The intake total is now at 2005.
The rate of arrivals is starting to taper off, probably in preparation for the next wave of "second clutches"! The Orphan Care area is still very busy, but the Medical Services and Daily Care folks are also working long and hard, especially given the heat (thanks again to Johanna for the new A/C unit!!) The black hole that was the area above the freezer room and the mouse house was renovated this week, and two of our rehabbing eagles are improving! Here's the story...
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A great diversity of animals are in our care, from the many doves, quail, mockingbirds, and other back-yard birds to a few different species of woodpeckers, owls and other raptors, to an injured baby jackrabbit, all get loving care. This year's OC staff is one of the best ever and along with the Daily care folks and the people in Med Services are giving as many birds as possible a second chance at life.
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Among the many adult (or at least non-juvenile) birds to arrive lately is a roadrunner with an apparent back injury. Although he can beat the coyote, cars are a bit harder to out-run. And then we got a visit from a bird that gets a lot of the "WOW! What is THAT?!" type of reaction - a yellow-billed cuckoo. He also presents what appears to be some kind of spinal involvement, but he is making incremental progress so keep your fingers crossed for both of these guys.
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One day last week, Joe and Max spent almost 8 hours cleaning out the area over the freezer room and the "mouse house." In 100+ degree weather, they shoveled out hundreds of pounds of, er, "stuff" (rat and pigeon droppings...) along with some other equipment that was saved over the years but never found useful. Then on Saturday, BSA Troop 648 showed up and reworked the entire area, putting down new plywood paneling and installing wire screening to keep the wildlife out. It was one of the most impressive Scout projects we've seen as all the boys pitched in and worked in the heat along with their adult leaders to complete the task at hand. Nice job, Troop 648!
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Two of the three eagles now in rehab are doing remarkably well. The golden that came down from up north is flying very well as is the young bald with the broken wing (see TW@L 2/8/2010 and 3/8/2010) They are in adjacent flight enclosures and are getting close to being released - assuming they pass their final physicals and demonstrate acceptable flying skills. The other bald eagle, with the broken pelvis, is also doing well and also might be returned to her nest soon!
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We all knew there was a gopher snake living behind the chair at the eagle feeding station. You could see him sometimes moving along the gravel or poking his head out from the hole he was using. But last week he shed his skin (a periodic happening with all snakes) as he was either entering or leaving the den, and it was found intact. Stretched out, it is almost 6 feet long from the tip of it's tail to the end of it's nose. I wonder why we still have a rodent problem...?
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One of the only baby harris' hawks this year - so far!
Last week Jan was remarking that we haven't seen any baby harris' hawks this spring. Then on Saturday, this little guys showed up, cute as can be, but with a broken leg! He fell quite a distance from his nest and the result was a fractured tibia tarsus. The good news is that the break is in a very good spot for repair and this morning (Monday) he went to Dr.Driggers for surgery. Hopefully I'll have an update next week!
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