Babies, babies, babies...

Hey ya’ll,

I hope everyone had a spiffing holiday. Mine has been spent feeding a plethora of new babies, plus caring for a Barn owl that will never fly again, transplanting tomatoes and other flowers, not to mention mowing in between rain showers. I’m glad as heck I’m not camping this weekend…

Update on Johnson – I cried for two days after I made the decision to find him a new home. While he was an interesting experience, he had completely DESTROYED my pond. What used to be a lush, beautiful thing had been reduced to a mud hole in the Amazon. You look out there and expect to see a rhino coming out of the water. He is now living La Vida Loca at a perpetual care cemetery over in Roswell with about 30 other Canada geese. When I went out to see him, I took the requisite corn, bread and salad. I sat on the edge of the water and although he wouldn’t come to me, every time I yelled out “Johnson!”, he would honk…over and over again. I cried like a fat dog because I felt guilty. But just think how guilty I would have felt had he paddled over to me, jumped in my lap and begged me to take him back home…

Anyway, I still love Johnson. He will always be a part of my life experience…but sometimes, you just have to let go. **sniff-sniff**

Johnson


I am now caring for an American Barn owl that lost the tippy-tip of his right wing somehow, along with all the primaries and all but five secondary feathers on that side. My wonderful doc, David Martinez over at Loving Hands AH, did surgery on him last week to cut away the exposed bone and try to re-articulate the skin. So far, Icabod is a very good patient, which means he isn’t banging around in his crate and bleeding everywhere. They are inherently wild as snakes and so I will move heaven and earth to try to glove train him as a teaching tool. They are so incredibly beautiful…and so different anatomically that they have their own sub-family…Tytonidae.

Icabod


I have released the two young Barred owls and they are hacking beautifully!


A rare shot of them together


Coming in for a landing on the hack board – their life line to survival until they teach themselves how to hunt.

The smallest batch of Red-shouldered hawks this year. Notice the black holes just under the eyes? Those are ears filled with maggots. Ugh. Also take note of the lackluster demeanor of the one on the right. I didn’t know at the time but he had an open fracture on his wing when their nest collapsed and the maggots would be hatching in the middle of the night. I had to take him in the next day and thankfully, Dr. Thompson over at Persimmon Creek AH euthanized him for me. I hate maggots, but they have a job to do, I guess. This is the sucky part of my job, not to mention no rice for me for a few days!

It’s amazing what a difference 2 weeks can make for the surviving bird.


Their older brethren…what juvy RSH’s look like coming and going.


And the lion lays down with the lamb...


I sure am glad those new nerve pills are working for Face… I was beginning to worry about him. Between him and momma, this is why I have a postage stamp size area on the bed left for me… I am here to serve.

Who couldn’t love that “Face” …

Momma looks like she’s been playing in my make-up drawer. Are those actually kitty lips???

Brought to you in part by the Screeching Law Offices of Dewey, Cheatham, Howe and Wynne! To give you some perspective, these little guys are only about 4 inches tall. They’re good eaters…the best three words a rehabber can say.

Grace is so beautiful and kind. I have just applied to add her to my education permit.

Just like the hack board is the life line to my newly released babes, YOU, the reader, are our life line for survival. We rely heavily on your financial support because we can’t do it without you. You would be stunned and amazed how I can stretch twenty dollars. Please consider reaching down and continuing to help us feed and care for the birds. You can go over to www.hawktalk.org and click on the PayPal link for your convenience, or send a check to the address below.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog….m.

Monteen McCord
770-720-1847
POB 130
Holly Springs, GA 30142