Can you believe it? I’ve had no intakes for the past couple of weeks, not since the screech owl from the last report, who was released…although I’m now up to 14 calls that didn’t result in intakes.  This will change in short order, as squirrels begin to trickle and then flood in, followed by a smattering of juvenile owls, and then the possums and rabbits will appear…and then the floodgates will open as the weather warms and songbirds begin breeding!

Speaking of songbirds, one of the calls I received last week was from someone several counties away who had rescued a bluebird from his cat and wanted to bring it to me. I suggested a halfway point to meet and shortly after I’d left the house, he called and said someone in his home county had agreed to take the bird; they’d just opened up some sort of animal rescue, etc., etc…I ran through the names of licensed rehabbers in his general area; there was only one in his county, who was not federally licensed—a requirement for dealing with songbirds or raptors. He said none of the names rang a bell, but these people had assured him they could take the bird.  While he never returned my call after leaving the bird with these people, against my advice, I’m offering you the same warning and advice I gave him: ask to see the permits of anyone you take wildlife to, to make sure they are licensed for the wildlife in question. If they balk or can’t produce the permits, take the animal and find someone else who WILL produce current permits. There are many people out there who claim to “do rehab” and have never bothered to take the tests and undergo state and federal inspections of their facilities in order to acquire proper licensure. This sets them—and you, if you take them animals—up for hefty fines and even the confiscation and euthanasia of the animals they possess illegally. There are also those who do have state permits but not federal ones, so they should not be dealing with birds other than to triage and transfer to a federally licensed rehabber. I ran into this last year when I received several birds from a local rehabber who was not federally licensed and had raised these birds anyway and then had no clue how to release them, basically because the rehabber had come *this close* to imprinting them to the point of not being releasable and couldn’t figure out why they wouldn’t “go away” once their cage door was left open.

 I keep copies of both my state and federal permits readily available in case I need to produce them as proof that I am, in fact, licensed for the work that I do. Any rehabber who is properly licensed should be able to do the same upon request. Just a word of advice!

Now to the 2010 year-end report:

Laurens Wildlife Rescue received a total of 247 intakes for 2010. Final outcomes are as follows:

·        23 were transferred—22 raptors and 1 RVS (fox kit)

·        49 were euthanized

·        21 died in care

·        60 were DOA (dead on arrival) (Most of these were the massive possum influx we saw in April/May, with babies that had been removed from the pouches of dead mothers; possums still in the pouch generally don’t survive removal from their mother’s nipples, as their mouths aren’t even fully formed yet.)

·        94 were released

Taking the transfers, DOAs and euthanasias out of play, that means that my release rate for the year was 82%, the same as last year.

I received 162 calls that didn’t result in an intake; most of these were from the Atlanta area and were referred to rehabbers closer to their homes, and several were again from out of state—one from a child in Minnesota, who was referred to a rehabber in her state. The metro-area calls led me to add a special page to the website alerting metro residents that while I was NOT in their area, I would take their animals if they would meet me at least halfway. 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.

I racked up 6609 miles picking up, transferring and running animals to the vet, which at the federal mileage allowance of $.50/mile, equates to $3305 in gas expenses. This is lower than last year’s mileage because for 16 days I was without transportation while my transmission was being rebuilt, after it died on me while I was on the way to the vet with a carload of birds.

Food, bedding and other supplies totaled $3386, while professional memberships and registrations and such came to $155. While the cost for memberships and registrations increased, the total spent on food, etc. decreased slightly, in large part because I finally managed to get my mealworm colony well-enough established to reduce my need for as many orders of this expensive favorite “weaning” food for songbirds. I’m not self-sustaining with the mealies yet, but having my own small colony has cut the expenses considerably!

LWR received a $3000 facilities grant, which was used to purchase feeding dishes for birds and mammals (hopefully enough of each that I’ll not run short, even during the height of baby season), extra caging, heating pads for babies needing supplemental heat, food preparation tools, perches, chemical- and dye-free feather dusters (serve as surrogate “mama” to species such as wood ducks, quail and killdeer) and an incubator. (Yes, I do occasionally receive eggs, and the incubator will give them a better chance of hatching than my previous makeshift method.)

Leaving the equipment funded by the grant out of the final expenses, it took a total of $6846 (that includes the mileage allowance) to “give Nature’s children a second chance” in 2010.  Donations totaled $1937, only 28% of LWR’s total operating costs—up from 12% last year. With 247 intakes, only 20 people made donations when they brought me animals, for a total of $937. The remaining $1000 in donations came from two families who support LWR with more than just words, even though neither family brought any animals to LWR last year.

Where did the remaining $4909 in operating expenses come from?  My own paltry coffers. This is why I stress that kudos are nice but cash keeps the rehabber in business. As I’ve said repeatedly over the past year (repeat along with me, now), respect and admiration don’t fill furry bellies or feathered crops.

 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.

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 I’m STILL not allowed to list as a reason for the animal’s need for rehab) and return these animals to the wild. (Helpful hint: there are PayPal links at the bottom of every page on this site except this one!) Folks, the wildlife I care for is a part of YOUR natural heritage; step up to the plate and assume “ownership” by helping us rehabbers do our jobs!

And finally, don’t forget about the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) coming up Feb. 18-21. This is a fun, easy way to become what Cornell Lab of Ornithology terms a “citizen scientist.” You can count birds in your back yard, in a park, off your balcony—wherever—and for as little as 15 minutes! See the GBBC website at www.birdcount.org  or click on the photo at left for more details.

The unusual cold snaps, snow, ice storms—it’s been a harsh winter for our native wildlife, as evidenced by the unusually high number of raptors we’re seeing in rehab. Steve Hicks of Bubba and Friends (www.bubba-and-friends.org) reports that all 14 of his flight pens are full and space inside for those needing extra attention and/or medication is also at a premium.

Here at Laurens Wildlife Rescue, we’ve already received 9 calls this year that didn’t result in an intake; only two additional birds have come in since the Jan. 3 update. I won’t complain—I needed the slight slowdown!

However, one of the birds who came in, a first year female red tail hawk, got the year off to a really frustrating start. This gorgeous lady had been shot; one pellet was still lodged in her shattered wing. Obviously, she had to be euthanized. I was infuriated, to say the least, but since she was picked up by Coffee County Animal Control and transferred to LWR, we had no way of knowing for sure who violated state and federal law by taking pot-shots at her. Of course, GaDNR and USFWS were notified, per our rehab regulations, but both state and federal officials admitted that without a witness to the shooting, nothing could really be done except to document the attack and see if a pattern developed.

My slight break in critter intakes allowed me to take my annual trek to Manhattan, where I went on a quest to locate Pale Male’s nest…and hoped to see The Hawk Himself there or in Central Park, but that didn’t happen this year. I did, however locate his nest, which may not be exciting to most people, but I was ecstatic, as was my niece Caitlan, who was with me and squealing like she’d just met a celebrity.  Yeah, other people go to the Big Apple in hopes of maybe spotting one of its resident human stars; we were all googly-eyed over a hawk nest! For those who may not be aware, Pale Male is a red tail hawk who is app. 20 years old this year and has nested on a building across from Central Park for pretty much his entire life. He’s the first red tail documented to’ve built a nest on a building rather than in a tree, and he’s outlived four mates, acquiring a new mate just this month, according to Pale Male watchers in New York City. They were both observed hanging around the nest the day before my Sunday visit to it (insert your own favorite swear words here; I’m trying to keep this site family-friendly!)…

While sitting in a Broadway show that night I was not really surprised to feel my cell phone vibrating just before intermission. During the show’s intermission, I returned the call from a person in Laurens County who’d just hit a screech owl. The caller said the owl seemed to be alert and uninjured but couldn’t fly. The standard procedure in the case of a HBC bird of any kind is to assume there’s a concussion and act accordingly, so I told the caller to place the screech in a cardboard box and let her remain quiet and dark until I got home the following night. Concussed birds won’t eat, so she’d be fine until I could pick her up, which I did Monday night.  In fact, this beautiful red screech is nearly ready for release—she’s eating well now, her eyes look clear, and she might be ready to go back into the wild as soon as tonight!

I’ll have final stats on 2010 intakes, donations and expenditures in the next update. I can tell you now that although I took in 247 animals last year, only 20 people bringing those animals made donations; in fact, half of the donations received came from two families who brought no animals to LWR but who showed their support in a way that benefitted the critters we care for. Kinda pathetic, huh?  The people who bring the animals “respect and admire” what I do, but as I’ve said before, “respect and admiration” don’t fill furry bellies or feathered crops, and while we are required to be licensed by the state and feds, neither agency provides any funding for our activities—the funds for our rehab efforts come from our own pockets, for the most part, and from the very few donations we receive.

Normally December is a fairly slow month for LWR but not Dec. 2010. We received 12 animals, for a total of 247 intakes for 2010.

The great horned owl had come in when I did the December update; see the December update for a photo of her. We originally thought she was weak from capillaria, which she did have, but after working with her for a few days, Steve Hicks of Bubba & Friends reached the conclusion that she had probably been the victim of a botched—and illegal—attempt at making a pet of her. When the novelty wore off or she sank those giant talons into someone, she was dumped and ended up—thankfully, for her sake—on the farm of a family who knew to contact me. Steve will continue to try and “deprogram” her, but if this doesn’t work, she’ll become an educational bird.

For the rest of the month we had a possum, a screech owl, two red tail hawks, two red shoulder hawks, two black vultures, two barred owls and a turkey vulture. Not all of them were treatable, of course: Some were euthanized, some transferred and some released.

Neither of the two black vultures was treatable; one had severe spinal damage; the other had a broken leg that had healed in the wild and left him with nerve damage and a useless foot.  Both were euthanized.

The possum had a broken spine, and one of the barred owls had sustained multiple fractures to both legs, probably as a result of colliding with a car. The other barred owl, pictured here, had a concussion and was released after a couple of days of R&R. My niece tried to help me get a photo of the release, but she was out of that box like a rocket. We barely saw where she landed in the trees, and when we walked over to see if we could snap a shot of her perching, she glared at us and soared off deeper into the woods.  That’s gratitude for ya!

Neither of the red tails survived; one came in a Sunday evening with fatal injuries from being hit by a car and died before the night was over. The other had an open wing fracture and had to be euthanized. The red tail pictured here, which came in on New Year’s Day, was probably the victim of a shotgun blast, according to Steve, who now has the bird but doesn’t give him much hope. He was in pretty bad shape when he came in and hadn’t improved any as of last night, when I talked to Steve.

This red screech owl had just a slight concussion and was released. He was a feisty little rascal for the two days he was with me and was delighted when I released him—flew straight into the woods.  Screeches are incredibly aggressive for their small size, but I love ‘em, anyway.

This turkey vulture had only a minor scrape on one wrist but couldn’t seem to fly. Given that she had been observed walking around the finder’s yard, going from door to door, Steve & I suspect imprinting. He’s still evaluating her behavior, which swings between normal wild and way too tame.

This adult red shoulder was taken from a couple in Coffee County who were rehabbing illegally. The bird is blind in one eye and appears to have severe vision problems in the other, yet these illegal and untrained people told me he was only a couple of days from release. I ended up driving to Coffee County to retrieve the red shoulder and the barred owl I released, after the game warden informed the couple that they had to get the birds to me but they kept coming up with excuses why they couldn’t meet me.  They had the birds in wire cages behind the checkout counter of their store, in plain view of the public, with no perches. They had no flight pen and tested the red shoulder’s readiness for release by holding him by the legs and letting him flap his wings—how he didn’t end up breaking a leg is beyond me. These people were also raising deer in their house and still bottle feeding 5 and 7 month old deer...Obviously, DNR & USFWS were notified and are investigating…

Folks, there’s a reason rehabbers are required to have permits. For one thing, a permit proves that we’ve taken and passed the appropriate exams, have had our facilities pass state and federal inspection, and have vets who are willing to work with us.  It also means that we have the combination of training and hands-on experience to know how to avoid imprinting animals while ensuring that they’re fully prepared for a return to the wild. As I’ve said before, anyone who’s in this for the ego trip won’t last long. What I may have failed to stress is that while they’re feeding their egos, they’re killing or screwing up animals by leaving them ill-prepared for release and life in the wild. I have absolutely no issues with anyone wanting to become a wildlife rehabber—Lord knows we need all the help we can get; for Georgia’s 159 counties, there are fewer than 100 rehabbers, and only a handful of us are licensed for songbirds and/or raptors—but if you’re interested in helping wildlife through rehab, DO IT RIGHT!!!

Now, to end up a slightly less “ranty” note, here’s a story I’m rather pleased to share: On Dec. 13 I received a massively tarred red shoulder—see the photo of this poor bird on intake. I honestly had little hope that I could help him after attempting to bathe him that evening and seeing no results; in fact, I don’t mind admitting that I sat there holding a wet, tarred bird and cried. Not one to give up easily, however, I called Steve Hicks of Bubba & Friends, who admitted he had little experience with tarred birds and suggested I call Kathryn Dudeck of Chattahoochee Wildlife Center. Since she’s located in the metro Atlanta area, we both figured she’d seen her share of tarred birds.  Kathryn was indeed able to offer invaluable aid, and the result is that Tar Baby is now (mostly) Tar-less Baby. Unfortunately, the combination of tar and baths stripped his feathers of their weatherproofing and dried out his skin; in fact, he has one spot where he nailed himself with a talon while struggling during a bath that, while it didn’t become infected, did weaken his already stressed skin to the point that as it continued to dry out, it ripped open, exposing a tendon. We’re treating this and watching it closely. It’s not in an ideal place for sutures, as it’s right at the joint. Also, he refuses to perch consistently, which may be related to this injury or to nerve damage from the hot tar. At the moment, however Tar Baby is eating well and quite vocally paranoid about the mere sight of a human—guess he’s afraid we’re going to try and drown him again, poor fellow. Nearly two weeks of unwilling daily baths will tend to have that effect!

Tar Baby's bath water on Dec. 13.

Tar Baby after his first bath on Dec. 13. Note that there is little difference from his appearance on intake.

Tar Baby on Dec. 15. We can see progress!

Tar Baby on Dec. 19.

Tar Baby on Dec. 22.

Tar Baby's bath water on Dec. 22.

Tar Baby on Christmas Day. Quite a difference, huh?

November was a busy month, even though this is supposedly the “slow” season—well, I guess if you consider that I only had 7 intakes rather than the usual 25-35, it WAS a slow month…And December is already off to a bang, with an adult great horned owl coming in on the third day of the month… “Slow” is a relative term, I suppose…

Almost immediately after the November update, LWR received a juvenile black vulture who’d gotten caught in the razor wire at a nearby prison. Her foot was badly slashed but otherwise she was in pretty good shape, all things considered. Yeah, I know—you’re thinking, “A vulture?? A buzzard?? WHY would anyone rehab a buzzard????

Well, stop and consider the valuable service they provide: much like your intrepid rehabber, they clean up other people’s messes. Of course, where I try to compensate for general human stupidity (GHS), vultures benefit from GHS, as roadkill provides an easy source of food for them. And what would we do without them eating carcasses? Ever smelled a dead animal? Imagine that smell multiplied a thousand-fold if vultures didn’t eat roadkill and other dead animals—we’d be up to our eyeballs in rotting carcasses!

Anyway, the first words out of my mouth upon seeing Miss Vulture Babe were, “Damn, you’re ugly!”  I’ll be the first to admit that vultures aren’t the most attractive birds out there, but what they lack in looks, they make up for in intelligence. Miss Vulture Babe was an aggressive little snot during her vet exam—she was quite hungry, as she didn’t get fed until AFTER the vet visit. I learned the hard way that vultures take a long time to digest their food and will quite willingly toss their cookies at the slightest provocation.  Immediately upon arriving home, however, I fed her, and the effect was like flipping a switch. I. FED. HER. Now we were best buds!  Tell me vultures ain’t smart!

And she kinda grew on me while she was with me, too, bless her ungainly little heart. It was especially endearing to walk in and find her sleeping, head tucked on her back. Look at those photos—isn’t she cute?