LWR ended April with 52 intakes, and there have been 11 intakes for May as of last night. I have no idea how many that makes for the year; the last total I remember is 89, but that was in late April. This update has been 10 days in the making, as there’s just not enough time during the day—one round of feedings barely ends before the next begins—and I edit all night to support those frivolous little habits I have like keeping a roof over my head.

That said, there are a lot of photos in this update, so I’ll keep text to a minimum. My “sermons” don’t do any good anyway, as the collection plate stays empty!
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Lost one of the former pinky squirrels to unknown causes; the other two are looking great, if they’ll ever figure out the solid food thing…
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The three mockers from last update were euthanized after they began massive failure to thrive. Sometimes there’s no logical reason for failure to thrive. These poor babies went downhill fast and it was kinder to call it and end their suffering.

The Eurasian collareds have been released and are still hanging around; I see them every couple of days.
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The brown thrasher whose chances looked poor was also released last week, after spending a week in the flight pen. Yep, he recovered from the loss of function in both legs and showed no sign that he’d ever had a problem—sometimes we DO have miracles in rehab!

Mr. Thrasher had pen-mates prior to his release: another brown thrasher and 3 mockers, transferred to LWR from another rehabber in extreme South GA who’s not licensed for birds. They have also been released.
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She also sent 3 wood ducks.
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LWR has received 2 additional possums, both of whom are doing great. I also found out that the weight issue was the source of my woes with all the possums I Iost: according to a leading rehab manual, possums under 20 grams have little chance of survival and should they make it, their immune systems will be compromised. This manual recommends euthanasia for possums under 20 grams, and all of the ones I lost were under that baseline weight. I was fighting a losing battle from the get-go. That’s me: queen of lost causes…
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This cardinal is adorable. I love their bulgy eyes when they’re young! He wasn’t too happy to be brought to LWR, but after a couple of feedings, he decided I was his new bestest friend and is happily awaiting his turn in the flight pen.
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Currently, a mourning dove occupies the flight pen; I won’t put smaller birds in with doves. Despite their iconic status as birds of peace, doves are actually quite aggressive and will sometimes peck holes in the skulls of smaller birds, killing them.
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This nestling chickadee didn’t make it, but he was so darned cute! Look at how tiny he was—that’s a quarter he was sitting next to. He’d fallen from the nest and while there was no apparent injury, he did have trouble pooping and after his death, his featherless little belly looked like something had ruptured, possibly from the straining to poop. 
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This little fawn was kidnapped and treated like a family pet for a week before being brought to LWR. He’s being “deprogrammed” now so maybe he’ll have a chance at the wild life he was intended to live. For the record, people, unless you see the doe dead, LEAVE HER BABY ALONE!  A doe will nestle her fawns in a safe place while she grazes nearby. She’s probably less than 100 yards away, hidden in the brush and watching helplessly as you kidnap that baby, and she’ll continue to return to where she left her wee one for a week, calling the baby you kidnapped.  DON’T KIDNAP HER BABY!!!
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Finally, we have a nest of baby Eastern bluebirds. Feral cats killed both their parents (see last update for my rant on that), and the couple who found the remains of the parents still waited to make sure that both dead adult birds were in fact the parents of these babies. Once they were positive the parents weren’t returning, they contacted LWR. This was absolutely the right thing to do, and I wish more people would follow their lead. 

Here are the “blues” on April 29, a day after intake…
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…Two days later, on May 1…
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May 3…
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May 5…
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May 8…
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And here’s one of the babies using my finger for a perch yesterday, May 9. Sadly, I also lost 2 of the “blues” yesterday. There was no real warning: one was checking out that morning and the other was packing his bags and had checked out by nightfall. This is one of those frustrating instances where the birds seem perfectly healthy and happy at their last feeding one night and are dead or dying by the next morning. I’ve had it happen before, and it never gets any easier to deal with, because there’s no rhyme or reason behind it.
Also had a mallard duckling come in last night with injuries from a dog attack; he didn’t survive the night, poor baby.

Special thanks to new LWR volunteer Christian Lee, who stepped in and picked up a couple of birds for me Saturday; he and his wife Jennifer have offered their services as needed, and I do appreciate the help this time of year!
 


Comments

James
05/10/2010 8:38pm

The squirrels are looking good. Sorry to hear one of them left us. Thanks for all that you have done.

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Vonda
05/10/2010 9:08pm

Thanks! I hate losing the third baby, but he just refused to respond to treatment. These two little ones should be good to go in about a month.

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