Good day all!
We'd like to go ahead an extend a 'Happy St.Patrick's Day!' to everyone! We hope everyone enjoys a little Irish food, and over abundance of green come Sunday. Click here for a delectable corn beef and cabbage recipe to help celebrate this Irish holiday.
We have quite a few items to cover in this entry - so pay close attention, because you never know when something you read will come in handy one day.
First let us give you another update you on good 'ol Roscoe - the Great Horned Owl. He is out of the UT hospital, and currently residing in our hospital. He gets eye drops every morning and night due to the fact that his eyes have not yet healed. The craters in his eyes are on the cornea. The veterinarians actually scratched the cornea because this can allow for faster healing time. The scratches are not visible to without the use of an opthalmascope like human eye doctors use. We find what doctors and vets can do so amazing! We will take him back to UT in ten days to have them rechecked. (For all raptors the eyes are critical for hunting.) We could not do this without UT's help - especially Dr. Jones and Dr.Greenacre. We have yet to find a local veterinarian that is willing to help us with birds of prey due to the fact that they are not taught about them in veterinarian school, and they are dangerous wild animals. Also we'd like you to keep in mind that as we keep referring to Roscoe as a "he or male" we are but guessing. We guess the sex of the raptors generally by size, but when the male and female look the same the only way of knowing for sure is seeing a female lay eggs, or by having a DNA test done. Just another a little morsel of information for you; the Great Horned Owl is actually the largest common owl in American. As Roscoe continues to progress we will keep you updated! Any questions concerning Great Horned Owls, or Roscoe specifically please feel free to shoot us your questions.
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| Not Roscoe, but a great shot of a Great Horned Owl to get an idea of their size! (Click here for photo credits). |
Next up we have a new patient to introduce; Rocky, a male Red-Tail Hawk. We'll do our best to get some pictures up of him soon! (Sorry for the delay!) His care will be fairly comprehensive, but the ultimate outcome will only be known in time. Raptor rehabilitating can be a frugal affair that take much time, but we learn a lot by doing our very best. Rocky has paralysis in his right foot. We had x-rays taken today, and while we can make a few guesses as to the reason it is paralyzed we cannot be 100% positive. We can see in the x-ray where someone has shot Rocky in the leg (in an area that would not have caused this issue). This is a great time to remind everyone; killing or hurting a raptor/bird of prey is a federal offense. There are very strict fines, jail time, and a felony record attached to any type of cruelty to these birds. Click here to read the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. If we see an injured raptor it is our responsibility to get the bird help. As Rocky continues on his journey with us we will be sure and keep everyone posted. Be sure and stay connected to the blog for pictures!
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| CAMO! (Click here for photo credits.) |
Now ladies and gents we'd like to introduce you to a couple of new folks who will be working with Upstate. First, Dr. Victoria Taubner; a raptor rehabilitator, physician, falconer, and educator. She has joined Upstate's team as a consultant. As many of you know Upstate Birds of Prey is a young program, and getting the help (second opinion and/or help with medications) of someone with Dr. Taubner's experience is a true blessing. Thank you Dr. Taubner! Also when we picked up Rocky we also picked up another Upstate volunteer! Her name is Crystal. Crystal is a mommy of two, a wife, a working mom, and she is also in school to become a registered nurse. We welcome her! If those of you following us on this blog come to the Barred Owl release this Saturday you will get to meet everyone working with Upstate, and making all of this possible. Speaking of Lucy, our Barred Owl, did you know a Barred Owl is named after the strips on its feathers which look like bars. These bars help them blend into the bark on trees so they can hide from predators. Many raptors get their names from the way they look, or where they live.
Well Upstate companions I hope you were able to digest all that! Once again we are super excited for Lucy's release on Saturday, and hope to see everyone there! Do take care, and enjoy the spring like weather this weekend!
Enthusiastic,
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