Quick recovery

This is POTTER, an immature Swainson's Hawk found near death in Douglas. Thanks to Willow Hibbs, WGF, he was saved. Also thanks to Erika Peckham, another WGF biologist who volunteered to transport this baby to Diane Morse in Gillette. Diane performed her usual miracle and saved the young birds life. She not only gave him fluids every three hours, she took him along with her on a trip to Rapid City so he wouldn't miss his treatment.

I met Diane in Tensleep this morning to transfer POTTER to IBR for further treatment and a chance to be returned to the wild. He'll be here for some time just gaining needed weight and strength in my flight barn. In the meantime, he's eaten a half a skinned rat on his own and has a feisty attitude.

POTTER today after eating his rat, six days after the above photo. Note the glare in his eye, not sad any more.

He's successfully flown away

I got SWITCH in on July 19th after he and a sibling were probably hit by a vehicle at the north end of the Wind River Canyon. The other hawk was killed but not this handsome young male. He got his name because I was told they were bringing me a young golden eagle, a "really young golden eagle". Because of the many times that phrase was used I began to think it meant it was a "really small eagle" so I took a hawk hood along.

Sure enough, by the time the officer and I met in Meeteetse the bird switched into a young Red-tailed Hawk. He must have had a slight concussion as he wasn't quite right but he recovered quickly and began eating his rats the next day.

He proved he could make live kills so it was time for him to be released. I opted to take him to where another baby redtail had been found up in Sunlight at the Elk Creek Ranch. ECHO didn't make it but the area is excellent habitat for these hawks so SWITCH is filling the niche made vacant by ECHO's dying.

Thanks to Susan and Hap Ridgway and other family members, SWITCH had quite an audience for his return to the wild.

Furry, not feathers

The nest is actually my 50+ year old raccoon coat collar. Sure makes for a great foster mom.

As I was driving up to Sunlight to release a hawk I received a call from Powell about a baby squirrel they found in their front yard. There were no other babies and neither parent was seen. After driving an hour north of Cody I then drove a half hour east to pick up this little cutie. She's getting hair but her eyes aren't open yet. I've contacted my squirrel expert in CA to find out just what to do. So far she's okay.

Another first

Every time I think I've received most of the bird species found here I get a new one. This is a Common Poorwill, one of a group called nightjars. I have no idea why they're called that other than they feed just before dark and mostly when flying. We've had a chilly spell here and this is one of just a few birds capable of going into a torpor state to conserve energy when it's cold. In fact this species goes into what's almost a hibernation where the heartbeat and respiration drop dramatically for as long as it takes the weather to warm up.

I will be taking this young bird back to where it was found as I know I don't have any around here and it will need the mentoring and guidance of its peers and parents.

Hurt young falcon

Lynn George showed up at my door this afternoon saying he'd found a hawk on the side of the road near his home. My breath caught when I saw the bird, it's an adult male Peregrine Falcon and he's so awesome. Unfortunately he has a fractured left wing which is why he has it bandaged in the photo.

The bad news is that it's Saturday afternoon and I can't get him in for an xray until Monday morning. He's in good weight and certainly has an attitude that says "go ahead, try to touch me". I'll post an update when I get it.

UPDATE: Xrays show a fractured radius/ulna near his left elbow joint. It cannot be surgically repaired but as the bones are in good alignment he will be in a support bandage for some weeks to come to see if they will mend well enough for flight. Even if he doesn't fly strong for release he will make an awesome school bird.

Grand Ol' Osprey

That is the headline in the most recent issue of the Cody Enterprise. Now that the article has been printed, I'm able to share the photos of the baby osprey rescued after her parents were murdered. In a post over a month ago is the story of two baby osprey whose rescue was necessary after the loss of the adults.

Thanks to a lot of people the surviving chick was fostered into a nest with two resident chicks. That fostering has been a great success all around.

RMTN lineman, John Berry, and I tried to put the chick into one nest but the resident baby was a couple weeks younger so that wouldn't work as it might put the life of the younger bird in jeopardy. Our chick is wearing a hood to keep her quiet.

The second try at fostering was a huge success. As you can see tho, it took some ingenuity to make it happen. Foreman Steve Lassiter suggested a 6" x 6' tube to help transfer the baby to the nest as the bucket was not quite close enough. Lineman John Berry and I talked it over while 55' up in the bucket and decided to go for it even tho this, as far as I know, has never been done before. John stretched out as far as he could holding the tube. I put the chick, head first, into the tube and then gently pushed her with a padded pole to the nest. She plopped easily into the nest just as planned.

Here is the final result, our chick standing in her new home with the other babies hunkered down as they'd been taught. Dee Oudin has checked the nest often and reports that all three babies are doing well, the adults are feeding them and they should fledge soon.

Cody Enterprise story written by Buzzy Hassrick, photos by Dee Oudin, John Berry and Steve Lassiter. The rescue wouldn't have happened without the nest monitoring by Dee Oudin and her noting the loss of the parents.

Two more gone

OWLBERT

CLARK

As in they flew away. Both CLARK and OWLBERT were released this morning. It is the home territory for the older male, OWLBERT, so he had to be returned there. Because little CLARK has been sharing a flight area and they're always together on the perches, I decided to also release CLARK there too. Also, he's about the same age as the three chicks produced by OWLBERT and his mate this year so he should fit in nicely.

The two birds didn't read my plan as they left in two different directions. The older male flew off to a nearby tree and then, after scouting the area, flew off farther. CLARK was hesitant to come out of the crate but when he did he flew the opposite way, over a large shed and across a hay field. I never saw either of the land.

Unusual patient

This young Belted Kingfisher made one too many dives into a shallow pond. At least that's what I think happened. She was spotted in the water near our library by a young man who then waded out and rescued her. Right now her wings appear just fine but she's having trouble walking around. Their legs and feet are very tiny compared to the size of the bird but they do have to perch on branches above water. At this point she can't.

Just because they eat small fish, minnow sized, I went out and bought some small goldfish. Naturally I also had to buy the pump and tubing so their little container had enough air to maintain them. And then there's the goldfish flake food.

Hopefully she'll make it back to the wild and if so stay away from low water.

UPDATE: This wonderful little bird did not make it. Just too much trauma to overcome.

R.I.P. beautiful YODA

He's gone and I don't know why. This amazing Big Brown Bat baby came to me about six weeks ago and has been doing so well. He was even eating solid food (mealworms) and starting to fly in his little two-man net tent. He ate twice this morning but then suddenly stopped moving much and died just a few minutes ago.

I've only had two baby bats and both have brought such fun into my life, I'm just sorry I failed them. YODA was doing so well that the plan was to release him in a local gated cave where BBB colonize. I will miss him terribly.

Another good day

After spending a few weeks in a smaller mew and then the eagle flight barn, I decided that CARMEL was ready for release. Sara and I drove him to the head of the Clarks Fork Canyon for the big event. He didn't disappoint us at all. I parked on the road above a drop of some distance, opened the crate door and off he went.

I left a bit more of the background so you could see just what an awesome site this is for a baby eagle to live in. Hopefully he'll live a long life and not suffer any more problems.

Oh my what big teeth you have

YODA had his first jaunt in the flight tent I bought for him. He hasn't actually flown yet but did do some stretching exercises while hanging from the top. In this photo he's showing off his super dental work. He's now chomping mealworm pieces as well as nursing on his foam tip full of formula.

He looks ferocious but he loses some of the threat when you realize he's only about as long as my thumb.

In the eyes of the beholder....

And In my eyes vultures are really neat. This is my newest t-shirt promoting them. It is put out by the International Association of Animal Trainers and Educators. I didn't realize there were this many vultures in the world.

Successful capture

I just returned home from a hunt I've never been on before. A gentleman called me because he didn't know who else to contact. He'd seen a spotted mule deer fawn inside a fence and it couldn't get out. Mom easily jumped over but the baby was stuck.

The worst part is that it's around 90 degrees out and the baby had been trapped for at least a couple days. When I got there the fawn was laying down next to a building and looking at the eyes it was in dire straights. Both eyes appeared infected and one ear was hanging down lower than the other one. There also appeared to be damage under its tail as if perhaps a dog had caught it.

I called one of our WGF wardens who came right over and between the three of us and my long handled eagle catching net, it was caught. Craig did a great job snaring the baby. The fawn is now in a crate and on the way to the game & fish office for evaluation. At this point I don't know if it will make it, it's too old to tame down and having its eyes treated many times during the day will be very stressful.