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.)

 
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.

 
 


Comments

Terry
12/20/2009 7:56pm

I'm SOOO happy the GHO had no broken bones! Thank goodness, huh?! Keep us posted on the Red Tail's seizures! Good vets, expert rehab and Christmas miracles at work right there!

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