Snow Bunting Released, Northern Cardinal Better, Barred Owl with Fractured Mandible, Volunteers

( Photo: Snow Bunting admitted in early January with a wing fracture was released today.)

It was a busy Saturday, but a beautiful day here in Northern Wisconsin.

We released our beautiful Snow Bunting that came in with a wing fracture in early January. The beautiful visitor from the north, healed well. He was flying so well in fact that he gave Lance and Abby a work out when they tried to catch him up from the flight aviary for his release. I said he was released but that is not quite accurate. While we were taking photos of him just before the release, he grew impatient and decided to exit from my hand before we were ready with the camera. Oh well, the important thing is he is a free bird tonight and will be making the trek back north soon for breeding.


( Photo: Northern Cardinal admitted on Jan 31st was well enough to go into a indoor aviary and out of intensive care.)

The Northern Cardinal in the photo above has done so well. He came in with a dog bite. He has a few serious days in intensive care but turned the corner yesterday and today was so active we tried him in the aviary. He is a little underweight so will remain in an indoor aviary until he gets his weight back to normal range and then will be released. Yea!!

We had some great help when volunteers Joe Krumrie and Abby Ruppert both students from UWSP came up for the day. Both are experienced with raptors and helped do some handling and made some jesses for the education birds. Thanks to both Joe and Abby for their time today. We got a lot of work done and it is always fun to talk to students that are interested in birds.


( Photo: Joe Krumrie works with our Gyrfalcon/Prairie Falcon while Abby Ruppert holds Aries our Broad winged Hawk.)



( Photo: Joe and Abby made jesses for our Screech Owl. Joe puts them on the little guy while Lance holds him.)


( Photo: The handsome Screech Owl has his first lesson in being glove trained.)

This is the same Screech Owl that was shot a few weeks ago. His wing injury was so severe that he will not be able to fly again. He continues to have vision problems. Since he will not be able to be wild again, his next option is be spend his life as an education bird. To find out if he agrees with that opportunity and doesn't mind captivity he has to do through a training phase first.
Not all birds are comfortable enough for captive placement, but he did real well today.


( Photo: This Barred Owl has a split lower mandible. )

We admitted an adult Barred Owl. This is an interesting case and one are working to repair. The owls lower mandible is split in two parts. As you an imagine she is unable to eat well on her own and has to be tube fed or fed small strips of meat. We will be trying a new technique to repair the beak tomorrow morning. I will let you know how it goes.


( Photo: Bald Eagle with Lead Poisoning is still fighting for her life. The green droppings are one of the indications of lead poisoning and is a sign of liver failure. )

The Bald Eagle with lead poisoning is continue to fight for her life and we are not going to give up on her as long as she is willing to keep trying. She is very sick, but such a beautiful and strong female eagle I remain hopeful until she is no longer.

Have a good tomorrow everyone.

Marge Gibson © 2010

Red-bellied Woodpecker Admitted, Snow Bunting Wing Healed, Pheasant With Legs Clipped Together

( Photo: Red-bellied Woodpecker was injured in an odd accident. It seems its neck was caught on a wire during flight. You can see where the feathers are disrupted on the neck in the photo.)

You just never know what will be admitted next here at REGI. We go from large bird to small bird in the same hour. Yet each is so special in its own way. People ask me all the time what my favorite bird is. The honestly answer is, probably the one I am holding at the time.

There are few things more beautiful than the Red-bellied Woodpecker. They are incredibly "soft" to the touch. They have a curious nature and often come close to people. They are definitely a favorite at bird feeders this time of the year in the northland.

Our Red-bellied Woodpecker patient has an injury to the tongue which I think is physical. The tongues of woodpeckers are fascinating and curl around the brain. Just think about that for a minute. :) This woodpecker is still unable to move the tongue, so we are carefully dropping food into its mouth until the tongue heals. The left wing is also fractured but that is the least of this little ones problems tonight.



( Photo: The Snow Bunting admitted a few weeks ago moved to the outdoor aviary this weekend. His wing fracture healed; he now needs time and space to exercise. Physical therapy is as important for birds as it is for mammals.)

Bird bones are hollow and therefore heal very quickly. Hollow bones are lightweight and facilitate flight. They are also very strong. Often within 10 days the smaller birds are back on the wing with no ill effect. We are careful not to leave the wing wrap on too long or the wing could become atrophied and the joints frozen with lack of movement. That could ground a bird permanently.

The Snow Bunting admitted with a wing fracture has recovered and is flying now. He was put in the outside aviary so he can continue to exercise and prepare himself for release. Just like us, when birds have a fracture, they lose muscle tone. Their muscles have to be back in perfect shape before they are released or they are at risk of predation or being unable to feed themselves adequately.



(Photo: This pheasant was admitted this evening. He is very thin and was unable to move his legs( as in walking), due to a black plastic clip around his legs. The clip was apparently put on purposely. )

We typically don't care for non-indigenous species, but when any bird is in trouble we get the call. Often people are not sure what species the bird is. In those cases it is best they bring it into REGI so we can be certain if it is a protected species. If it is not, we still care for it until it is well and can be placed in a zoo or game farm. Non- indigenous birds are not released to the wild, since they are not native to the area.

Tonight a family called with a concern about a bird that looked like a pheasant. They were able to catch it up easily. They drove it over a half hour to REGI. It is a pheasant. There was a reason they were able to capture it so quickly. It has the most odd thing on his legs. I have never seen anything like it. The legs were held together with a plastic clip apparatus.



( Photo: The legs of the pheasant were held together with a black plastic clip. His legs are abraded and he is traumatized and very thin, but will survive. )

After we removed the clip from his legs. We put him in a heated enclosure. He just kept looking at his legs. He picked them up one at a time as he continued to look at them. It was as if he could not believe he could use his legs again. It was a tear- jerking moment.

I hope there is a logical explanation and not some cruel system that someone has come up with for some reason. If any of you blog readers know, fill me in please.

Have a wonderful tomorrow.

Marge Gibson © 2009

Double Whammy Bald Eagle Admitted with Leg Hold Trapped Injury and Lead Poisoning, Northern Oriole, Snow Bunting and Canada Goose Admitted

( Photo: The Bald Eagle when he was rescued just before dark last night in the Town of Hewitt, Marathon County. He is shown with myself and Don Wolfe. Don found the bird and notified us of his situation.)

What a busy day it was yesterday. We admitted four patients.

Early in the day a Northern Oriole,and a Snow Bunting were admitted from Central Wisconsin. The beautiful male Northern Oriole, a male was suppose to have migrated long ago to a warmer climate. He has a wing injury and was not able to leave when the time was right. He will be with us through the winter enjoying lots of waxworms ( Thanks, Jada Baits) and mealworms ( thanks, John Jacobs) as well as frozen berries from the market. He dove into the live worms when he arrived. This morning he had strawberry juice running down his mouth when I checked him. He adjusted to captivity as in a warm aviary in about 2 minutes.

The Snow Bunting has a recent wing fracture. His prognosis is good for a full recovery. Snow Buntings are charming "snow flakes" of the bird world. They nest on the Arctic tundra and migrate to Wisconsin for the winter. They are in their element in the cold. They nestle in snow drifts to keep warm. It is amusing to me that this lovely little bird finds Wisconsin and below zero F. temperatures comfortable.


( Photo: Lance holds the Canada Goose for his exam. )

Later in the afternoon some kind folks caught up a Canada Goose that was standing near a road. Lakes are frozen in our area. There was no place for the goose to go. He has a wing fracture and lead poisoning so flying was not an option. We began treatment for lead poisoning this morning. While the Canada Goose is not a rare species, being injured, lead poisoned and cold is never a good thing.


( Photo: REGI staffer, Lance Holm holds the Bald Eagle back at the REGI clinic as he was admitted.)
Late afternoon we got a call from Don Wolfe and his wife Gail from the Town of Hewitt. They found an adult Bald Eagle in the field near their home that was weak and unable to fly or move well. It was nearly 4 P.M. when the call came in and the site was about 30 minutes away from REGI. Lance and I jumped in the van and were on our way in a matter of minutes hoping to get to the site before dark. We arrived and in the last minutes before dark with the help of Don Wolfe were able to capture the injured Bald Eagle. The poor eagle was so weak, capture didn't require much effort. (Although Lance did a terrific face first flop in the snow when he was running to corral the eagle.)

We did blood work as soon as the eagle was admitted. We have our own blood analyser at REGI. We are able to get results of most the blood work within minutes and begin treatment very quickly. Immediate treatment particularly in the case of lead poisoning is very important and has been a lifesaver to many patients.

It turns out the Bald Eagle has lead poisoning as well as a broken leg and injuries to both feet from the leg hold trap. The eagle likely picked up lead poisoning after he was injured in the trap, as he fed on deer "gut piles" left in the woods after hunting season. The leavings from a deer look like good food to a bird particularly since with a broken leg was unable to hunt for himself. He could not have known they are filled with lead from the use of lead ammunition. Most hunters are unaware of the danger awaiting bald eagles and other wildlife in "gut piles" left in the woods.



( Photo: Bald Eagle with leg fracture and lead poisoning after his first shot of Ca EDTA to chelate the lead from his blood. )

We continue to prepare the Common Loon, Duckie for his trip to the Gulf of Mexico. He is eating voraciously ( thanks Hilger Baits) and is getting stronger by the minute.

Have a good day everyone.
Marge Gibson © 2009