What a way to end the year..

I had just settled down to spend New Years eve relaxing in my comfy PJ's when a friend let me know she hit an owl with her truck. It was out cold as she picked it up, but then came to. She was sitting on her front porch with it nearby. It kept an eye closed and seemed stunned.
She has many cats...
She asked me if she should put it into a tree. I told her I was going to come and help her catch it and put it somewhere safe. While it couldn't fly, it would stress and try to scamper away when approached.
I have never been to her new place which is out in the boonies. So..night blind as I am..off we go with my trusty kitten rescue Box. Talk about dark and rainy roads with a bunch of idiots out and about.
Small town as we are, we do have a wildlife rescue and thank God they returned my call. I knew they would want to take the owl, no matter what day or time. We caught the poor bugger and off to find the home residence of that wildlife rehab center.
Little one made it that far. They had fluids ready and set up for the little one. Quick checkup showed blood in one eyeball. Probably head trauma. They said they are often blind after a hit. Sometimes just temporary, sometimes permanently. They are still hopeful. I dropped of a donation to help care for the little guy. I've brought them several other animals and always try to help out with the expense. Well, back at home now after all that excitement. Now I can only hope it survives...

Here it is at the rescue and after its exam. A quick no flash pic before leaving it in good hands..

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Sorry to hear about the excitement to close out 2018, but so cool that you took the time and made the effort to help. Here’s hoping for a full recovery for the little fella.

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Originally Posted by Dianne

Sorry to hear about the excitement to close out 2018, but so cool that you took the time and made the effort to help. Here’s hoping for a full recovery for the little fella.

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Just as long as he makes it !!! Then it will be the best spent New Years eve I had. I LOVE owls !!!!

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well, even if he doesn't make it. At least he is not out there in the rain, mauled by cats, dying a slow death.

But I really do hope and wish he will make it. Poor baby... :please::please::please::please:

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Originally Posted by zina10

Just as long as he makes it !!! Then it will be the best spent New Years eve I had. I LOVE owls !!!!

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well, even if he doesn't make it. At least he is not out there in the rain, mauled by cats, dying a slow death.

But I really do hope and wish he will make it. Poor baby... :please::please::please::please:

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I love owls as well, incredible birds. Is he a screech owl or did the rehabber say? He looks similar to ones we had living near my house when I was growing up.

And agreed that it was best for him not to be left outside subject to the elements and predators.

You did a very good deed there. I hope you are able to find out how it did and update us.

Good on you, Zina!

I'm so glad you could help that owl...I love them too, I hope he recovers well. :gj:

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Originally Posted by Dianne

I love owls as well, incredible birds. Is he a screech owl or did the rehabber say? He looks similar to ones we had living near my house when I was growing up.

And agreed that it was best for him not to be left outside subject to the elements and predators.

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Its a screech owl, yes, quite small.

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Originally Posted by FollowTheSun

You did a very good deed there. I hope you are able to find out how it did and update us.

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Yes, they will update if you want to be updated. Not everyone does, because sometimes it doesn't end well.

So far all but one animals I brought them made it. One I didn't actually bring to them, I had them meet me on the side of the road. A buzzard was hit by a car and it sat near the road. You could tell it was bad. Wing was obviously broken and held away from body at awkward angle. I stopped and slowly went near it. It absolutely tore up my heart, because fire ants were getting to him.

He would just lay there looking near death, but if I got to close, he would try to hobble away. I got him away from the ants and then just sat nearby waiting on the guy from the rescue. He came with a carrier, blanket and big gloves ( I had NOTHING with me). He said right away doesn't look hopeful. The buzzard didn't make it, but at least he wasn't killed by fireants. Those things are the devil.

As weird as people think I am for my love of legless slithering animals. They should talk to me abou my love of birds. What a great outcome.

This was the poor Buzzard that didn't make it...

RIP Buddy..we tried :tears:

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This here was Shrimpy. I named him that because that is about how big he was. And see through. Found him on a side walk next to a restaurant. In the blazing summer heat of the south east. I have no idea how he wasn't dead already, he must have just got thrown out of the nest before I found him. The side walk was burning hot and here was this delicate tiny see through thing. I quickly scooped him up. Looked around for a nest, couldn't find it. There was the possibility of some nests on the restaurants roof rafters but I really didn't want to give the people inside a show of me scaling the walls of the restaurant..:oops:

So i took him home. I thought I might have to do a mercy kill but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. He seemed almost lifeless, wouldn't open the beak. I hit the internet real quick and found out about moistened cat food that has to be put pretty far down the beak. And soon and often.

Well, he didn't open up. So I carefully pried open and inserted a tiny bit of food. And it did go down into the crop and wasn't aspirated, thank god. I could see it since he was see through. After that he made some sounds and opened up. Still wasn't very into eating, though. I was up most of the night, not to feed as they don't eat at night, but to make sure the temp was just right. My house was to cold, but the garage was to hot. Next morning he was much livelier and I had some hope that I could do this. I did read that when you hand feed a singleton bird, they will never do well once released. They bond to humans, even if you try to not make that happen. They need at least another bird baby.

So I called the Wildlife rescue and they gladly took Shrimpy and put him with a slightly older but still mostly nekkid bird into the incubator. He ended up surviving and got released , yay Shrimpy !!!

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Also took in a couple of turtles that were hit by cars but still alive, they made it as well.

That place is awesome, I'm so glad they are there and I'm so glad they took the call despite it being New Years eve !

I pray for the little owl, I really want him to make it, too :please::please:

Poor buzzard, but lucky Shrimpy! What kind of bird was he? So fragile...you were just at the right place at the right time. Awesome.

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Poor buzzard, but lucky Shrimpy! What kind of bird was he? So fragile...you were just at the right place at the right time. Awesome.

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He was a tiny starling hatchling :)

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Originally Posted by zina10

He was a tiny starling hatchling :)

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Tiny indeed! So lucky you were in the right place at the right time. I can imagine you scaling the building....patrons would have had that story for years to come. :D

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Originally Posted by Dianne

Tiny indeed! So lucky you were in the right place at the right time. I can imagine you scaling the building....patrons would have had that story for years to come. :D

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You know, I really thought about doing it, too !! If I had actually seen a nest up there, I probably would have, haha.

I probably would have made the local news. Crazy woman climbing up to the roof of local Santa Fe Steakhouse, claiming she was only trying to return a baby bird to its nest.. :rofl:

Great job Zina! You obviously have a big heart. Way to make a positive difference in the world. I love owls too!

Thank you all.

This is why I love this forum. I know that every single one of you would have done the same thing, for all those animals.

Like its been said, I was just in the right place at the right time. You all have huge hearts as well. :)

Bless you Z.

This was the first thread I saw after waking up this New Year's Day morning and it couldn't have been a better one if I'd hand picked it :)


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I was almost afraid to ask Terry (from Big Bend Wildlife sanctuary) if the owl made it through the night. But I finally texted her.

Here is the answer in her own words:

"Very much alive. I am putting it with 2 other red morph screech owls today. Should be fine after brain and eye have some time to heal. Prognosis looks good".

Oh, I'm so glad!!! This is a great start to the New Year !!:gj::):)

What timing, my daughter, who is 115 miles away, contacted me about this Redtailed Hawk in her backyard. She heard her dog barking and he had the hawk on his back. The dog is now separated from the hawk.

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My daughter got a hold of some wildlife organization and would not respond until they saw a picture first. The girl called back and said the bird looks fine, just cold.

REALLY! You can diagnose by a picture?!?! :O:mad:

So this hawk is hopping around and obviously traumatized and can’t fly as seen by videos. You really think the bird is going to expose it’s vulnerability by staying on the ground and bugged by humans and animals if it could fly?

Hopefully some other organizations will call back. Too bad it’s New Year’s Day. :( :please:

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Originally Posted by Reinz

What timing, my daughter, who is 115 miles away, contacted me about this Redtailed Hawk in her backyard. She heard her dog barking and he had the hawk on his back. The dog is now separated from the hawk.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...11d52e575f.jpg

My daughter got a hold of some wildlife organization and would not respond until they saw a picture first. The girl called back and said the bird looks fine, just cold.

REALLY! You can diagnose by a picture?!?! :O:mad:

So this hawk is hopping around and obviously traumatized and can’t fly as seen by videos. You really think the bird is going to expose it’s vulnerability by staying on the ground and bugged by humans and animals if it could fly?

Hopefully some other organizations will call back. Too bad it’s New Year’s Day. :( :please:

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Oh wow !!!!!!!!!!!!

I cannot believe that organization. If they just don't want to be bothered on a holiday, they should just say so, instead of giving BS advice. That bird needs HELP. Animal bites don't often leave obvious wounds, they can be small punctures that get wickedly infected quickly. And there is a reason that hawk is grounded. Probably was before the dog got to it.

Tell her to keep the dogs away. Contact more places. I will give you the contact info of the rescue I use. They might not answer right away, but they will, esp. if she texts and with a picture. Have her explain what is going on, and ask for advice what to do until they can reach someone. Maybe my local rescue has a list of people?

Its Big Bend 334-763-0102 . The names are Terry and Jon. She can mention she knows about the owl story and needs help for the hawk and what to do and if they know someone in that area to take it to.

Poor baby.

If she will need to try to capture, just tell her to be careful. The claws are sharp and so is the beak. Gloves and a blanket are important. Google any wildlife rescue, raptor organization, etc.

http://bigbendwildlife.com/Home_Page.php

Here is more info

Thanks for the contacts Zina!

But I just heard from my daughter. The city animal control came and got him. They are going to take him to the same rescue organization that I had recommended.

It appears that has ended well. :)

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Originally Posted by Reinz

Thanks for the contacts Zina!

But I just heard from my daughter. The city animal control came and got him. They are going to take him to the same rescue organization that I had recommended.

It appears that has ended well. :)

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That is awesome !!

So great that there are people willing to help, no matter the day or time. What better thing is there to do anyway ?

Nothing like the "feel good" one gets from helping those in need.

Tell your daughter she is awesome :)

Thank you Z, I will tell her! :)

Good looking owl and hawk! Hoping the best for both of them.

A few years ago on a dark back road I drove up on a large alligator snapping turtle. Someone had hit him. Cracked shell was the visible signs from the outside. He was full of spunk even in this condition. A friend of mine helped me get him flipped over on a tarp (right side up) and we lifted him down to the water and he went off the tarp on his own power. The poor thing had to be 80-100 years old. No clue of outcome but we tried to make sure he was off the road. Could it have survived the trauma?

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Originally Posted by Skyrivers

A few years ago on a dark back road I drove up on a large alligator snapping turtle. Someone had hit him. Cracked shell was the visible signs from the outside. He was full of spunk even in this condition. A friend of mine helped me get him flipped over on a tarp (right side up) and we lifted him down to the water and he went off the tarp on his own power. The poor thing had to be 80-100 years old. No clue of outcome but we tried to make sure he was off the road. Could it have survived the trauma?

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If anyone survived this, it will be a alligator snapper. Those things are ferocious and tough.

I was behind a couple of cars in stopped traffic once. Saw a man walking up to that huge snapper that was stuck in the middle of a 4 lane road. Couldn't make it up the tall curb on the median. I thought to myself "uhoh" as he grabbed it right around the middle and started to lift it.
Sure enough, that long neck came out in a flash, head snapping around and it almost got the man. He dropped it. Can't blame him though, probably gave him a heart attack. I have to give it to him though, he went and picked it back up !!! This time further back :D He then carried it across to the edge of the woods.

Snappers are super tough. Hopefully he was able to heal up just fine. I have no idea how one would safely deal with treating and rehabbing a snapper. They are some angry animals :O

Your family must have some special animal blessings/angel wings for those two birds to find you and your daughter at the same time! That's amazing!