Things were very quiet this week, except for a flurry of "coot" activity (three coot calls in two days?). But the intakes were, for the most part, what we'd expect this time of year: mostly what appeared to be first year birds who were having difficulty surviving what the world threw at them. I did get to go along to the X-ray facility and have some interesting shots taken during this process.
One of the coot events last week...
Louise examines a wing while Heidi (holding) and Marika watch.
The first of our coot events came in last week with a wing injury, most likely from involvement with fishing line. If I sound like a broken record on this (or a skippy CD for the younger crowd who don't remember 'records'), fishing line is really bad if left laying around! Louise is a new Medical Services volunteer and got to examine the little guy under the mentorship of Heidi and Marika.
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Beautiful Great Horned Owl
Even our Managing Director got into the Rescue and Transport game last week, bringing in this GHO. His presentation suggests a head injury and he is currently under observation. this is one that needs to be in the gene pool!
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Gorgeous, large Red Tailed Hawk
Carl Price was also on duty this week, bringing in this huge RTH from Paul Halesworth of WildWing. Like the owl above, she is under close observation for possible electrical injury. After receiving fluids and dex, she already is showing slight signs of improvement.
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Young Cooper's Hawk arrives.
A little male Cooper's Hawk was brought in last week, another probable window collision. First year birds are notorious for making mistakes like this and from the color of his eyes, which turn deeper red with age, this little guy is a youngster who hit something while flying.
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A little screech owl gets some fluids from marion.
Tiny talons grip as the injection is administered.
A sad little screech owl was admitted this week, suffering unknown injuries. As always, fluids and dex are the treatment of choice. Keep your fingers crossed for this little guy.
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Injured Peregrine Falcon is positioned for X-rays.
Dr. Wyman and Jan examine the digital picture.
A bad break is uncovered in the image.
The bird is repositioned for a side view (note the red targeting lines).
No more light box, the new digital X-ray machine provides instantaneous results.
Jan and Denise, wearing protective gear, rewrap the broken wing.
A Great Horned Owl is positioned for an X-ray.
Dr. Wyman carefully examines the detailed image.
The new digital technology available for veterinary medicine is nearly mind boggling. X-rays that used to take hours to process are now displayed nearly instantaneously along with a plethora of ancillary data in digital form. All the information is saved to a CD-rom which can remain with the animal's records and can be displayed during subsequent surgery or other treatment. We did three birds in less than an hour last week, thanks to the generosity of Animal Health Services of Cave Creek who volunteer the use of their state-of-the-art machine. This really reduces the stress of this activity on animals already compromised by their injuries.
***Don't forget! This Wednesday, if you go to the California Pizza Kitchen on Scottsdale Rd. just south of Shea, and present your coupon (available via e-mail
at melissah@libertywildlife.org ) between 11am and 9pm, 20% of your bill will be donated to Liberty Wildlife!***
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