Still runnin'...

Hey ya’ll,

Sonny, the beautiful Red-tailed hawk that was scooped off the grounds of the governor’s mansion will not be releasable. Her coracoid and clavicle are completely displaced and so she can’t gain height going straight up. The radiograph looks like mashed potatoes where the shoulder bones should be, but cosmetically, she’s perfect except for the part of her cere that is missing from the attack. Her sinus might be compromised on that side too, since she sort of honks like a goose. She sure is pretty, though!

Sonny


As many of your know, Scully, my elderly Screech owl moults his entire head during the month of August. God bless ‘em, he looks like the moths has gotten hold of him, but it’s only for a couple of weeks, then he’s back to his beautiful self!

Now, don’t you laugh! Of course, it didn’t help that he has just taken a shower when I snapped this…

Scully


And what my baby normally looks like – THAT’s more like it!


My former hubby called Monday for some help with a Red-shoulderd hawk that he rescued at a golf course that he frequents. (See, the poor guy can’t get away from me!) And Steve’s horribly allergic to poison ivy and oak, so he’s probably sitting in the doctor’s office right now waiting for a shot of pred! The radiograph was negative, but the bird has a huge bruise on his back near the base of his tail and he cannot stand or use his legs. He can twitch his tail, so I know he isn’t paralyzed. When birds are in this down condition, you have to cut up their food in tiny pieces and hand feed them. You have to prop them up too, because they have to be able to push their head down to swallow the food. It’s messy and frustrating for the bird and time consuming for me, but there you have it… Also, I had to de-maggot him three times, which is gross beyond words. My wonderful doc at Loving Hands AH in Alpharetta dosed him with Ivermectin which will kill any parasites he might have AND kill the baby maggots that are on the inside. The ones on the outside are another matter that I have to take care of. Hopefully, they are all hatched out and over with because I hate those little buggers with every fiber of my being.

This pic is of his right nictitating membrane covering his eye as I approach with the forceps. This is a protective measure on his part because he’s thinking, “This fool’s gonna poke my eye out!”


All settled into his little donut after the feeding.


I met a couple of really cool ladies the other day who brought me a Kestrel that had apparently flown into the side of a building at Berry College and knocked herself senseless. This is a female, ’09 hatch American Kestrel. They are one of the few raptors that are sexually dimorphic, in that there is a color difference between the sexes. You will hardly ever see this little guys, so she was one lucky little bird to have hit the ground where she did. They are so cute, but have the hateful Linda Blair, head spinning, pea soup puking personality. Making friends with these ungrateful creatures is impossible! I pray she gets well soon!

She looks all sweet here because she’s still addled from the impact…


THIS is more her style… “Come any closer and I’ll tear your head off!”


I have more cases and cool pics to share with you, but this one has gone on long enough. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog….m.



Monteen McCord
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