, fly along scooping up insects, mostly mosquitoes, in their oversized mouths. Since it was totally unnatural for him to eat any way other than in flight, I was having to force-feed him, which was stressing him out to the point that he was losing feathers by the handful every time I fed him; he also knew he shouldn’t still be here and would flail around in his box, trying to follow his body’s instinct to migrate. It was not a pleasant situation for him or for me, so while I regret the need to euthanize, it was ultimately the most humane option for this brave little nighthawk. The Swainson’s thrush also had to be euthanized, as his weight continued to plummet and his legs remained useless. Again, this wasn’t an easy call. I have a soft spot for the thrush family, which includes robins (the largest thrushes), bluebirds and the smaller family members like wood, hermit and Swainson’s thrushes. They’re just sweet birds, and all of them have beautiful songs. But given this bird’s continued decline, it was once again the most humane option for him. I have only one gray squirrel remaining, and he’s in release phase now. I expect him to have cut the proverbial apron strings before the next update. The flyers have also—pardon the pun—flown the coop. It generally doesn’t take these sweet little rascals long to figure out that there’s a whole wide world full of wonder and adventure outside their pen, and this year’s trio stayed true to form. Within three days of being given the option to come and go as they pleased, it pleased them to move on. Just FYI: this is the time of year to be putting up owl nesting boxes. These nocturnal raptors mate, nest and rear their young in the fall and winter, so when you hear more owls than usual calling at night in the fall, you’re hearing feathered courtship in progress. And please remember—and inform others—that if you should find an unnested downy (baby) owl in the coming winter months, it’s imperative that you call a licensed rehabber right away. These birds require very specialized care to prevent nutritional deficiencies and damage to their eyesight. What was that about a fall slowdown? 11/03/2009
Murphy’s Law kicked in after I made that statement in the last regular update! It was right after that that the bald eagle came in, followed by two chipmunks, five brown bats, an adult gray squirrel, a gunshot red tailed hawk, a HBC barred owl and a migrating Swainson’s thrush. Let’s start with the animal whose fate you’re probably most interested in: the eagle. She was released on Halloween and did beautifully. Below are some photos of her in rehab at Bubba & Friends and on the day of her release. Thanks to www.pikecountytimes.com and Paul Powers for permission to use their photos.  In a flight pen at Bubba & Friends  Bolting to freedom  There she goes! Sadly, the GHO whose leg we were so hoping would heal properly had to be euthanized. X-rays showed that the leg was not healing at all, and there was definite nerve damage to that foot, as well. Adding to her problems, the strain of bearing her weight on that one good leg was starting to affect the foot. None of us wanted to make the call, but we knew it was necessary. At the risk of starting another rant, let me remind you that had some jerk called DNR for the number of the nearest rehabber when they first found her, instead of attempting to make a pet of her, this sad fate could have been avoided and she’d be out in the wild right now, choosing a mate and producing gorgeous babies.  On the gray squirrel front, LWR has just four babies remaining. Three are in release phase and one has several weeks to go before he’ll reach that point. Here are the two males who came in several weeks ago with bloody noses and a broken arm.  The flyers are also in release phase and are beginning to show an interest in the world outside their release cage, so they should have moved on by the next update. Catching them still long enough for photos is nigh-impossible these days; they’re like quicksilver. Here are a few fairly decent shots of them.    One chipmunk was released; the other had spinal damage and its back legs were useless. It was euthanized.  The five brown bats were healthy adults removed from an old house undergoing remodeling. Normally I transfer any rabies-vector species to someone who’s RVS licensed, but these were adults, so after conferring with an RVS-licensed rehabber, I decided to place the bats in one of my bat boxes, which local bats have steadfastly ignored, and hope that they’d hang around. Alas, the bat box was a nice layover, but they preferred the surrounding woods for permanent digs. Too bad—bats are excellent natural insect control. The adult gray squirrel had spinal damage. She came in over the weekend and died before I could get her to the vet. The barred owl flew into the grille of a vehicle, and the owner of the vehicle left him there all weekend, deciding on Monday that since the owl hadn’t “conveniently” died over the weekend, it was now an emergency. When I removed the owl from the grille, the radiator fan had made hamburger of his wing, so there was no humane option other than euthanasia. Folks, if you hit ANY animal that you think is in your grille, please stop immediately. The damage may already be too severe for the animal to be saved, but there’s always a chance that’s not the case. Don’t let some bird or other animal sit in your grille and suffer for days—that’s cruel, inhumane and lots of other words I can’t use on a family-friendly site.  The Swainson’s thrush is a true Northern bird, breeding along the U.S.-Canada border and passing through Georgia on its way to South America for the winter. This gorgeous olive-drab bird was found in someone’s yard. He can’t use his legs at all, but X-rays showed nothing broken, so we’ve given a steroid injection and are giving him a day or two to see what happens. He’s very alert, but he’s also losing weight, which may not bode well for his survival chances.  The red tail is a first-year bird, most likely a late baby, as Steve Hicks of Bubba & Friends says that photos I sent him indicate she’s not long out of the nest. Also, he says the behavior I’ve described—food aggression and “mantling,” or using her wings to hide her food while she eats—are signs of a very young bird.  She was found by the side of the road, unable to fly. Vet Shelley Baumann of Smalley’s Animal Hospital could find no injuries at first, but an X-ray showed two lead pellets lodged in her leg and wing. While they were recent injuries, pellets can lodge in the flesh/bone and not leave an external sign, meaning that the lead will continue to leach into the bird’s system and it will die slowly and painfully of lead poisoning. This young lady was already feeling the effects of lead poisoning when Shelley removed the pellets. Within four hours of the removal of the lead pellets, however, she had perked up considerably and her appetite had most definitely returned. She’s doing well and had to stay with me until Steve could release the eagle and free up a flight pen for her. This week she goes to him for flight conditioning and eventual release.  How did she end up with pellets in her leg and wing? Looking at the X-rays, Steve & I are guessing that she was perched when someone—probably some unsupervised child who’d never been taught that if you don’t eat it, you don’t kill it—shot her leg. She flared her wing at the pain, and the little cretin shot her in the wing. This is why children don’t need to be around guns without adult supervision. Just as a reminder, injuring/killing any bird protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, disturbing its nest or young, or having one of these protected birds in your possession without a permit is a violation of federal law. The MBTA protects all songbirds, including crows, and all birds of prey, which includes owls. If you see or know of someone who’s breaking the law, don’t hesitate to report them, as doing so could save a bird’s life. In Georgia the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Law Enforcement number is 404-679-7057; outside Georgia, check www.fws.gov under “Law Enforcement” for the number of the office nearest you. A even quicker solution is to call your local game warden or, in Georgia, the DNR hotline at 800-241-4113. State agencies cooperate fully with the feds on issues concerning the MBTA. LWR receives immature bald eagle! 10/22/2009
Yep, on Monday the 19th I got a call from folks on a neighboring farm who said their nephews had found a “large bird” while putting up a deer stand. They saw movement in the brush and upon investigation, found the downed bird. My guess during the phone conversation was that they’d found a female red tail, as they can be quite big; at any rate, I told them to go ahead and bring me the bird, if they could; if not, I’d come get it. They were willing to bring it, so when they drove up I headed out the door, fully expecting to see an injured red tail. When I looked into the back of their truck, my jaw dropped. Their "large bird" was an immature bald eagle, sitting back on its butt, legs splayed in front with feet balled. As soon as I got my jaw off the ground, I gasped, “That’s not a hawk; that’s a bald eagle!” After a cursory examination that showed no obvious signs of physical injury, I whipped out my cell phone to call raptor rehabber Steve Hicks, as I knew I was out of my element on this one, and he got as excited as I was but walked me through what I needed to do to adhere to the very strict federal regulations surrounding eagles. I was boxing the bird as we spoke, getting it ready to take it Smalley’s for a thorough exam—which, of course, was the next step. It was close to time for the clinic to close, so I called ahead as I loaded up the bird, alerting them that this was an emergency, since it was a bald eagle.   A thorough exam, including x-rays, confirmed no physical injuries—no birdshot, no broken bones, nothing. Vet Shelley Baumann checked the bird’s eyes for signs of head trauma—again, nothing. As soon as the major physical exam and x-rays were done, I called Steve Hicks and relayed our findings to him, getting suggestions as to other things we night need to look for, but none of the health issues he suggested seemed to be present, either. Our best guess was that she’d sustained a severe concussion and was still woozy from it, as she seemed alert and aware of her surroundings but was very docile. Another possibility is that she ate something mildly toxic that was still working its way out of her system. (Special thanks to high school work-study student Brittany Devaney, who works part-time at Smalley’s, for taking charge of my camera and documenting this lady’s vet visit while Shelley and I concentrated our efforts on the bird.)   After securing the necessary paperwork from Smalley’s to document that they’d seen the bird for me and sent her back home with me for transfer to Steve Hicks, I took her home and waited for Steve and Angie to pick her up—federal regs required that she be out of my possession within 12 hours of her vet visit, and they were bringing me another mammal release cage that wouldn’t fit in my car, so we couldn’t meet halfway per our usual practice.   When they arrived, Steve decided that based on the size of her head and feet, she was female; FWS permits supervisor Resee Collins, after seeing photos, agreed and added that she was a second-year bird and was large, even for a female. Beak to tail, this gargantuan lady is just under three feet, and her wingspan is around 80 inches—that’s just under seven feet. Her signature white head won’t come in for another two years. As of this afternoon, Steve reports that she’s eating well and very alert and aggressive so his plan, weather permitting, is to release her this weekend. What a sight that should be! According to the Georgia DNR website (www.georgiawildlife.org), this year there were 124 occupied bald eagle nesting territories, 98 successful nests and 162 young fledged. The website adds the following information for those who have sighted bald eagles: “Georgians who see a bald eagle nest or two or more eagles together are encouraged to download the form [located] at www.georgiawildlife.com (click “Conservation,” “Species of Concern,” “Bird Conservation” and then “Report Nesting Bald Eagles”). Send the completed form to Jim Ozier, jim.ozier@gadnr.org or Georgia Wildlife Resources Division, Nongame Conservation Section, 116 Rum Creek Drive, Forsyth, GA 31029."  Fall slowdown appears to have begun 10/17/2009
Since the last update, LWR has taken in only two additional animals—another flying squirrel and a DOA Eurasian collared dove—and we have 3 gray squirrels in release phase and 3 in pre-release, including the two sibs from the last update. If you recall, they came in with bloody noses and one had a broken arm. I’m happy to report that the broken arm healed nicely: you’d never know it had ever been broken, since he doesn’t even favor it now. Young animals heal so quickly, given a safe haven while the healing takes place! Next week the Great Horned owl (GHO) will go back for x-rays to determine the status of her leg. This is causing quite a bit of suspense, as we’re hoping it’s healing properly but won’t know for sure until it’s x-rayed. If it’s not showing signs of healing after 4 weeks in a splint, we have no choice but to euthanize. I can just hear some of you now, wondering, “But why? If she’s an imprint and not a candidate for release, why not just amputate the leg?” Well, for starters, it’s against federal law. That’s the simple explanation. The reason it’s against federal law is the more complicated explanation. You see, birds of any kind—songbird or raptor—don’t ever really sit down. They’re always standing, shifting their weight from one leg to the other and sometimes pulling one leg into their chests to put all their weight on the other leg. To take away one leg means all the weight is always on that one good leg, which can cause all sorts of foot problems and severe pain for the bird. Furthermore, raptors use their feet to hold their prey so they can tear bits off to eat. A raptor with only one good leg faces a double whammy of inability to properly hold its food AND the very real risk of severe and painful foot infections. So it’s just more humane to put the bird down rather than have it face a life of constant infections and pain. See? Sometimes federal law DOES make sense!  The red screech owl, during a follow-up visit to Smalley’s, was diagnosed with a luxated lens. Basically, this means the trauma to his eye was so severe that the lens was ripped loose and displaced. And yep, this means he’s blind in that eye and may eventually develop glaucoma and/or a cataract. As long as he’s in no pain, he can still be groomed for use as an educational bird, though. At the moment, his eye has improved considerably in appearance, at least, If you’ll recall, he couldn’t even open it in the photos I posted in the last update. At left and below are some shots of him a week ago and two days ago.  Close-up a week ago  'If I fluff up, that camera thingy won't steal my food!'  Close-up two days ago  And finally, we have more photos of the flyers, who are very active little rascals…at night. Remember, they’re nocturnal, as if those huge, dark eyes didn’t give that away! They’re eating solids in addition to their formula and are down to three formula feedings a day. Notice in the photos that their fur looks oily or greasy. No one fully understands why their fur looks this way, although several other rehabbers I’ve talked with speculate it could have something to do with their aerodynamics. Despite its oily look, their fur is actually very, very soft. And if you’ll take a close look at their tails, you can see that they’re flat, unlike the bushy plumes of their diurnal cousins the grays. Actually, I’ve always thought their tails resembled furry feathers. A flying squirrel’s tail acts as a rudder while it’s gliding; if the flyer loses its tail it can still glide but cannot control its direction.  Just hangin' out...  Hurry! Inside! Blasted paparazzi! More owls, more idiots 10/03/2009
In the past three weeks, LWR has received three imprinted owls. You read about the screech in the last update; since then, a Great Horned owl (GHO) and another screech have come in, both imprinted. The GHO also has a broken leg, most likely from improper handling, and the second screech has a massive concussion and a blood-filled eye, both most likely a result of having been sideswiped by a car after being dumped to fend for himself with no clue how to do so. What will be their ultimate fates? That’s still uncertain, as the GHO’s leg may also have nerve damage, and the second screech could lose vision in the damaged eye. Please don’t mistake my calm discussion of these birds for lack of ire or having vented all my frustration last update—I’m still homicidally infuriated and have spent many hours contemplating a fitting fate for the cretins who ruined these owls for life in the wild. Unfortunately, every punishment I’d like to mete out is considered cruel and unusual. Yeah, and kidnapping owls from the wild, trying to make pets of them, feeding them the wrong diet, forcing them to use improper perches, and then abandoning them to fend for themselves isn’t cruel and unusual?? I could rant about this for the remainder of this update, but I suspect I’m preaching to the choir, so let’s look at some of the less fury-inducing events at LWR over the past couple of weeks. The bluebird, both mourning doves and both possums have been released. The squirrel with the broken leg has joined her cousins in preparing for release. Below are some photos, from several weeks ago, of vets Jim Hobby and Shelley Baumann working on her. (They were slated for the last update, but the imprinted screech got priority.)  Going under  Tiny or not, it's still a two-person job!  Healing hands  All wrapped up  Almost done  Finishing touches  'You're in good hands...'  Look at me now!  LWR also received an older adult GHO who’d gotten tangled in the netting of a batting cage in another county. The finder couldn’t free the bird any other way than to cut the netting loose around the entangled owl, and I spent 15 minutes just cutting the netting off the wings—every feather seemed to have gone through a separate hole in his struggles to free himself. His right leg was somewhat swollen, so I kept him long enough to run him to Smalley’s the next day and be sure nothing was broken. After an additional day of observation, he was returned to the finder for release, and when I called to follow up, the finder’s family was ecstatic at having been able to release the owl back into his home territory. Look at his eyes—the deep gold color is a mark of a mature bird. The imprinted GHO with the broken leg also visited Smalley’s for the leg to be splinted. Below are photos of vet Peggy Hobby and vet techs Autumn and Jamie splinting her leg.  Why am I getting so sleepy?  Unwrapping my makeshift bandage  Let's stay asleep 'til we're done  Finishing touches  Why am I so woozy?  Look at the difference in her eye color, compared to the mature GHO above: the color deepens as the bird ages, so this marks her as a young bird. She’s absolutely magnificent, huh?  LWR also received two adorable flying squirrels, about 5-6 weeks old, who’d been unnested. Flyers aren’t uncommon in this area, but they are fairly infrequent rehab guests. These gorgeous, gentle little nocturnal squirrels are very social creatures, unlike gray squirrels, and tend to form colonies. When you’re outside and hear what sounds like birds chirping in the middle of the night, it’s actually flyers, chatting away to each other. We also had two more gray squirrels come in, male sibs who’d fallen hard from their nest, hard enough to bloody both their noses and break one’s bottom teeth and his right arm. The teeth will grow back; squirrels’ teeth continue to grow throughout their lives. The location of the break makes it pretty much impossible to splint, so vet Shelley Baumann and I agreed to try confinement to a pen that allows very limited mobility, in hopes that his young age and gravity will work in his favor to allow the break to heal properly. These two are doing better but still stiff and in some pain. No photos; they’re still too skittish and traumatized.  And finally, just yesterday, we received the second screech owl I mentioned at the beginning of the update. Isn’t he a gorgeous little fellow? Screeches have several color phases: brown, gray, white and red. He’s a red, as if that wasn’t pretty obvious! Vet Jim Hobby examined him today and found the right eye so full of blood that determining the full extent of the damage is impossible. We’re treating the eye to reduce inflammation and try to get the blood to drain, so that we can get a better idea of what’s going on with the eye. This little guy’s talons are also horribly overgrown, an indication that he’s not had proper perches. Based on the trauma to the eye, this fellow’s got a serious headache, in addition to the pain the eye must be causing. If he’s very lucky, the eye won’t have sustained so much damage that he’ll lose vision in it. | ArchivesJuly 2010 CategoriesAll |
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