Wednesday, July 02, 2008

ALERT! Houston Hawks Update: Good News, Bad News, and Not-Sure-What-to-Make-of-it News


Photograph D. B.
Trib of Astoria Park and the Triborough Nest, preens.
(Ranger X plus contact me directly. Click on the Contact Me button in the right column)


I spoke with wildlife rehabilitator Bobby Horvath today.

Houston 3 is no longer with us.

Houston 2, who is also infected with frounce, and on medications to fight this nasty protozoan disease, is holding his own. He is eating his meals himself without human intervention, is standing up, and has not been reduced to mouth breathing. All very good signs though he is not out of the woods yet by any means, but perhaps, just perhaps, there is room for guarded hope.

Bruce Yolton,
www.urbanhawks.blogs.com/ called me with the news that he had been called by photographer Nabil, http://www.fotonyc.net/Gallery2/index.php , who visited Astoria Park today and had found Hous (Houston 1) on the ground.

When I spoke with Bobby he told me that Nabil had also called him. Nabil discovered Hous (Houston 1) lying on the ground in a puddle. Nabil watched him for awhile and as Hous remained on the ground , he went to find park authorities. When they all returned, Hous was still lying in his puddle, it is hot after all, but then he proceeded to fly up into a tree.

Therefore Hous wasn't completely grounded but Nabil told Bobby that when they examined the photographs he'd taken, there were signs that Hous might well be ill. Bobby will look carefully for signs of illness in Nabil's photographs as soon as he receives them.

A telling time will be Thursday's breakfast. If Hous doesn't show up for it, or appears but has a flat crop and doesn't eat, there is certainly cause for concern.

If ill, Hous needs to be gotten to Bobby Horvath for treatment as soon as possible. Most birds with active frounce, if untreated, die within a week.

Donegal Browne


P.S. If this is your first visit of the day, continue down for today's two part original post, which includes Jules Corkery's update on the Triborough Nest for Tuesday and a report from Urban Ranger X.

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