rcb33483@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (R C. Buchmann) (10/23/89)
Recently, at my university, I had a rehab ecperience that I would like
to share with the netbirders. I hope everybody enjoys it.
About two days ago, I was walking across the center of campus (a grassy
field with some large trees) when I spotted an immature Cedar Waxwing perched
on a tree root near a main walkway. Two things about this bird caught my
attention. First, it was perched on the ground (very unusual for a waxwing)
, and second, it did not react as perple walked by it. I approached, and,
sure enough, the bird was in deep shock, as it would only flutter
discoordinately away from me. I caught it, and, after a brief examination,
assumed it was starving. As I tried to coax it to eat some small berries, the
bird decided it didn't like this, and snapped at my fingers instead of the
berries. About this time, i attacted another student, who helped me finally
coax the waxwing to eat. About, this time, too, I realized I had misjudged
the problem; my hands were half-covered with blood, and, upon closer
examination, I found the bird was bleeding from a gash in its back, and it had
secondary wing feathers torn off. At this point, my helper and I took the
waxwing back to my dorm, where I smuggled it and her into my room, wrapped the
injured waxwing in a bath towel, and spent over an hour and a half calling
my birding friends. During the calls, the bird went into even deeper shock--it
would only lay in the towel and pant, and regurgitate the berries I had fed it
earlier.
Finally, however, somebody told my that our Veterinary teaching hospital
had a wildlife rehab clinic. I called and made an appointment to bring the
waxwing in immidiately. While waiting for the bus, I gave the bird a name--
Beau Brummel--and entertained him by letting him chew on my finger. After a
bit of confusion at the hospital, I found the clinic and took the bird in.
Upon examination, it was found that Beau, in addition to the wounds I had
found, he had had his entire right flank ripped out--skin, feathers,
everything, right to the body cavity, and hsi right wing was severely broken.
Of course these massive woulds were mortal, and the center had no choice but
to euthanize him. The vet that examined him said that a cat had probably
taken a bite out of him, but the bird had somehow escaped. She also said
that the bird would have been surely dead of shock and massive infection
by morning, and I had done the bird a service by making his death a painless
one. She buried his body in a garden outside the Vet-Med complex, and he
became another casualty of migration.
Although I did not succeed in beating nature's course, I did give
the bird something that nature could not provide--a painless ceasing of it's
suffering, and that's some consolation.
--
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
R. Cody Buchmann ^.^
"Kehaar"
email: rcb33483@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu "Now I fly for you..." - Watership Down
------------------------------------------------------------------------------ christ@ccnysci.UUCP (Chris Thompson) (10/31/89)
In article <1989Oct23.022530.6116@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu>, rcb33483@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (R C. Buchmann) writes: > Upon examination, it was found that Beau, in addition to the wounds I had > found, he had had his entire right flank ripped out--skin, feathers, > everything, right to the body cavity, and hsi right wing was severely broken. > Of course these massive woulds were mortal, and the center had no choice but > to euthanize him. The vet that examined him said that a cat had probably > taken a bite out of him, but the bird had somehow escaped. She also said > > Although I did not succeed in beating nature's course, I did give > the bird something that nature could not provide--a painless ceasing of it's > suffering, and that's some consolation. There was a recent article in the journal _Science_ (last 6 mos. or so, I believe) which detailed the loss to wildlife in Great Britain due to cats. I don't recall the exact numbers, but they found that housecats, both feral and those which were currently pets, were THE leading cause of mortality in birds and many other small animals. KEEP YOUR CATS INSIDE, PLEASE!!!!!!
christ@ccnysci.UUCP (Chris Thompson) (11/01/89)
I made a mistake in the original posting: the article was not in _Science_, it was in one of the summer editions of _Natural History_. Sorry....