Some Familiar Faces Return

It is time once again for us to start receiving eastern screech owls by the dozens as concerned residents of Miami and surrounding areas bring them to us at the Miami Science Museum in Coconut Grove. There are numbers listed to the left of this post to guide anyone in South Florida on who to call in the event you find baby birds, owl or otherwise. Most of these centers are extremely busy this time of year and may have important recorded information that may answer your questions or guide you to other resources that may help. Please do not hang up when you hear the recording, we will return your message. For more information on rescuing baby birds, please visit http://www.redhawksister.com/howtorescuebabies.htm If you are not from South Florida, I will be happy to assist you in finding a rehabilitator in your area. Please leave a comment at the bottom of the post.

Eastern screech owls are the most frequently admitted raptor at our center. Last year we saw 80 screech owls, 50 of them being "orphans." But what constitutes an orphan? Many times people rescue a baby bird thinking that there are no parents around, or they are afraid that the parents will "smell the human" on their young and reject it. This is NOT true! Birds have a very poor sense of smell and do not identify their young by smell. In fact, birds will quite often feed a gaping mouth of their own species regardless of whether it is their own. That's why we are very fortunate at the Miami Science Museum.

The adult screech owl, Lucille is not this baby's parent. Lucille is a former patient who has raised well over a hundred babies in the 5 years since my employ at the center. She is an imprint, raised by humans when she herself was a baby. Because of her lack of exposure to her own kind she was unequipped to survive in the wild. The parenting instinct, however, proved to be overwhelmingly natural for her, so she has served her foster lings well, giving them a chance to be returned to the wild in as natural of a behavioral state as possible. The babies are also socialized in an outdoor secluded area with other adults, prior to their release.

You can read more about our orphaned screech owl program at http://www.redhawksister.com/screechowl_rehab.htm

Taking a break

I just thought I'd take some time out from the madness of the rehabilitation side of my work. This is a shot of Jefferson, our resident Golden Eagle. He is retired from being handled on the glove so he must find other ways of occupying his time. As I drove into work one day, I noticed a lot of the hedges were trimmed along the side of the parking lot. My co-worker Sonia collected them up and made an offering to him. It didn't take long until he was happily plucking, or rather destroying the branches. We are not really sure if he is performing some type of nesting behavior or simply venting some hormonal frustration. It is after all, the beginning of the nesting season down here.

More Happy Endings

There was a lot to celebrate this past week as we were able to release 3 more birds including this cooper's hawk pictured just before release at the local zoo where she was found. Note the long tail that extends well beyond the long slender legs and toes. The cooper's hawk belongs to a family of raptors called accipiters. These high strung raptors prey mostly on other birds, but also small mammals. Because of these tendencies they are widely persecuted by keepers of domestic birds, especially pigeon breeders and racers. If you have read any of my previous entries, you know what a strong dislike I have for these individuals. I have seen it over and over this year and it is absolutely heartbreaking to imagine the hatred these individuals have for these magnificent birds. I have comforted many individuals that brought these birds to our center when they learn of the nature of these injuries. I appreciate those of you who share my outrage and I urge you to spread the word. The following link shows the depth of this problem. Please share this with others. The only way it will stop is if people realize the extent of the killing, and that is not just a group of mischievous children. These are adults who profess themselves to be animal lovers. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BQY/is_11_53/ai_n20512695.

Speaking of shooting victims? Remember this dark phase short tailed hawk? It was admitted to our center back in December, after being shot through the wing. You can go back and view the xray under the posting "Rare and Beautiful Patient." These birds are rare sightings and many years we don't see any. This year however, we saw 4 and sadly this one is the only one to recover from its injuries. It is already banded, but will be fitted with a transmitter so that researchers can learn more about this elusive bird found only in South Florida and further down into Central and South America.




Finally, we also released a broadwing hawk that was found unable to fly. We suspected trauma, but quickly changed our opinion as the bird quickly began to deteriorate, displaying symptoms of toxicity. Luckily we were able to treat it in time and it made a full recovery in a short three weeks. It was released back in the neighborhood in which it was found, much to the delight of the retired couple that showed up to watch its happy return.

Double your pleasure-two vultures released

Two turkey vultures were released this week only a couple of miles from downtown Miami. Why might you ask do we release them there? Simple, that's where they spend their days in the winter. I regularly watch them go back and forth over the Museum at the beginning and toward the end of the day. From time to time we see them flying really low and you can often see their eyes checking you out as they swoop in low to see if they can figure out why all of those birds are down there.

Turkey vultures migrate in large numbers for the winter and fill our skies until spring. Although seemingly sinister to some, they are shy creatures and do not prey on live animals, but prefer to fulfill the role of nature's garbage men. Some may consider them ugly and unappealing, but to see a vulture in flight is truly a majestic sight for me at least.

These unfortunate two were admitted last week after becoming trapped inside an atrium on the roof of a condominium. Thankfully, they only suffered trauma as a result of their predicament and just needed a few days and a few good meals before they were again ready to soar above the high rise buildings in downtown.

Vultures are extremely tough and resilient creatures, but we must treat them quickly as with any bird that needs help. Bird bones are hollow and heal twice as quickly as mammal bones. Delayed treatment can result in an injury that cannot be fixed. Birds will not remain on the ground as a general rule unless feeding. Please report any bird that has been on the ground for more than a couple of hours to your local wildlife rehabilitator.

Update on shot cooper's hawk

Unfortunately the news is not good. As you can plainly see, there is a pellet lodged in the chest of this bird. The other metal that shows up in this xray are the surgical staples that were used to temporarily close the hole. This bird was transferred to Folke Peterson Wildlife for surgery. Dr. Beth Hirschfeld performed the surgery and was able to dislodge the pellet which was putting undo pressure on the bird's lungs, accounting for the respiratory symptoms we had already seen. The bird went into respiratory arrest shortly after the pellet was removed and died. Such a shame that such an incredibly beautiful bird was lost to the world because of such a thoughtless and cruel act.