Well let's try this again..........................

This will be the third time I've done this post, so let's hope this one will work and won't disappear when I hit "publish".

There has been a lot going on...............

Maybe I'll do a couple of small posts as to not make this too daunting.




First an update on the Ferruginous hawk nestlings. They are exercising their wings and moving around just like 'big hawks'. I'll post a few pictures of the changes as they have grown.


The oldest is a male and the other a female. Their nest and part of the tree it was on collapsed during a severe wind/rain storm. One adult was found dead several yards from the nest and the other has not been seen. This is very suspicious.







The babies will soon be out in our flight, practicing the flying and learning to kill.
I''m proud of the work we've done. They want NOTHING to do with us and have all their wildness to them.



Moving on, we released our little Screech owl that came to us from Moab. Cute little guy. He did well and kill tested well, so we released him in an area near here. We never did come up with what had happened to him. He seemed a little 'off' for a day or two, but nothing major and no real signs of a concussion. Sometimes we just don't know the story since they aren't talking and usually there are no humans around in these remote areas our patients generally come from, so no witnesses either. I guess this one will remain a mystery.






We are also caring for a litter of three Least Chipmunks. Cute little guys. Feedings every couple of hours. They are just opening their eyes now and their ears are opening as well. I just love the little mammals. SMOOCH! Of course, they are named Simon, Theodore and Alvin. (What did you expect)?! And YOU try to get clear pictures of little Chipmunks.....yeh right!




And finally, Jupiter, our Red-Tail hawk was released. He was found in Sevier county on the
ground and again, no real reason for being down.


We gave him supportive care and once he was a little stronger, started kill testing him and when that went well, sent him on his way in Spanish Fork Canyon. A friend released him. That is Chase holding Jupiter in the picture.





Well, that's all I've got time for right now. I'll try to do another short post here in a few days.

Debbie

What's up in San Juan county?

Here we go again....two more birds in from San Juan county, Monticello again. These two are orphaned due to the death of a parent and then the nest went down with part of a tree during a wind storm. We don't know why the parent hawk is dead. Hopefully we can determine the cause. These are Ferruginous hawk chicks. I've attached pictures. They are a level 2 on Utah's Sensitive Species list.

The chicks are in pretty good shape and about 20 days old. What cuties! There will be a lot of time involved with these little guys and the food, well, that's going to be a big expense for the next several weeks. I'll be posting photo's as they grow so keep checking in.

Fury, our Golden eagle that survived secondary lead poisoning, is now out in our large flight. She is having some minor issues with balance, due to the lead poisoning. Hopefully this will resolve in time. We had to move Hershel, our Turkey Vulture, out of the flight so Fury could go in. He lost some critical feathers on the wing where his surgery took place. These are already growing back, but more time is needed before he can fly, so out of the flight he went. Fury needs to work on getting stronger so the large area is critical for her right now. Don't worry, Hershel isn't confined in a horribly small enclosure; he went from the flight, which is like the luxury suit at a hotel, to the economy room.

We also took in a young Western Scrub Jay that left the nest just a bit early. He's about ready to be released. All of our Starling babies are now released. They are literally spread over several counties. Spreading the DNA around!

Jupiter, our young Red-Tail hawk from San Pete county, is doing a great deal better. Still, not 100% sure why he went down, but I still suspect electrocution. He is eating well on his own and today, mice were added to his diet, again and this time he ate them. Go Jupiter! He's becoming stronger and more aggressive. Remember his feathers were in bad shape so some of them have broken off. Hopefully that is over.

We also have a mystery nestling in our care. He's growing like a weed. Having come in at 6 grams, he is now over 20 grams. Eyes are still closed and only a little down. I'm truely amazed that he survived and is thriving.

It will be wonderful to see what he is but that is still several days (10-15) away. He was found on a sidewalk in Price.

Last, but not least, we have 2 little Robin orphans. Not related, they came from different areas. They're both about the same age so they enjoy each other very much. Cute, cute, cute!

Thanks for checking in........

Debbie

Ugh! Where to begin......

Well I finally have my laptop back. Looks like some of my files are gone forever. Lovely!

It's been a melancholy few days. I stepped out my front door yesterday morning to find a cat had been hit and killed right in front of my house that I had been feeding. There is a cat hoarder two doors down and many of her angels come here looking for food. He was my next neuter project.

The night before, I received a call about another Golden eagle from Monticello. This one had been hit by a vehicle. We met our Moab DWR office, TJ Robertson in Green River, Utah to pick up the bird. I made arrangements for our vet to x-ray the eagle the next morning, so off we went. We also took Fury, the lead poisoning eagle with us for another x-ray.

At this point, she has just finished up two rounds of chelation therapy for the lead remaining in her body. We have had many problems along the way, including her crop stopping as well as the rest of her gastrointestinal tract. We just kept plugging along and we have seen progress, ever so gradually. Yesterdays x-ray showed no more lead! Yay!

There still may be residual lead in her brain or other tissues, so we are not out of the woods yet, but the pieces in her body are now gone. This is HUGE! She has also started eating on her own. Another major hurdle.

The newer eagle, a male was in horrific shape. There was so much trauma that I couldn't do a complete exam. He needed to be put under so as to not feel the pain that a complete exam would have caused him. Once under, the complete picture of the damage was apparent. This magnificent creature had broken bones and a great deal of tissue missing surrounding the broken bones, which would make repair impossible. Nerves, tendons and muscle; all gone.

With a great deal of saddness, we ended his suffering. These times are very emotional, taking even more from us, but no where near was he has lost. It's still difficult thinking about it.

I've included his intake pictures and a couple of shots of the broken bones and pieces from that break. Not only had he been hit, but it was very apparent that he was dragged for some distance. The good samaritan that found Fury out in the alphalfa field in Monticello also found this guy. Thank goodness for Keith and his wife Dee.

We also have released all but one of our orphaned Starling babies. Connie released two today.

Another new patient, a male Red-Tail hawk, is sure puzzling. He came in, found in a field on the ground. His feathers are in bad shape but he has no injuries. His feet have some markings on them that lead me to believe he may have been electrocuted. We're giving him supportive care and force feeding him. He was well fleshed when he came in, indicating he had not been down for long. Mystery.

This work has many rewards and then there are those days when it's very sad and difficult.

They kind of equal themselves out over time.

Debbie

Sad and trying time................

You know, it's so frustrating when you see needless suffering day in and day out. We now have another lead poisoning patient, this time it's an adult female Golden eagle. What a magnificent creature she is. She is an older bird, of course I don't know her exact age, but there are tale-tale indicators that she is older. She's lived through countless situations only to be close to death due to some idiots shooting innocent prairie dogs because they enjoy killing them and then they leave their little bodies lying on the ground, loaded with lead. Numerous predators see this as an easy meal, which it is, but it is also certain death.
I'm so sick of this lead problem. We as a society have known about the problems with lead ingestion for many years. The government forced it's removal from paint in the 60's and yes, there was a fight from the paint industries saying "the paint won't stick to walls without the lead"; well we know that's a load of crap, don't we.
The sports groups along with the NRA, through misinformation and fear are trying to convince (and doing a fine job at it) the regular hunter that the lead issue in hunting, shooting or whatever they want to do, is really about ending the 'rights' to use these weapons. Hogwash. This is no more about stopping hunting than the removal of lead in paint was about ending the rights of painters! We have proof from many studies all over the world that this is a problem and regardless, we all know lead is a problem, when ingested by kids, why wouldn't it be the same in animals as well. IT IS!
I'm also sick of the comments that the copper ammunition is 'too expensive'. Give me a break! It's mere pennies and money isn't the issue here when you're spending thousands of dollars on weapons, equipment and the latest and greatest gadgets for the 'hunt'. Or better yet, that new truck to get you into more remote areas where the animals hide.
To watch an animal die from lead poisoning is absolutely heartbreaking. There is only so much that can be done for these victims and if they are found many days after the ingestion, it's probably too late, but we have to try. The treatment is also very hard on their bodies which are already under assault due to the lead.
Stop using lead ammunition! I just want to scream!

I have no pictures to upload at this time since I'm having to use my husbands computer since mine is at the shop and that is where all my wildlife photo's are.
There are other things, patient wise, going on right now, but this is our main focus.
The Starling babies are all doing well and growing up fast. We have been able to release 4 of them at this point. There are 5 remaining.

Well that's it for now.
Debbie