NYC Juvenile RTH Caught in an Air Shaft Since Before the Blizzard and What Made Thousands of Birds Fall to the Ground When in Flight?

Photo courtesy of CNN

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/01/03/what-made-thousands-of-birds-fall-from-the-sky/

Above is the back story from CNN from Robin of Illinois.
Below the New York Times article in from Bill Walters of NYC.

U.S. | January 04, 2011
4,000 Dead Birds Drop From the Sky
By CAMPBELL ROBERTSON
Scientists are trying to determine why, on New Year's Eve, red-winged blackbirds rained on Beebe, Ark.

If you haven't been following the story do check them out for the sake of discussion.

As of yesterday, authorities said they thought that as the birds appeared to have trauma to the breast, internal bleeding and blood clots that the Redwings had been flushed from a large roost by the fireworks and as the fireworks were above them they flew too low and ran into houses, trees, and the like in the dark.

Normally when a bird hits a building it breaks it's neck and drops to the ground dead or it bounces off and if alive is grounded but I thought perhaps some might have been so full of adrenaline that they were able to take off again but died in flight. Hmmm.

The reports speak of breast hemorrhaging and blood clots but were they checked for broken necks? A broken neck comes from impact. Hemorrhage might have other causes besides an impact.

BUT, look at the above photograph. They are lying in a roadway many have dropped there where there are no obstacles to speakd of . What is going on?

Then today, once again the news delving Robin of Illinois, sent in a report of another episode of 500 Red-winged Blackbirds (and Starlings) in Louisiana, who appear to have met their demise in the same manner a the Beebe birds, whatever that is--

Robin says,

Okay, back to the drawing boards. If the Beebe birds were shocked into flying into solid objects, causing death, what is the reason this time?

As one commenter wrote: If it starts raining frogs, I'm getting the hell outta here.

Here's the link for the Louisiana story--

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/04/birds-fall-from-sky-louisiana_n_804196.html

Also a video link from Robin-

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2011/01/04/dnt.la.bird.deaths.wafb?hpt=T2

PLUS BIG NEWS TODAY ABOUT A GREAT SAVE FROM THE NYC RAPTORS GROUP, PERSONIFIED BY BOBBY HORVATH AND JAMES O'BRIEN ON-SITE.

HURRAY! THE GOOD GUYS DO IT AGAIN!

Here is a rescue update from wildlife rehabilitator Bobby Horvath explaining what happened after a concerned resident contacted NYC Audubon and thereby The NYC Raptor Group, about a hawk who had been trapped in a small airshaft for over a week--

Ok here's the longer version for anyone interested .

After hearing the particulars from the apartment owner I thought maybe this was possible with the use of my 18 foot long nets by 2 rescuers . I stand 6 ' so including the net I can reach about 25' off the ground or if I lean over the roof I can reach down about 22' down. Once I climbed thru this little 3' by 2' hatchway in the basement to get into the air shaft I hear James , who's already there telling me from the shadows-- this doesn't look good. The bird was on a window sill on the 4th floor , exactly where we have no access from either below or above so we thought of a new plan.

The bird could fly from the front of the building to the rear locked in this shaft but couldn't get enough height to get out. Just as I got to the apartment the caller tells me its right on the sill behind a locked window. It spooked as soon as I walked into the room..

There was a smaller pane next to the closed one that could open but I couldn't fit any net thru it so we opened it anyway and waited for James to disturb the hawk enough till it flew back to the sill . I hid blindly to the side of this opening and waited on James' directions when to lunge at the window and it worked.

I'm sure he didn't have many more days left in him with no food or water and would have eventually ended up grounded and possibly too late to save.

I'm pretty sure its a boy and as Cathy [Bobby' wife and fellow rehabilitator. D.B.] will tell you that's the sex we seem to get in the most this time of year. Of the 8 redtails we've gotten in the past month, 6 were juvenile males. She strongly believes that all "silly" males ,animal and human alike, get into trouble without their mom, and the young females do much better on their own early on. She may have a point. I cannot win this argument and I cannot vouch for other rehabbers numbers either. In any event we'll do our best and hopefully this one can go back but it probably won't be released until it molts because of the damaged primaries, due to confined space.

Jame's observation [of a second juvenile in the area D.B.] means there most likely is a nest nearby but it would be a tough one to find unless somebody points it out.

There was a kestrel nearby and there is a nest as well about 2 buildings away that a fledgling was rescued from this summer. Though it seems unlikely, its a good spot for raptors proving city birds are quite adaptable.

They said the park is close by but is it big enough space wise and prey wise to support all these birds? I would think they are hunting elsewhere as well . It all went very smoothly and I am very happy how things worked out today. I just wanted to share the whole story with you once I had time.

Of the 2 recent redtails rescued from the Wall Street area the confirmed poisoned one is beginning to make improvement but months away from knowing its outcome but the more recent one is outside today in the flight cage and might be able to go back soon. I don't know of a release site there unless there is a park close by as I think getting 2 from the same spot they must be resident youngsters but it doesn't mean they must go back to the same spot if it isn't in their best interest .

The other issue is releasing birds in the winter is not always recommended and we do regularly over winter certain birds but they need to be cage space willing. The last batch of birds we did release were all in perfect shape, getting really antsy, and were picked to go as the best decision before they injured themselves or caused major feather damage.

Bobby

NEXT TODAY'S OTHER RESCUE PARTICIPANT FROM NYC RAPTORS WAS FAST MOVING JAMES O'BRIEN WHO IS ONE OF OUR LOCAL NATURE PHOTOGRAPHERS AND A WILDLIFE BLOGGIST. TO READ JAMES' ACCOUNT AND TO SEE SOME PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE HAWK, THE CONCERNED RESIDENT, AND THE SUPER OF THE BUILDING, ALL WHO WERE INSTRUMENTAL IN THE RESCUE AS WELL , HIT THE LINK FOR JAMES' BLOG BELOW--

http://yojimbot.blogspot.com/

AND VERY SORRY TO SAY, STILL NO WORD OF A GLIMPSE OF LOLA FROM CENTRAL PARK HAWKWATCHERS.

Donegal Browne

PLUS COMING SOON-Singer Brian Dougherty (he's an amazing tenor), has a NYC mystery raptor sighting, and a double opossum night during a snow storm in Wisconsin...just LOOK at those tracks. Oh dear, I do hope he isn't going to break the serving bowl from my mother's 2nd best china. Oops.