Rescue and Release at the Wildlife Center

PATIENT:Louisiana Waterthrush, #11-0244 LOCATION OF RESCUE:  Wildlife Center of Virginia CAUSE OF ADMISSION:  Window strike ADMISSION DATE: April 4, 2011 OUTCOME: Released April 5, 2011 On the morning of April 4, Wildlife Center front-desk coordinator Lacy Kegley was answering a phone call about a patient.  As she was talking on the phone, a small bird flew into the front window of the Wildlife Center.  Lacy went outside to check on the bird and saw blood coming from its beak, so she scooped it up and brought it back into the Wildlife Center's clinic.  Upon closer inspection, the bird was identified as a Louisiana Waterthrush, a bird that winters in Central America and the Caribbean and spends its breeding season in the eastern half of the U.S.  This small thrush spends time foraging for aquatic invertebrates around forest streams.  The Louisiana Waterthrush has a loud, ringing song; they are also well-known for wagging their tails when walking along the ground.  According to the Birds of North America online, the habit is so pronounced that both the genus and species name --Seiurus motacilla-- mean “tail-wagger.” This Louisiana Waterthrush sustained a beak injury when it hit the window; Dr. Miranda Sadar stopped the bleeding and quickly (as well as painstakingly) applied super glue to the beak to fix the fracture.  The bird spent the rest of the morning recovering in the critical-care chamber. By mid-afternoon the waterthrush was stable and was test flown, passing with flying colors.  Dr. Miranda opted to wait another day before release; she wanted to be sure that the beak fracture was stable and that the bird could eat on its own.  On the morning of April 5, the Louisiana Waterthrush was bright and alert, and the beak-fracture repair was solidly in place.  Lacy, Dr. Miranda, and many other Center staff convened in front of the Wildlife Center for this small, but exciting, release.  Check out the video of this quick release on the Wildlife Center's YouTube channel! About half of the 2,000+ patients admitted to the Wildlife Center each year are birds.  The Center depends on the donations of  generous individuals for the care provided to these “feathered friends”.  Please help!

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