Today we had a Common Buzzard brought into us by a local veterinary for post-operative care rehabilitation.
The raptor was found with a smashed-up wing by a chap out walking his dog, who thoughtfully took it in to his local vet for treatment. They carefully removed the primary feathers, expertly operated to pin the wing and withdrew any pieces of fragmented bone and then retained it at their practice for a few days to see if the bird - by this time named "Boris" - would survive the trauma.
Boris had his primary feathers removed for the wing operation and currently is cosseted in a bright pink bandage
Thankfully the buzzard appears to be bearing up well, so we have now taken charge as the long process of recovery will begin. Given the severity of the damage, Boris is likely to remain in our bird hospital for about a month, allowing the pins to settle and the callus at the end of the broken bones to regrow. Then, we will need for the bird to moult, so that in the process it can replace the feathers removed for the operation. During this period we will house him in one of our secluded recuperation aviaries, keeping a watchful eye on him until such time he is fit enough to attempt flying again. Depending on that success, we'll progressively hack him back to the wild.
Though the S.O.S. Blog has been quiet for a few months - "pressure of work" precluding regular entries by your scribe - life has been busy here at the centre, particularly in the hospital where we currently have a full house of injured wild birds in various states of recovery. These include a little owl who was mobbed by crows and suffered the loss of an eye as a result; a sparrow hawk who flew straight into a window and concussed himself, a pair of kestrels both with broken wings, a tawny owl who needed a toe amputated in order to save the foot, and just last week an undernourished young barn owl who appeared to have been caught out by the first of cold snap of the winter which compromised his ability to hunt. We're pleased to say that all these 'inmates' are doing well. As for Boris the Buzzard, we'll keep you posted, and as for the "Blog", normal service will be resumed as soon as possible!