The Tale of a Hermit Thrush

After returning home from a busy day at work on Friday, October 23rd, I was excited to sit down and relax for a few minutes in the den of my home. Not too long after, my time in front of the television was interrupted by a very loud thud against our window. I ran outside to see what hit and found a small Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus) laying on the ground. The bird was in a clear state of shock and it was just barely breathing with its mouth wide open. Recalling upon my training and the advice I give to the many people who call our wildlife advisory hotline every day, I gently picked the helpless bird up and placed him into a box. I brought the box into the house and placed it in a quiet, dark place. With many victims of window collisions, the birds often recover within a couple minutes to an hour and then fly away again. However, I questioned whether this bird would even survive through the next five minutes. A half hour later, I checked on the bird and was shocked to see he was now standing instead of laying on his side. As nightfall came, the bird was still unable to fly and I decided that I would bring him to work to admit him to the hospital Saturday morning.

Upon initial exam, we were pleased to find no fractures in his wing or leg bones... a pretty remarkable feat given the impact he had with the window. We did notice a laceration by his ear and some swelling in that area. We gave the bird some pain medications and an antibiotic to prevent infection of the wound. Over the next several days, we were thrilled to see he started to eat and fly more each day. A week after his unfortunate trauma with my own window, we headed out to the Walled Garden at Caumsett State Historic Park and watched as the Hermit Thrush took flight back into the wild.

Building collisions are a common occurrence especially during the fall and spring migrations of many songbirds. If you find a bird that has collided with a window or vehicle, place the bird in a quiet, dark box and give it several hours to recover. If it has not recovered within that time, please call our wildlife advisory telephone at (631) 423-0982 for advice.

Northern Saw-whet Owl (Aegolius acadicus) Update

In an earlier post we reported a Northern Saw-whet owl (NSWO) that was admitted to the hospital was successfully released!  Releasing an injured or orphaned animal is one of the many joys to working in rehabilitation.  Although not all patients make it to the point where they can be released, for those that do we are fortunate to be there for. 

The NSWO was sent back into the wild on Sunday October 25, 2009.  The release occurred at Bailey Arboretum.  The Arboretum is a wonderful place for an Owl to start out into the wild.  Specifically Bailey is a beautiful, safe 43 acre arboretum with woods, ponds and gardens located in Lattingtown NY.

Here is a picture of the NSWO after it was released.  He flew to a near by tree and got his bearings before he took off into the woods. 

I would like to thank all of the Volunteers and Staff members involved with the care of this amazing bird.  The hard work and dedication of those who devote many hours to rehabilitation and education made this very special bird capable of going back home into the wild.

VW releases Northern Saw-whet Owl!

On Tuesday, we received a call on our wildlife advisory telephone regarding a small "baby owl" down on the ground breathing very heavily in Glen Cove. Luckily, we were able to send out one of our rescue transport volunteers, Jim Jones, to evaluate the owl. Expecting him to return with an Eastern Screech Owl, we were surprised to learn the owl was actually a Northern Saw-whet owl!

This small adult owl was the unfortunate victim of an auto collision. Building and auto collisions are especially common at this time of year when many birds are beginning their winter migration. When the owl arrived at our hospital, he was dehydrated, weak and suffering from head trauma. After giving him some fluids and supportive care, we set him up in a carrier for the night with some dead mice and hoped for the best. We were happy to see the next morning that the owl made it through the night and devoured his dinner. After a couple more days of rest in a carrier, we decided it was time to move him to an indoor aviary. Having some doubts about his ability to see out of his right eye, we were worried that the owl would have difficulty with the challenge of catching live, moving prey. We left him overnight to test his hunting abilities and were dismayed the next day when he did not catch any food. The next night, we decided to give the owl another shot with live prey. On Friday, he finally came around and proved that he was still a skilled hunter. We are thrilled to report that late this afternoon, the little Northern Saw-whet owl was successfully released back to the wild!

Northern Saw-whet owls are the smallest species of owl we have on Long Island. The adults only reach 7-8 inches long at maturity. They prefer to roost in densely wooded areas with pines, hemlocks and cedars. The Northern Saw-whet owl gets its name from the mechanical sound it makes, which is likened to the sound of a saw being sharpened. While some Saw-whet owls are resident here year round, Long Island also provides a stopover for many Saw-whets flying along the Atlantic Coast in Fall and Spring Migration.

Annual Bird Seed Sale!

The 2009 Bird Seed Sale order form is now available for download.  Help support Volunteers for Wildlife by purchasing bird seed while feeding your backyard birds during the difficult winter months.

Our seed sale is ongoing from October all the way until March. This is a great way to provide for our feathered friends, without taking up a lot of space with seed. Order each month until March 15, 2010.