Spiderman does not......

a nutritious meal make. Reread it all you want folks, but it's not going to change. That's because this 5 inch tall thing.....

was regurgitated by this.....

a few hours after he was admitted into Wolf Hollow. I think he might have mistook it for a starfish. This beautiful Great Blue heron was found in a construction site in downtown Anacortes. He had walked into part of the site and while he wasn't stuck as in he was caught on something, he was in an area where he couldn't turn around. They got him turned around, he took a couple of steps, and fell forward, only for him to get up, take a couple of steps and fall again. Hence him being brought to us. One can only assume that good ol' Spidey had impeded his ability to eat and digest food. He was anemic when he came in so he was given iron along with Vitamin B complex to help get his appetite up and running again.

We also took an x-ray of him to make sure there was nothing else going on with him.

So this was my first x-ray experience with a live animal, although he stayed pretty calm, what with that towel being over his head and everything. And here is what the x-ray showed!

That's right...nothing. No Batman, no Robin....nothing! So we wait for him to gain his strength back and he should be just fine.

You know, if we have had one of these in before, I don't recall it. It's a Red-breasted sapsucker!

Isn't it gorgeous?! Part of the woodpecker family, this cutie was found in Sedro Wooley near someone's house. We think he hit a window, as you can see that he has a serious head tilt to the right and he circles to the right a lot. This usually indicates a head injury with swelling in the brain. So he got steroids and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory meds to help with that.

While he is eating on his own, he drinks better if you help him with it. And he's a feisty one, as even after I got done helping him drink and tried to put him back, he just sat on my hand, pecking at me VERY hard, the whole time thinking, I'm sure, "Take THAT...and THAT!"

BEWARE! GRAPHIC PHOTOS ABOUT TO BE POSTED!

Here is a Varied thrush we got in that blew against a window in a wind storm.

When he was first admitted, his right eye was closed with blood around it. We also think he might have a fractured collar bone, as his right wing was drooping but none of the long bones in the wing were broken. And initially he was pretty neurological, as he was very stressed when he came in, drifting in and out of consciousness. So, he got a wing wrap, steroidal and antibiotic eye drops, non-steroidal pain meds for his shoulder, and a homeopathic drug for stress.

But what, you may ask, about that obvious bump on his head? Initially they thought that was all part of the bumping into the window trauma, as he was bleeding a bit there as well. But as it turns out, it was an older injury and while I was there, they decided to clean it out. Now, I must say, this was pretty gross, as this thing was HUGE and was filled with puss that had hardened.

Now people, these are not small pieces. These are ginormous and when you take something large like this off of a bird's head, this is what it looks like.

Eegs! Nasty, isn't it?! It's hard to see in the photo, but that is a VERY deep hole in this little one's head. So we slapped some Tagaderm over it to keep it clean and so we could keep an eye out for any possible infection.

And yes, I know the Tagaderm piece is a bit too large. He is doing quite well, all things considered.

And how are our two Cooper's hawks doing? They are doing just fine! The Cooper's hawk that had the open shoulder injury, who we have named Kent after the local man who brought him in, got stitches put in.

I know, it's not the best of photos, but you get the gist. And it looks one hell of a lot better than it did, don't you think? He is still working on standing without having to adjust with his wings though.

Oh, and you want to know what else I learned? See how orange/red his eyes are? That means he is still a juvenile, unlike Bucky (I have no idea how THAT name came about), the other Cooper's hawk we have in, whose eyes are yellow.

He is doing much better as well. He can now uncurl the foot on the injured leg and is therefore standing a lot better. The pins and such will be in place for a few more weeks.

That's it for now. I know, I know...I hear a bunch of you saying "WHAT?! After 2 1/2 weeks of no posts, that's it?" Well, I DO have more things to share and will get them posted later this week. Til next time...