Saturday, December 12, 2009

A Turkey Buzzard At My Door




All week long we have seen an injured Turkey Buzzard in the field above our house. His wing seemed to be broken and he could not fly. There was not a lot we could do, though we attempted to lure him closer to the house. After 5 days, he finally did get closer. He was eating what he could from some bones we had remaining from Deer Season. Following the advice of a woman we managed to get a hold of from Alchemy Acres, we took a sheet out and, once we cornered him near the house, gently wrapped the sheet around him and brought him in.


He seemed cold and tired. I have never seen one this close. He was not as large as I thought he would be, and I was not surprised to find out he was only a baby. We took him to Birds In Flight Sanctuary Inc. It is operated by a very nice lady named Heather Merritt. They have a web site. http://www.birdsinflightsanctuary.com




They take in raptors of all types, including endangered species. Heather told us that this guy was about 4 months old. He still had down feathers on his head. After giving him an examination, she determined that he had a broken wing, probably suffered while still in the nest. Turkey Buzzards fly south for the winter, and sadly his parents had to leave him behind. The break in his wing is severe and Heather does not think he will fly, ever. However, there is still hope. She will be x-raying him on Monday to determine how bad his wing is. She said they may be able to use him for educational purposes. They can rehabilitate him, and socialize him to use to teach people about him and birds like him. I sure hope so.
Birds of Flight Sanctuary is a non profit organization and really needs donations. If you are interested, please check their web site out to see what you can do to help.



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