Running into an Owl!

On December 19th, 2010, we received a call regarding an injured Eastern Screech Owl. The adult female grey phase Eastern Screech Owl was found in the road by Patrick of Northport while he was on his Sunday morning run! After finding the owl, Patrick ran home to get a box. He returned with box in hand and carefully placed the screech owl into the box and began to search for help. Luckily, he was put in touch with us and the owl was brought to our hospital soon after.

When the owl arrived, she was very cool and in shock. She was warmed up and examined. Her hefty weight of .180 kilograms indicated she was likely a female and a well-fed one at that! Unfortunately, she was pretty banged up from her ordeal (presumably an automobile collision.)
The owl was unable to stand upright. Examination of her eyes revealed vision loss in her right eye. Blood could be seen in the eye and her right eye showed no response to movement or light. Fortunately, her left eye appeared unharmed. In addition to her eye damage, the owl had a severe injury to her shoulder. The position of her wing at a harsh upward angle along with severe swelling in the shoulder region indicated a probable fracture of the coracoid. The coracoid is a bone in the chest cavity that helps to stablize the wing to the sternum to allow flight. Fractures of the coracoid will usually ground the bird temporarily, if not forever. Coracoid fractures are made even trickier to treat due to the bone's proximity to bird's internal organs.


We rehydrated the owl and started her on medication for the swelling. We stabilized her wing with a wrap that secured the wing in its natural position to the body. She was then set up to calm down from her stressful day. For several days following her initial trauma, the owl remained in critical condition. She had to be fed via feeding tube and after a few days she graduated to small rodent pieces. By the fourth day, she was able to perch on the soft towel in her cage. We continued to work with the wing over the course of the next ten days. The swelling subsided and she began to hold her wing in the correct position! Gradually, her damaged eye became more responsive as well. In early January, we were able to move her to a larger aviary to practice flight and to test her vision and hunting abilities. Luckily, the owl did better than we could have imagined!

On January 13th, almost a month after her ordeal, the owl was ready for release! She was released at the Makamah Preserve in Northport in the early afternoon to give her time to get her bearings before nightfall. The two volunteers who released her reported that she flew beautifully up to a tree branch.

Golden-crowned Kinglet

On October 29th, a pint sized little bird was brought to our hospital after his unfortunate encounter with a glass window in Huntington. The Golden-crowned Kinglet, weighing only 6 grams, was very alert but unable to stand on his small legs. Surprisingly, despite his inability to support his weight, his tiny yet powerful wings still allowed him to get around a bit. We set our patient up in a small mesh cage with some food to rest from his ordeal.

The next morning we came in to find the kinglet's food bowl was empty. He had eaten all of his food overnight although he was still not able to use his legs to perch or grip. A couple days later, the kinglet became harder and harder to catch from his enclosure. His flight was much improved and he started to slowly regain the use of his legs. On Wednesday, November 4th, we determined the kinglet had fully recovered from his ordeal and was ready for release. However a storm was coming through the following day so we decided to hold on his release until Friday. Early Friday afternoon the clouds parted, the rain moved out of the region and the Golden-crowned Kinglet returned to freedom.

Golden-crowned Kinglets spend their summers north of Long Island and make their way down to Long Island as they migrate south in the fall. They can be identified by their beautiful yellow or golden spot on the top of their head.

Fall Migration and Window Collisions - by Eileen Hagerman

This is the time of year in which we receive many telephone calls about small birds that have collided into people's windows. They are often confused with being a baby bird, but we can rule that out at this point, as "baby season" is over.

Often with window collisions, there is no visible injury: the bird is stunned and can often recover quickly. Other times, it can take longer. You may notice the bird appears puffed up or hunched over; in other cases, it looks like the bird has a broken neck (head is cocked upside down). It is actually not a broken neck, but a head injury where the symptoms are known as torticollisis, or "stargazing".(see photo below of Red-tailed Hawk). In any case, the bird can be gently placed into a cardboard box (such as a shoebox) with one or two small holes poked in the box for ventilation. Put the box in a dark, quiet place such a garage or a bathroom and allow it some time to recover. If after an hour or two the bird is still incapacitated, contact us or another rehabilitator for further assistance. Do not try to feed the bird, or give it water: a dark, quiet place, and some time are all it needs at this point.


Why does this happen? There are several reasons:

Vision: While it is fairly easy for most birds to avoid building and large objects, they can have difficulty perceiving transparent obstacles, such as windows and other panes of glass. Furthermore, when plants are displayed inside on a windowsill, this makes it look as if a safe flyway exists.

Migration (which is happening now): Adult birds, often mistaken as baby birds, are often found colliding into windows each fall. These birds are birds that have migrated back to our area. Tired after travelling perhaps a thousand miles, they are often confused by windows and/or lighted buildings. New York City is a major flyway for migrating birds, and in an attempt to reduce collisions at this time of year, NYC has instituted a "Lights Out" program to reduce the number of collisions.


Territory: While this situation usually happens in the spring, it is still worth mentioning.
Sometimes birds intentionally crash into windows (and side view mirrors of cars, glass doors, etc); this is usually territorial. There is either a nest nearby or the bird is seeing its reflection and defending its territory. Try to put something up to block his reflection, and they usually move onto something else.


What can you do to help? There are several steps you can take:
-Have bird feeders either far back in the yard, or within a few feet of the window. This leaves less room for the birds to fly; window strikes will occur at a slower speed and the bird is less likely to be hurt.
-Avoid placing plants on your windowsill, as this can be confusing to birds.
-Reduce window reflections by having screens or shades covering the window. Blinds are also helpful, as they can be moved to reduce reflections while still allowing you to see outside.
-Purchase items that help prevent window collisions>
*Collidescape: A thin transparent film that attached to the window. Visit this website for a demonstration on how it works.

Below are a few photos of birds that have come into our hospital after colliding with a window:

Top photo: This is a Red-tailed Hawk that collided through a picture window last Christmas Eve.
She shattered the window and took off half of her beak
(visible in the photo).
Unfortunately, after 4 months, due to damage
done to the bony core of her beak, structurally her
beak would not grow back and we had to make the
difficult decision to put her to sleep.

Second photo: Palm Warbler that collided into a window. This bird was released.



This is an example of "stargazing" - see how this bird is holding
his head cocked sideways?
This is a very young Red-tailed Hawk that came into our facility
after suffering head trauma. His recovery took a long time, and
at a crucial age developmentally, he became very accustomed to
people, growing up around them. He is one of our permanent
Education Animals (Baby) and can be seen any day in our outside aviary,
where he lives with his female friend, Lucky Lady.

A few weeks ago, we received a call from someone whose cat had caught a Mourning Dove, rendering it unable to fly. Even without an obvious injury, any animal that has been caught by a cat needs to be admitted for antibiotics, as cats have a bacteria in their saliva that can get into the bloodstream of their prey.

(See this PDF for more information)

When the bird arrived, I immediately noticed a tremendous amount of swelling in this little fledgling's left wing. After administering a dose of pain medication, I was even more concerned to see that this little guy had also suffered a crop tear. (The crop is the part of a bird where they store food, prior to digestion). However, it seemed that this injury was on its way to healing, which made me curious as to when this happened. I spoke further with the donor, and it turned out the cat had caught the bird about 4 days before. Since the crop was almost healed, and learning that the injury was almost a week old, I cleaned the area up and set the bird up for cage rest, but was still very guarded for this little patient.

Over the course of the next week, he grew stronger and feistier. Mourning doves are amazing birds; I have seen them overcome some very horrific injuries (hawk attacks, cat attacks, being hit by cars). For such a small bird, they certainly can overcome, so each day I grew more hopeful for this little guy.

On Monday, we came in to a bird that refused to be caged any longer. After giving him a few days in an outside aviary to strengthen his muscles, I am thrilled to say that he was released yesterday:

I wish I could have gotten a photo of him flying away, as he did so beautifully, but he was one wild bird that flew 60 feet into the air to the highest point, where no one or nothing could get him. The above photo is one I took inside the aviary, before he was released.

I couldn't have asked for a better moment.

The Tale of a Hobbly Heron

On July 13th, 2010 we received a call on our Wildlife Advisory Telephone regarding a young heron that appeared to have an injured leg. The young heron was brought to our hospital later that day. The heron turned out to be a nestling Green Heron!

As the caller described, the young bird did appear to have a leg injury. We observed for a moment as he stumbled across the floor, holding the leg straight behind him. Surprisingly, no fractures or dislocations were palpated on examination. We decided x-rays were in order and sent the heron for a quick visit with one of our wonderful cooperating veterinarians to determine the cause of the injury. Luckily, the veterinarian confirmed there were no fractures to the bird's thin legs. She suggested it was possible that it may be a congenital defect or infection but luckily for the heron, he did have sensation in his foot and leg and was able to grip. But, only time would tell if he would recover enough use of the leg to function in the wild.

We put the heron on a course of treatment including an antibiotic and homeopathy. Little by little, he gained more function in his leg and began to use it for short periods of time. After ten days of force feeding, the vivacious little heron began to eat small fish pieces on his own and was grasping branches for short periods of time. We began to offer him live killy fish and he quickly began cathing them one by one. After several days outside in a transitional aviary where he was able to test his flight and grip well onto branches, the Green Heron was ready for release!

On August 8th, accompanied by several staff members, the Heron was brought to the pond at Lloyd Harbor Village Park for release. The park was chosen as a release site because it hosts a large natural supply of fish and many low lying branches to act as a good vantage point for him to hunt. Clinic Assistant, Susan, held the heron to let him get his bearings and then in a flash he took off flying beautifully across the pond to a low Maple tree branch. We are thrilled that we were able to give this very young bird another chance at life in the wild!

5 Ducklings are Rescued

About a week ago, we got a telephone call from someone that had been trying to get 5 very small mallard ducklings out of a sewer drain. They were so small, they fell through the holes in the grating. After trying for several hours, they called us to help.

Eileen and her rescue helper/husband, Tom, appeared at the scene with a few nets and a carrier. Pretty quickly, we heard the peeping from below. Eileen checked it out and found 5 tiny ducklings, huddled in the corner.

Although not a very glamerous job, it turned out to not really be that complicated. Lying down with net in hand, Eileen scooped one by one out. The hose in the photo was used to keep the ducklings away from the tunnel in the sewar that ran throughout the sewar system; if the ducklings got in there, they would be out of reach, having access throughout the entire neighborhood.
Of course, as it went on, the latter ones were quicker at getting away.
Eventually, all 5 were safely out of the sewer. Unfortunately, their mom who dutifully stayed by their side for most of the day, had moved on with her other babies. We alerted the homeowner and neighbors to keep an eye out for her so that we could reunite them, but she wasn't spotted again.
So for now, they will grow up at our center. With a healthy fear of humans already instilled in them, once they grow up they will be released back to the
wild.

Release of the Cormorant

On June 21, we got in a young Double-crested Cormorant from a local veterinarian's office, where someone dropped him off due to an injured wing.

Upon examination, we did not find the bird to have any fractures, only some tenderness in his left wing. With supportive care and anti-inflammatory pain medication his injury resolved, and he was ready to be released back to the wild.
Below are photos of his release by Lauren Schulz, our Education Coordinator:



B'Bye!
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Double-crested Cormorants are a common sight on Long Island. You can often see them sunning themselves on buoys and docks, as they are not waterproof the way waterfowl and gulls are. They have a very strong beak that they use when they dive for fish; they do not spear the fish but grab it in their bill. Look closely at photo #1 above; see how it is almost like a hook?

For more information on Double-crested Cormorants, click here.