BIRDS - Injured; Rescued; Displaced; Surrendered

I was asked to attend a report a couple of days ago of a currawong seen hanging upside down in a tree. It was assumed it was entangled in twine or rubbish of some kind. Located within a retirement village it was apparently dangling up high in the branches that were hanging over a fence above a walking/bike path.

By the time I got there it was dark and stormy. Rain pelted down as I went into the reception of the retirement village. There I was given a map of the property and directed to where the bird had been spotted. It was suggested that I park on the property but walk outside the boundary and go along the bike track which would give me best access.

Armed with a ladder, carrier, scissors, towel and long hook and wearing a headlamp, I peered down at the now sodden map to work out where to go. When I got to the entrance of the bike path I found it was closed with big temporary fencing all around it. Didn’t take me long to push it back a bit to enable me to squeeze through with my equipment then head up the dark track to where the currawong had been seen.

It was a bit of a trek but with clear directions having been given I soon got to where I believed the bird was. I caught movement and my torch shone on the struggling bird, hanging hopelessly upside down. As I quickly climbed up to it and carfully lifted it to relieve the strain on its leg I could hear its parents calling out in the dark from a nearby tree. They had likely been trying to encourage him to free himself and staying close helpless to be able to do anything.

I soon realised he wasn’t entangled in anything. One of his feet was badly deformed with a condition known as ‘Tassle foot’. The enlarged foot had become caught between two thin branches and when he fell downwards when trying to fly off they had entrapped him between them. Once I lifted him out I could feel he was extremely emaciated and the top of his leg also didn’t look good. He had likely been trapped there for some time. With the bike path closed nobody was going past and it just happened that someone from the retirement village noticed the flapping bird, but it was probably not until he had been there for days.

I took him straight to a carer for assessment knowing he would likely need an emergency vet visit. She confirmed my gut feeling. He had been struggling for so long his leg was just hanging by a thread, almost severed. The pain would have been so immense. She kindly gave him some pain relief for the trip to the emergency vet who I hoped would be able to end his suffering quickly. I called ahead to ensure they weren’t too busy and they assured me they would be able to help him right away.

So what causes Tassel foot which got him in the situation to begin with? Usually poor nutrition often contributed to humans feeding wild birds food such as mince and bread. Yet another reason to please don’t feed wild birds.

Every Life Matters #1

I was alerted to a nest containing two very young baby pigeons. Parents hadn’t been seen attending the nest for some time and there was a concern they had been abandoned.

Upon checking the little ones I found that one had sadly passed away. The surviving one was alert and had food in its crop (though it wasn’t full), so had been fed by a parent at some point in the last 24 hours.

The nest was sheltered from the elements so I decided to give the parents a chance to return as always best for babies to be raised by their own wherever possible.

I monitored the nest for another couple of hours and finally when I checked again finding the remaining baby getting cold and seeming to fade I removed him gently warming him up against my body and taking him into care.

Once back at the shelter I placed him into a heated enclosure and before long he started to perk up again and start to call out for food.

Looks like I am now his foster mother so he will need a name. Welcome any suggestions!