Rescue…

 I know how much you all love to hear happy stories but I am trying to give you an honest peek into my life and the life struggles of our Osprey friends. It’s been a tough few days. I posted earlier about a nest where we found a dead male, and two chicks missing from the nest. One chick and the mom remained. I checked in on her many times that first week and always found her there and the chick had food in its crop so I thought things were going smoothly. So I didn’t check back as often. After a week or so I returned to check that nest earlier this week. At first sight I thought wow, the chick has grown so much , she looks really good! Mom wasnt there. Then I saw that the chick had an empty crop. But maybe mom was gone fishing , so I waited…..for almost four hours and no adult came to the nest. I had to go home and thought I would return early the next day to recheck, hoping that mom would be there or the chick would have food in its crop. I got there early because I had some personal medical appmts that day. The chick was still all alone with a very empty crop. I felt sick. The laws in this state do not allow us to take a chick off a nest without permits from both the DNR and the USFWS. They usually won’t issue such permits to rescue one chick that is an abundant species. My hands were tied. I went to my doc appmts and then came back. The chick looked awful….so thin, its keel sticking out, its crop totally sunken, salt around the nares. I watched again for several hours and then just couldn’t take it, too hard to watch this chick suffering alone. What happened to the Mom? A male came to the nest with a fish, and he initially gave the chick a couple bites of food, and then he just dropped the fish and walked around the nest. “ it’s not my job”. Then he picked up the fish and ate some himself…and then he apparently dropped the fish off the edge of the nest and departed. Ahhhhh. 

I had a sleepless night, feeling helpless and knowing there just wasn’t much I could do. I knew if I went back out there I might find the chick dead or still suffering. But I did go back to the nest and found it empty. This is a very bare nest and I have always been able to easily see the chick. But there was nothing in the nest. I assumed the chick might have been predated overnight. I shed a few tears and was about to leave when an adult came flying over my car, with a fish! It was the Mom!!!!! WTF? She looked very thin herself, with an empty crop, and as she ate I thought I could hear some very faint food begging. There is another nest nearby on  a cell tower and it was difficult to discern where the soft food begging was coming from….so I moved closer to the nest. Then it stopped. But I grabbed a box and went searching near the nest. The mom gave an alarm call and flew away. I quickly spotted the chick on the ground. Emaciated. But this little one is a fighter, and she tried to fight me as I scooped her up and put her in a box and quickly got her to the car, moved the car to the shade and turned on the AC full blast as I called the Raptor Center. I let them know what I had and when I would be there. I delivered the chick to their back door and now I am waiting to hear what the medical prognosis is. I don’t know if she was injured in the fall or if she just needs food and hydration. But any of you living in Minnesota know we are in for a super hot, super muggy weekend…and I am relieved that this little one will be in an air conditioned space with food/ hydration. I have done the best I can for this osprey chick. 

Now if this youngster is able to be returned to the wild, it may not be smart to place it in its natal nest, with a single parent that seems unable to provide for it. I can’t explain the Moms absence for the last few days….but  if her parental instincts turned off and she went into survival mode, she can’t be counted on to care for this chick. I will spend some time looking for some nests that might be good alternatives, perhaps with only one chick and two good parents, and a nest that would be accessible. It’s not easy to foster a chick at this later stage of development. I have seen siblings attack a chick after it spent a week in rehab and was returned to its natal nest. It’s a difficult time for a chick to end up in rehab. But for the moment that chick is in the best place for it to get the care it needs and I am relieved that I was able to do something to help. I feel lucky that I was there at just the right moment to hear the chick softly food begging, and that I was able to find it quickly. 

It’s early afternoon and I am pooped! I marvel at how doctors and even these wildlife rehabbers can handle the stress. My heart started racing and the adrenaline was pumping, as I rescued this chick….I care so much and it’s hard to see a chick in distress. So now, having a drink and planning the rest of the afternoon to relax…..maybe go for a little walk to work off some of the built up angst. I did my best for this little one.  I think I need some ice cream. 

MEDICAL UPDATE! I just heard from the Vet at the Raptor Center and here is what she said….”The baby osprey was thin, and we shockingly found a small fish bone lodged in its mouth at the opening of its airway, which I have not seen before, and a few ulcerations on the roof of the mouth which appeared to be from the end of the fish bone rubbing there. We removed it and I’m hoping there won’t be permanent damage. There was some mild asymmetry of the pelvis on the x-rays, but everything was stable so I don’t think there were any major fractures. We’ll keep the chick for monitoring, provide pain medications, and get its weight up. I would consider its prognosis to be guarded for now, but we’ll see how it does over the first few days, which should give us some more info.”. When that unrelated male came to the nest, and he was eating the fish, he was dropping some big bones and the chick was so desperate for food I think he was eating what was dropped….that may be how it got a fish bone lodged in its mouth. Usually a mom will not feed big bones to a chick. Think good thoughts for this youngster….