The intake total for the year now stands at 2148.
A couple of updates of previous TW@L postings this week, plus lots of herons (babies and adults) and more owls, accipiters, and falcons - the parade continues!
As posted last week, the Boy Scouts did a great job of refurbishing the storage area over the freezer room and the mouse house. With new screening, the area is now off-limits to the many pigeons that hang out at Liberty looking for free food!
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The little harris' hawk that came in last week with the broken leg underwent surgery courtesy of Dr. Driggers. After being fitted with an external fixator, he returned to Liberty and is now recovering rapidly, standing on his repaired leg only two days after the operation.
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Even more beautiful in breeding plumage.
This was the "Week of the heron" as we seemed every other intake was some sort of wading bird. Lots of little green heron babies along with a couple of black-crowned night herons descended on the facility for help. They were all ages and genders, from the tiny and ungainly fuzzy little greens to some BCNH, one in adult breeding feathers. Hopefully we can release them soon as fish are expensive!
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Along with these larger "babies" the little guys in OC are still under the care of the Orphan Care staff who all do their feeding and care shifts again and again, day after day, until each bird can be safely released.
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We took in another couple fledgling screech owls recently. They were mostly healthy, but had no parents to finish their training so they are now out with some older birds who cannot be released. You can tell the youngsters with their light blue eyes from the older birds with yellow irises.
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The little barn owl that hatched in our incubator is now out with foster parents, as is another kid who came in with beautiful dusky feathers. It'll be interesting to see these two when they are older to see what their first year plumage looks like.
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We've gotten in several fledgling accipiters lately. Each year we get calls to "remove" birds like cooper's and sharp-shinned hawks as they will patrol bird feeders and pick off unwary song birds. We always explain the relationship between predators and prey, an example of how nature works if left to operate properly. Education is one of our prime missions.
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An injured peregrine falcon.
I just had to post this shot of one of the beautiful peregrines that's now at the facility. As long as people have been watching birds, this falcon has been special. One of the oldest gods of ancient Egypt - Horus, the God of Kings - had the head of a peregrine. Horus was the "one on high" whose right eye was the sun and whose left eye was the moon.
2 comments:
As usual.....Great posting and stories....Thank You....Art
PHENOMENAL!!!
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