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Almost the Ides of March.....

3/14/2014

We lost the juvenile Mississippi Kite. Found him dead in the morning after a day of fresh air and sunshine. Central Georgia since nest sites have been confirmed as far north as Fayette County. If you should see some M Kites and take a few minutes to watch I don't believe you will be disappointed.

This is a mature adult M Kite released by Laurens Wildlife in Dublin, Ga. He didn't come to us since he was an "in and out". This picture is courtesy of Vonda Morton at Laurens Wildlife. Notice the drastic change in plumage from the juvenile to the adult. The eyes are a red color in the adults.

If you are interested in working with a wildlife rehabilitator or learning to be a wildlife rehabilitator contact a licensed rehabber and talk to them. There is a list on the Ga. DNR website. If they are not listed on that website but insist that they are a licensed rehabber ask to see their permits. All Rehabbers will have a permit or permits with Ga. Dept. of Natural Resources or US Fish and Wildlife Services letterheads and/or stamps on the permit. Protect yourself from people who are going holding around seminars and stating their seminar/class is a prerequisite to obtaining a rehab permit. These people are charging money for these classes and are not licensed rehabilitators. Call Ga. Special Permits office if you have any questions and before you plunk down your money. This information is a free service to you from a licensed( federal and state) wildlife rehabilitator.
Remember Caesar yon Cassius has a lean and hungry look........

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Update on last post....

3/11/2014

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Have received several inquiries about the Mississippi Kite. The information about life history and biology is accurate. Details are in the previous post along with picture of a very healthy male. Yes we are 99.9% sure someone had him in their possession for a very long time. Look at these photos-

This guy should have been allowed to leave with his kin last Sept. His baseline weight is 316 grams. The day of these pictures he weighed 170 grams. How do you replace weigh on a raptor that feeds mainly on insects like cicadas and grasshoppers???? for contrast here look at the previous post for a pictures of a very healthy male taken in the summer.

Heard great stuff about the big band dance Saturday evening. We were tied up with a couple intensive care cases but did get to hear a bit of the band when I went over about 10 pm to pick up our display.

Thanks and appreciate all the support.

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Lot's of Stuff and a local good time

3/5/2014

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Let me have your attention for a bit then I'll give it right back In the Pike County area this Saturday, March 8, 2014 a Big Band Swing Dance is being held at Life Springs Church. For singles it's $15.00 and 25.00 for a couple. Here the deal! The event runs from 7pm-10pm and food is included. From 7-7:30 dance instruction is available so you can "cut a rug" with the best of them. If you envision yourself in a double breasted suit with your best babe on your arm then don't miss it(even if you don't have a DB suit). It will be fun.

Do not know if Bubba and Friends will be able to make it as we have a number of intensive care cases underway. Actually won't know until the last minute but would be first in line if we could.

Proceeds from this event go to support the Library and Pike County Friends of Animals.

Mississippi Kite

Yes we have a juvenile M Kite in House. Yes I know they are not even suppose to be in Georgia until April or May. He came from the Houston County area and is in rough shape. Since M Kites can't survive in the outside temps of Dec, Jan, Feb. someone had him. A small mammal rehabber in Perry recovered him in Jan. and only recently notified us. He should weigh between 12-14 ounces instead of the 5.32 ozs he currently weighs. He is alert and is sounding off with his "pip-pew" call.

Mississippi Kites are small raptors about the size of a crow. The juveniles are brown and white like most juvenile hawks. As an adult they turn silver gray with black wings and red eyes.

Their diet is primarily insects, especially cicadas. They catch them while flying and eat them while flying. If you ever get a chance to watch them hunt a field it is amazing to see. About September they all start moving toward the Gulf of Mexico. As the days shorten and the insect populations start to diminish they began to migrate following the contour of the edge of the gulf coast until they arrive in Mexico. The juveniles are group fed by the adults during the migration. Their "pip-pew "call is a hunger call.

There is still a lot that is not known about the M kites. In our area we know of nests in Fayette County, Spalding County, Lamar County, and Pike County. All the nests we not used this past year, don't know why.

This the best picture we have a juvenile M Kite.This was one of our first successes back in 2006. Last time we saw him he was headed toward Panama City with 4 wild Kites. Unfortunately the boy we have now has a way to go to come close to looking this good.

Volunteers

We are planning a volunteer training session if spring ever comes and the rains ever subside. Have had a number inquiries following the Buckshot TV news coverage.

We get all volunteers together so we can get on the same page. The training session does not qualify you to rehab raptors on your own. We discuss fed and state regs and the need for compliance. Then we cover policy and procedures, like personal safety, food safety etc. Lot's of discussion and developing a trust with each other to work around the raptors.

This session is going to be limited to 10 and we already have 4 or 5 waiting. If you are thinking about and want to commit please think about it. We are making a time commitment to you and would appreciate reciprocity. There is guy in south Ga. that charges "volunteers" $40.00 to learn how to transport raptors. We are not part of that. Can't see nickel and diming folks who are going to be using their gas and their time to help put our wildlife back in the wild.

More to come as the weather clears or we have to start building Ark.

Donations

Neal you gave us a great idea! Glad you thought of it.

We cover a huge area of the state with a couple million people involved. If we can get a couple hundred people to donate $20.00 each at the first of the month every month we should be able to handle the patients/ raptors. We could also save enough to do public programs again. It costs about $150.00 to do an education presentation. During the economic downturn we lost our sponsors. So we had to curtail the projects. I hate telling kids No because their is no money.

We are currently headed toward a food shortage because of the persistent cold temp. We have had to double up on food so the raptors can prevent cold injuries. We are not out of food and don't want to run out. Past history calendar says we are now officially in baby season. We currently have one baby GHO and the other 13 are adults.

Think about and see if you can automatically do $20 a month or even $10. A couple hundred folks donating this way would be really helpful.

Neal, don't care what anybody else says about you , I think you have a good idea!

Before I give your attention back to you think about the items in this blog and see what you can do.

hope you have clear skies, warm thermals, and plenty of food for your youngun's.

Hi Tatum !

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Almost the Ides of March.....

Update on last post....

Lot's of Stuff and a local good time

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