aftermath
It's been raining for three days now. The worst of Irene was kind enough to pass us by, though we now have enough kindling to fill every empty box we had in the garage, but now Tropical Storm Lee is dumping an abundance of rain on us, too. We keep trying to convince it that Texas could use it more, but storms never seem to listen to me.
In addition to trees, Irene also brought down a shower of baby squirrels. For two days after the storm, our phone rang almost non-stop. Every baby came in exhausted, wet, traumatized, and in many cases injured. Most of them were also suffering from respiratory problems brought on by exposure. We'll have to restock our supply of antibiotics pretty soon.
Along with that, West Nile Virus is flaring up in our area again. There is a minor outbreak every summer, but this year it's hitting hard once more. It's such a nasty thing, with an extremely high mortality rate. We have one hawk now that was found in a nearby town by two young boys out fishing. They noticed a juvie Red Tail sitting on a low-hanging branch and good-naturedly tossed him a fish, which hit him without force in the chest. Instead of catching it, the hawk keeled slowly over and fell from its perch. Horrified, the boys picked up the hawk (which is never possible unless its siutation is dire,) and rushed it to the vet, who in turn called us. The hawk came to us dazed, utterly passive, infested with hippoboscid flies, and at only half his normal weight.
When WNV hits, most raptors are usually dead within three days. There is no cure. It's a virus, treated only with supportive care (fluids) and heavy doses of pain medication. In severe cases, weight continues to melt off no matter how much fluids one pumps into them. Eventually their organs fail. Those that do survive are often left with side affects: blindness, coordination problems, an inability to process information. It's very similar to encephalitis in the problems it leaves behind.
This hawk seems to be holding his own so far. He's still zoned out and unable/unwilling to eat on his own, but he's fortunate in that this seems to be a relatively moderate case. He has no obvious neurological symptoms, which also usually accompanies the virus. He has a ways to go yet before he's out of the woods - if he does make it back - but so far, so good.
In addition to trees, Irene also brought down a shower of baby squirrels. For two days after the storm, our phone rang almost non-stop. Every baby came in exhausted, wet, traumatized, and in many cases injured. Most of them were also suffering from respiratory problems brought on by exposure. We'll have to restock our supply of antibiotics pretty soon.
Along with that, West Nile Virus is flaring up in our area again. There is a minor outbreak every summer, but this year it's hitting hard once more. It's such a nasty thing, with an extremely high mortality rate. We have one hawk now that was found in a nearby town by two young boys out fishing. They noticed a juvie Red Tail sitting on a low-hanging branch and good-naturedly tossed him a fish, which hit him without force in the chest. Instead of catching it, the hawk keeled slowly over and fell from its perch. Horrified, the boys picked up the hawk (which is never possible unless its siutation is dire,) and rushed it to the vet, who in turn called us. The hawk came to us dazed, utterly passive, infested with hippoboscid flies, and at only half his normal weight.
When WNV hits, most raptors are usually dead within three days. There is no cure. It's a virus, treated only with supportive care (fluids) and heavy doses of pain medication. In severe cases, weight continues to melt off no matter how much fluids one pumps into them. Eventually their organs fail. Those that do survive are often left with side affects: blindness, coordination problems, an inability to process information. It's very similar to encephalitis in the problems it leaves behind.
This hawk seems to be holding his own so far. He's still zoned out and unable/unwilling to eat on his own, but he's fortunate in that this seems to be a relatively moderate case. He has no obvious neurological symptoms, which also usually accompanies the virus. He has a ways to go yet before he's out of the woods - if he does make it back - but so far, so good.