Back to routine

Yes, I'm back to doing the routine things here at IBR. That included making a 165 mile round trip last night to Worland to pick up this handsome immature male Cooper's Hawk. ANDY was found behind one of the schools in town and was rescued from some young boys torturing him with a stick. Luckily the cops were called and they gathered him up. Hopefully after explaining to the boys that what they did was a federal offense.

When I got to the police department I found they had done a wonderful job in taking care of him. The bad news is that he appeared to be totally blind. You'll notice his blank stare. I think he hit one of the windows in the school and has suffered a concussion. Today I took him in to Dr. Blessing for an eye exam but had noticed earlier this morning he appeared to have regained some sight, more so in his left eye than right. Now there is hope for his recovery but only time will tell if he has enough sight in both eyes for release.

California dreaming.....

Wow! OMG! Awesome! Brilliant! Amazing! These are some of the words to describe the 10 day vacation I just returned from. I went to visit my friend, Jenny Papka, at the Native Bird Connections in Orinda. She has received five birds from me in the past seven years so I was able to see them too.

This is FIONN, a leucistic Red-tailed Hawk I received with a broken wing. She's now one of Jenny's most distinctive school birds.

We did a lot of driving, sat for awhile in traffic which is normal for that area (near San Francisco) but not for me. We visited the Oakland Zoo thanks to a friend of Jenny's. Kristin works at the zoo and got permission for us to go in the back and make a dream of mine come true. I got to meet an elephant. His name is OSH, he's a 14 year old African bull elephant and looking very large to me. John and Jessica, elephant handlers assured me he would grow another two feet.

(above) me touching OSH's foot. (below) feeding him banana pieces, he was very gentle.

OSH standing behind John, myself and Kristin. Note his size....

We also visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the California Academy of Science and had a lot of fun on an amazing zip line. I've included just a few of the photos from those trips and may post more in the future. Don't want to bore you with "What I Did On My Summer Vacation" photos.

l-r: Jenny, Matt, Susan and Sue. Sue Honeywell and her son Matt were just two of the group doing the zip line. Everyone was a lot of fun to be with. The other photos show how long one of the lines was and one of two suspension bridges we also had to walk across.

Standing in the Pacific Ocean, in Yosemite (before we were told to leave) with El Capitan and Half Dome behind us and in front of one of the Giant Sequoias. Talk about tall.

Not a toy....

No, this isn't a stuffed toy, it's a baby Spectacled Owl just getting his grown up feathers. He lives at the Toucan Ranch in Costa Rica in the care of Leslie. She started out rescuing toucans and an occasional sloth but has recently been getting in quite a few raptors. This baby is the latest. Isn't he just the cutest thing?

HARRY away

Thanks to Cynthia and John Kendrick I have a photo of DIRTY HARRY flying away over Dome Lake. This was an amazing release and I'm glad to have this record of the event. Harry can be seen to the left of the large tree in the center of the photo. I didn't crop it down as I wanted everyone to see what an awesome place this bird lives in. There are two large lakes there and since his release there have been sightings of bald eagles. Hopefully one of them was good old HARRY.

Thank you

To Rebecca, Michelle and Joanie for donating the feed I use for my birds. Because of the variety of raptors who come to IBR I need a variety of food items too. I use only a natural diet for these magnificent birds of prey.

Free at last

Some good news this time. Baby CLARK, a Swainson's Hawk who was found in a field up on Sunlight Ranch flew away this morning. She was banded by Dr. Charles Preston and then driven to the nest site of a pair of Swainson's Hawks. They weren't in evidence when we were there but are in the area.

These birds spend their winters in South America and start staging for that migration the end of September. As she's never made the trip, she's only about five months old, she needs a guide. Hopefully she'll have a successful trip and be back here next year. Thanks Chuck for again picking just the perfect release site for one of my rehabilitated birds.

Isn't she cute?

Well I think so. Her name is CHARM and I made a trip down to the other side of Thermopolis to pick her up. I say her but don't know if that's correct. She was found by Tony in his yard not able to fly. I think her wings are just fine but legs, not so much. She has a weak left leg and a bad wound where her right leg attaches to her body. She's been down long enough for flies to blow that wound so I had to deal with cleaning the maggots out of it. A lot of them but newly hatched so not very big.

She'll go in tomorrow to have xrays and see just what damage has been done to her body. Hopefully it's just bruising and will heal quickly. The open wound will have to be sutured and she's already on antibiotics. That wasn't fun getting one down her as vultures are very accomplished in vomiting. I'll update her story as soon as I get more information.

UPDATE: Sad news again. The wound was so severe it was almost into her abdominal cavity. And her pelvis was fractured, her left foot didn't work at all. She was euthanized this morning. Her body will go to the natural history museum here in Cody for use in educational programs.

Number five.....

Eagles now here at IBR, that is. This ones name is TREY, I know that means three. He's the fourth Bald Eagle to arrive here within the last few weeks but number three still here. One of them, DIRTY HARRY, was released back where he was found. And again, I made the three hour drive to Sheridan to pick TREY up at the game & fish office. I was very lucky in not being slowed down by tourists making the long, steep climb up the mountains and thru the Big Horn National Forest.

I don't know what's going on with the eagles in that area. This is an adult male but he's at least three or more pounds lighter than he should be. He's so weak he didn't hold his wings up to his sides, they just hung down as if he's exhausted. I've given him some fluids and critical care food through a stomach tube and will do that every four hours or so during the night. He's perching better now. I'll also have some tests run to see if we can pinpoint the problem

UPDATE: He's gone. He fought a good fight but he was too far down to bring back. Tests revealed he had a coccidia infection, which is in the intestines. He was so far down in weight and condition that even with medication he lost his battle. TREY is the second adult bald eagle from almost the same area to have this problem. He is a beautiful bird and will be missed in the wild world. At least now he's flying high and free, if only in my mind.

Another gold nugget

That's right I've received another Golden Eagle. This one came from the Sheridan area and thanks to Bob Berry she was flown here so I didn't have to make the total of six hours of driving there and back. His family was coming to Cody and the timing was perfect for the bird to come along.

As you can see in this photo, she's wearing a "sandal" on her right foot. For some reason she cannot open and close it. Remember FRANNIE? She had this in both feet and it ended up to be a very bad case of lead poisoning. A blood sample on this young female, FANCY, is on its way to the state vet lab for similar testing.

In the meantime she's started her chelation therapy and is wearing this footwear to keep her toes in a normal open position. As with FRANNIE, she will graduate to "toe shoes" as soon as possible. In the meantime she's eating all I've given her and seems to be okay in this stressful situation.

UPDATE: The lab results are back and she does NOT have lead poisoning. Thank goodness as she now won't have to endure the six shots a day any longer. Of course now I don't have a reason for her foot clenching but perhaps it's some injury that will work itself out given time and the bracing she's wearing.

I almost forgot......

When I was driving towards Sheridan a week or so ago to return the bald eagle to his territory I came upon an amazing sight! As I just about got to the top of the mountain and was going around a curve I spotted a Mountain Lion crossing the road in front of me. It hesitated for a moment, looked my way and then melted into the brush alongside the road.

That was awesome! I've never seen a lion in the wild so was very excited to be able to spot this beautiful creature. It was the icing on the cake to a day of joyful events.

Awesome visitors

The past couple of weeks has been very interesting here. As I was driving down my road I caught a flash of bright yellow/orange out of the corner of my eye. Luckily the adult male Bullock's Oriole stopped on sagebrush so I could get a good look at him through my binoculars. Brilliant bird. Then a couple days later, as I was pulling up to my front gate, I saw three unusual birds in my trees. Turns out they are female Bullock's. I immediately put out some cut oranges for them in case they came back. They must have, the oranges are gone so I have to put more out.

Then on Tuesday, as I was driving away from my place, a large bird flew off the top of one of my power poles. I thought it was a local redtail but after seeing the wing shape I stopped the truck and got out my binocs again. This time it was an adult Peregrine Falcon, the first one I've seen around here. S/he spent some time sitting on a fence post just watching the world go by.

And then there was the two osprey flying around and landing on power poles as I came back home from the Wednesday CSA. And a very rare sight these days, about two dozen nighthawks soaring all over about a mile from my house. They only eat when they're flying so apparently some sort of bug hatch was taking place.

It's always thrilling to see new species in the area, makes life more interesting.

More new residents

I got a call from the local animal shelter on Saturday about a hawk someone had brought in. It's only a couple miles from my house so I immediately drove over there and found waiting for me a beautiful immature Swainson's Hawk. He was found in a field at the Sunlight Ranch in Clark either unwilling or unable to fly.

I can't see anything wrong other than he's very thin and hungry. He's been eating all his meals and should be strong enough to go into a flight area by this coming weekend. Then it's a matter of finding out if he is strong enough so he can be released back to the wild.

These birds spend the winters in South America and as this is probably a baby of 2012 he's at least lived longer than 80% of baby birds. Perhaps the return flight just took too much out of him so all he needs is some good groceries and he'll be all set.

The second new arrival is another baby Golden Eagle. I think this is a female and she came from Buffalo. Thanks to USFWS person, Pauline Hope, she was taken care of overnight and driven here this morning. Xrays will confirm my suspicion of a dislocated right elbow. If that is the case, Dr. Blessing will have to make the decision on how to repair the damage. I don't know if she'll fly well enough for release but she will make an awesome educational bird if that's not possible.

UPDATE: Not a dislocated elbow. Xrays show a mid-shaft fracture of her right humerus. Bad news is that the break happened at least a month ago and is now solid and can't be rebroken for repair. All her joints in that wing work just fine but because her wing is now crooked she won't ever fly again. She's very thin so until she's gained the necessary weight she won't be put up for placement. I know she'll be brilliant on a fist as an avian ambassador.

Away

At 10:40 this morning ROXANNE flew off to begin the rest of her life. She came to IBR on December 7th last year after being hit by a car near Meeteetse. Luckily a gentleman came along right after it happened, gathered her up and called me. She had a mid-shaft fracture of her right humerus. The surgery to repair that break was on 12/11 and then the long healing process began.

She spent some time in a smaller mew then on February 19th of this year she went into the large eagle flight barn for needed exercise. It took a while but by May she was flying high enough and strong enough to make it to the tower at one end of the barn. Then in June she made it all the way to the high wall perch!

Today she flew off with strength and determination so I have high hopes she will become a very accomplished bird of prey, find a mate, if she wants one, and raise beautiful babies.

So thin.....

His name is DOVE because he's dark chocolate. This very awesome male baby Golden Eagle came to me this afternoon thanks to the USFWS driving him all the way to Cody from Lander. He was found in an oil field there barely able to walk. He's only about four months old and should weigh around eight pounds. He weighs just four pounds 14 ounces!

At this point it's an hour by hour struggle to keep him alive. He's had one feeding of fluids and will continue to receive them every four hours. The first one was straight Lactated Ringers, the second one in a few minutes will have 5% dextrose added. Then, if he's still alive I'll add some AD critical care food to the fluids. It's a thick pudding consistency and will be diluted somewhat so it will go through the stomach tube.

Keep your fingers crossed and your good thoughts on this very sick little baby. Thank you.

SAD NOTE: Baby DOVE died last night. His body will be sent to the WY State Vet Lab for an autopsy and testing for WNV.

Jammies R Us

My friend Sara has a Chinese Crested dog who is naked except for head, feet and tail. For whatever reason it's what the breed almost always looks like altho there is a variety with long hair all over. Because he has to stay warm in the cold weather and shaded in the hot sun I've made him some jammies to wear. The top photo is his newest pair, cotton for the summer. The red ones, as well as a couple others, are made of fleece.

The summer pair has a print on them in case he wants to be one with the trees. His others are the red ones when he's feeling like having a fun day, a zebra print for when he's in a wild mood and camo when he's out in the woods.

Small package

His name is TEENY TIM. This beautiful little bird is a Prairie Falcon weighing only nine ounces, much too little for his species, sex and age, about four months old. As you can see he has a bandage on his right wing as it may be broken. He goes in today for xrays. I got him from Diane, in Gillette, as she is now retired but someone forgot to tell a local vet. TIMMY was dropped off at the office but unfortunately no information on him was left there. When Diane got him he was so weak he couldn't stand. She gave him fluids and got up every four hours to give him some boneless/skinless rat pieces along with the fluids.

He is much better after only two full days of good food. He is strong enough to get up onto his perch and is taking the boneless/skinless pieces of quail that I hand him with forceps. This afternoon I may give him the quail carcass to pick on by himself to see if he is strong enough for that.

UPDATE: The xrays showed a fractured radius/ulna in his right wing near the elbow. Because of his weakened state the surgery to repair the breaks will have to wait until at least the beginning of next week. In the meantime he is now ripping and tearing his own food off the bones of quail and small mice.

New roomies

I made an extended journey yesterday to Sheridan to release one bald eagle and hand over one long-eared owl to Diane from Gillette. At the same time she brought me two more eagles, a redtail and a prairie falcon. The two eagles are seen in this photo on the ground as they are here for further exercise after having their broken wings repaired.

The one on the left is MACK (for the name of the truck that hit her), on the right is DITTO, a four year old, as she's apparently just as mean and nasty as a former patient, PRISCILLA. DITTO was not only broken when the vehicle hit her, she also suffered pain when someone came along before the game and fish person arrived and pulled out all her tail feathers. They tried for the wing feathers too but they were very well attached so they were only broken. She now has replaced all the tail feathers, just the primary wing feathers to go.

There will be further photos of ROXANNE, up on the wall perch, as she's going to be released this week. She's not too sure about these strange colored roommates but they all seem to be working it out.

Back to mom

On my finger waiting for take-off

I thought he'd take off from a branch so put him on this one and waited....

He decided he needed a higher perspective.

He finally took the plunge and flew to the top of a very large tree after a long and strong flight.

I only had him for a week but McVEY is now back at his nest tree site. His original problem was coming out of his nest cavity a bit early and ending up caught near an air conditioner. Luckily he was seen and brought to my attention. I took him back to below his nest for release but as you can see from the photos, it didn't go as planned.

And another ?????

I don't know what's going on with the bats around here but I just got two more in, both had been caught by cats. The top photo is of what is now called a Canyon Bat, aka. Western Pipistrelle. According to the books they are desert dwellers and aren't found any where near the state of WY. Of course I haven't found any animal who's read the books. He's also the smallest bat found in the US. As you can see, the quarter isn't that much smaller. Unfortunately he was very damaged and had to be euthanized.

The lower photo is one I just got today and is also damaged but may be repairable. I'm not sure the species yet, I've sent photos to my bat mentor at Bat World in TX. I'm awaiting her advice.

Another kestrel baby

This is McVEY, a young kestrel who thought it was time to leave the nest but it wasn't. He was found caught in the tubing outside a large air conditioning unit near a home in Wapiti. We found the nest tree but the cavity was so high up it would take a bucket truck to get him back to it.

There was another baby peeking out the cavity opening but was smart enough to stay put for now. At this point McVEY has a sore leg and isn't strong enough to go back home so he'll stay here for a few days until I feel he's ready to be returned to his parents. He's very teeny but in excellent condition so it shouldn't be long.

Three more

These three baby sparrows came here as naked chicks and are now living in the big wild world outside. I know, the worlds doesn't necessarily need more sparrows but they were found inside a hole in cut down tree. These babies are very demanding when they want their food and are really cute. They may or may not make it through this first summer but at least they're getting a chance to live as they should, wild and free.

Happy Birthday to you ! ! !

Well, it's actually tomorrow but these two cats will be 16 years old. I got them from a neighbor back when we estimated them to be about 3 1/2 weeks old. They had been stuffed into a paper bag and left next to their car at the local ball fields. When they came back from getting a snack they discovered a moving bag. As their cats would have probably killed them she thought of me. I did have one other cat at the time but she accepted the little things.

I can't imagine my life without these cats, they have brought such joy into my life. MUFFIN, in her favorite spot in the sun is laying on a beautiful rug given to me by my friend Susan as she knows I like elephants. SISTER was caught by the camera as she was walking across the kitchen floor, probably to go to her favorite napping spot on the couch back.

You talking to me?????

His name is DIRTY HARRY, I think he's about five or six years old, and was found near a lake in the Cloud Peak Wilderness Area which is inside the Big Horn National Forest. He was on a private piece of land, deeded back in the 1880s, and is now an exclusive club.

HARRY was seen for a week in the same spot so they finally called the Sheridan office of the WG&F to come get him. As Garrett Point was on call this weekend and couldn't leave the area I ended up driving the three hours to their office to retrieve him. At this point I can see nothing wrong other than he's starving. And why that is I don't know because the lake has fish and he's old enough to be successful in catching them.

I will take him in for blood tests and any other test we can think of to do. Garrett did an awesome job taking care of him overnight, feeding him some cubed antelope steak from his own freezer and making sure he was protected. Now that Diane is retired I feel I'll be making more trips that direction in the future.

Big change

I found out today that HER name is YODETTE. That's right, my little bat baby is a female. And here's a photo of her emulating her elders. It's a t-shirt I got when vacationing in CA and stopped at the Richardson Grove State Park. Hopefully she's read all the advice and will take it to heart.

Growing bigger

Here's a photo of YODA taken today. He's been here two weeks and is, as close as can be determined, about three weeks old. He's still on formula, hopefully I'll be able to start adding cut up mealworms to his diet in the next couple of weeks.

It's very interesting having such a tiny bat in my care. I'm too deaf to hear his echo-locating squeeks but friends say he's quite vocal when I get him out to feed. At least he's down to one feeding during the night so I'm getting more sleep. He's also finally growing hair, his tummy has lots of blond coming in. More pictures as he continues growing.