This past week the WR&E Wildlife Center received three more Great Horned Owlets who will stay at the Center until they are ready for a pre-release cage.  One owlet arrived early in the morning from a couple who were driving through the Houston area and had heard about the Wildlife Center.  Another owlet was brought to the Wildlife Center by a Texas Parks & Wildlife game warden.  The owlet had a leg and wing injury.  Dr. Antinoff from Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists quickly came to the Wildlife Center to exam and x-ray the baby.  We are waiting for the surgeon to determine what the course of treatment will be for this little one.   The third owlet is a larger baby who will be joining the first two in the pre-release cage as soon as it gains weight.

In April of 2009, Samson and his mate appeared at a next box constructed on the top of the Engineering and Mechanical Sciences Building on the campus of the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee. We know this because the nest box was constantly monitored via webcam. The nest box was constructed at that site a year earlier in hopes that peregrines would eventually make use of it.  Over the course of several days, Samson’s mate laid 4 eggs. You can only imagine how excited the students of the University of Wisconsin and researchers were as they followed the family’s progress. Mom incubated the eggs, but sometimes Samson took a turn. The eggs began to hatch on May 16. All four of the chicks survived and flourished. On June 8, the humans came and banded the legs of all of his offspring. They grew strong and fledged – the circle was complete.

We know that Samson migrated to Houston for the winter because he was delivered to the WR&E Wildlife Center extremely emaciated. Triage found a badly damaged wing.  Digital x-ray examination indicated that there were three fractures of the wing between the “wrist” and “elbow”. The fragments were realigned and the wing was wrapped. The prognosis is mixed, he will live, but the chances that he will regain full use of the wing are slim. WR&E will ensure he has a good life with us as an Education Ambassador or is placed with a well respected zoo.

But what happened to his mate? Mated pairs usually travel together, but if they don’t it is usually the male that doesn’t migrate. So it is safe to say she probably is here somewhere. Was she watching as her mate was scooped from the ground by a human? Even if the nesting box is used again this spring, we won’t know if it is her because she wasn’t banded. But we can hope.

The Peregrine Falcon was considered extinct east of the Mississippi during the mid-60’s. Efforts to reintroduce peregrine falcons, especially in urban areas where pigeons are plentiful have been very successful. For more information about this effort in general and Samson in particular, visit the University of Wisconsin.

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Photo by Jamie Drake

The Northern Crested Caracara is of the family Falconidae, subspecies Polyborinae or Caracarinae depending on the source. In Latin it is known as Polyborus (eats almost anything) plancus (eagle). But it is also known as the Caracara Cheriway, Audubon’s Caracara or the Mexican Eagle. Five genera are recognized and most are listed as threatened.

Classified as a falcon, the Caracara is quite an unusual bird. A beautiful bird in a palette of black, white and a yellow that blends to orange or red, it seems to straddle the families of falcon, vulture and well…chicken.

Once identified, it is impossible to mistake the Caracara’s striking silhouette, either at rest or in flight. At rest, the Caracara is obviously a powerful raptor; very long of leg, powerful talons, a distinctive beak and bushy crest. In flight; the long neck and tail in combination with the broad wings give it the appearance of a “flying cross”.

Considered a medium sized raptor, the Caracara in 19 to 23 inches in length and weighs 1 ¾ to 3 ½ pounds. The wingspan is approximately 48 inches. On average they are heavier than a Red Shouldered Hawk, but slightly smaller than Red Tailed Hawk.

At maturity, the cere (a fleshy area along the top of the beak) is usually red or dark orange. When excited this area takes on a distinctively yellow coloration.  The cere also give indication of the bird’s maturity and sexual readiness.

The Caracara is a slow hunting raptor that prefers an easy meal of fresh carrion, but is just as satisfied with large insects, reptiles, amphibians, fish, birds and mammals. It is often seen walking along the ground or wading in shallow water looking for prey. Believed to have the most varied diet of any raptor, the Caracara require vast hunting grounds.

Texas and Florida represent the northern most limit of the Caracara’s habitat. The species is better represented in Central and South America. The Caracara prefer open lowland country such as pastures, prairies, savannas, river edges, ranches and some forest and marshes. The conversion of habitat to agricultural, residential and commercial uses causes proportionally more damage to this slow reproducing bird. The Caracara is one of the few species to have benefited by the conversion of land by ranching.

The mesquite savannah of the King Ranch is an ideal habitat. It is there that the Caracara, Red-tailed Hawk and the White-tailed Hawk coexist. Little is known about how the species partition territory, but nest site selection can be strongly correlated to each species. The Red-tailed Hawk prefers larger Live Oak at the perimeter of open prairie while the White-tailed Hawk prefers low thorny scrub trees that rise like islands from the prairie. The Caracara nest in trees that are shorter than the Red-tailed, but taller than the White-tailed.

The Caracara is one of the least understood raptors and while it is known that viability is dropping at a rate greater than its habitat destruction, scientists haven’t been able to determine specific factors. It is known that Caracara do not migrate and are very territorial. Once established, the Caracara tend to remain in place as long as the environment will support them.

Unlike other falcons who rehabilitate abandoned nests, the Caracara build big messy nests in Live Oak, palm trees or woody scrub. The monogamous pair will incubate a pair of white eggs that have spots and blotches of brown. Chicks are yellowish buff with crazy flyaway patches of dark brown feathers on the head.

The young fledge at about 8 weeks of age, but stay close to the parents for 6 months or longer. Young are encouraged to leave the parent’s territory prior to the next breeding season. Females roam three to four times as far from their parent’s territory as do the males. It is believed that this prevents inbreeding.

Adult plumage isn’t attained until the third year. Sexual maturity doesn’t occur until the third or fourth year. In the meantime, the juveniles sometimes congregate in large groups of up to 100 individuals to play, mock fight and find a suitable mate.

Even people that live in Caracara territory often never see one because they haunt places usually only frequented by ranchers and hikers.

The hawk was rushed into surgery where Dr. Brenda Flores skillfully stitched up the inner wound.  The external neck wound was cleaned and attended to.  The day after surgery the hawk was standing and feeling feisty.  He will be gavage fed for several days while his wounds heal. 

Miraculously its wings are in fine shape and no other injuries were found.  He will spend the next several weeks in rehabilitation and it is hoped he will have an end of the year release.  This year the WR&E Wildlife Center was honored with the task of rehabilitating many of these amazing creatures.  The Houston area experienced a late spring and summer drought that brought many young Red Shoulder fledglings to the Wildlife Center.  These birds were hydrated, fed, and flight conditioned.  Thanks go to the team efforts of rescuers, caregivers and donor supporters that so many of these awesome birds of prey were given    A Place to Grow   A Place to Heal   A Place to be Wild.

“Buddy” the pelican (as named by his rescuers) is now healthy and strong. The old badly healed wing break still prevents him from being released into the wild, but Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville is still waiting for Buddy and his two companions. All they are waiting on is paperwork and a ride.

The Osprey whose feathers and feet were burned (perhaps by a flare)  is holding her own. She doesn’t like the same type fish that the other fish eating birds adore, so a volunteer frequents a fish market for tempting meals. While she’s not out of the woods yet, we are very hopeful.

The next step of the healing process was several weeks in a large flight cage for flight conditioning. After a few weeks, it was amazing to see him maintaining flight and gliding in the flight cage. When he left the hands of the WR&E volunteer on Sunday morning all they could see were the dark flight feathers and the buffy wing linings as he soared above them. It was hard to determine who was happier – the Swainson’s Hawk or the proud WR&E volunteers.

Some interesting facts about the Swainson’s Hawk:

• They congregate in flocks numbering into the thousands for migration. Their migration begins in Canada and ends in Argentina. It is the longest of any American raptor (only tundra breeding Peregrine Falcon travel longer distances).
• Small pockets of Swainson’s Hawk along the Texas Gulf Coast and the Florida Coast either got lost or chose to settle in for extended periods.
• The immature birds are easily tracked to their wintering grounds because they stay together in groups, but it is not known exactly where the adults winter.
• They are a medium sized hawk with a stout body, broad rounded wings and a medium long rounded tail. Dark flight feathers provide a stark contrast to the pale inner wing, the tail is light with multiple thin dark bands; one darker and broader near the tip of the tail. The face is white with a dark crown.
• Sometimes confused with the Broad Winged Hawk and the White Tailed Hawk as both have similar underwing patterns. Both species lack the dark chest and the dark trailing edge of the wing is narrower since only the tip of each flight feather is dark. The tail bands of the Broad Winged Hawk are broader. The back of the White Tailed Hawk tends to be more gray.
• During the breeding season, the Swainson’s Hawk relies primarily on a diet of small mammals. While in South America for the non-breeding season, the diet shifts to grasshoppers, locusts, dragonflies and other large insects. They can often be seen following tractors in fields to see what prey is flushed. Their diet also tends towards more reptiles and amphibians.

Often misidentified as a Sharp-shinned Hawk, the Cooper’s Hawk is slightly larger (21 to 36 inch wingspan) and has a tail that is rounded in appearance. Juveniles start as cream and brown with a brown crown and yellow eyes. As they mature, Cooper’s Hawk develop the characteristic gray back, reddish brown and cream banded chest, black crown and deep red eyes.

While Cooper’s Hawks share a diet that is similar to other raptors, they tend to prey on other birds such as pigeon and dove. Their wings are designed for dramatic aerobatics and can be seen flying with quick short strokes with relatively brief glides. They hunt almost entirely by surprise.

Until recently, the rehabilitators of WR&E rarely saw baby or juvenile Cooper’s Hawks. Instead, they only saw adults injured during migration. It has been noted that the increase in the number of White Wing Dove (a larger dove than the more common Mourning Dove) has coincided with the increase in baby and juvenile Cooper’s Hawks. This suggests that as prey has increased in the Greater Houston area, the Cooper’s Hawks have followed.

Cyndi Bohannon

The Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) is arguably one of the most majestic of all raptors. Solitary in nature, a group would be called a Parliament. Of the order Strigifermes and family Strigidae, the Great Horned owl is considered a “true owl”. The other owl family, Tytonidae include barn owls. Eight sub-species have been recognized. The territories of sub-species rarely overlap.

The largest owl in the United States, it can stand 18 to 27 inches and have a wingspan of 48 to 60 inches! The Great Horned owl is the most widely distributed true owl in the Americas, inhabiting all ecosystems except deep desert and Arctic tundra. The overall coloration ranges from near white in the far northern portion of their range to dark chocolate brown in the southern regions.

Size and weight varies geographically with the larger, heavier individuals living in colder climates. The females are larger than the males and weight ranges between two and a half and four pounds. All sub-species share the overall markings: prominent ear-tufts or “horns”, white patch at the throat, narrow bars on the front and a random mottled back.

The Great Horned Owl primarily hunts at night, but sightings at dawn and dusk are not unusual. Perched high above an open area, it silently swoops down upon almost anything that moves. Its diet is extremely diverse, but small to medium mammals, birds and waterfowl are favorites. It is the only known predator of the skunk.

Unlike many raptors, the Great Horned Owl will walk on the ground to gather crawfish, amphibians, reptiles or large insects. It have been known to walk into henhouses and wade into shallow water for a meal. Owls swallow small prey whole or take larger prey to a safe perch.

It is estimated that the Great Horned Owl can lift prey up to twice its weight. Non-digestible portions of dinner such as feathers, hair and bone are compacted by the stomach into a tight pellet which is regurgitated. These pellets yield a fascinating glimpse into the diet of the Great Horned Owl.

The most dramatic feature of the Great Horned Owl’s feet are the talons; needle sharp points pierce prey easily. But several adaptations allow for more efficient hunting. The underside of the owl’s foot is rough and knobby which provides superior grasping. The bones of the foot are much stronger than other birds to survive the impact with prey. Without conscious thought, the talons continue to ratchet closed until the owl decides to open them. Massive thigh muscles give the talons their strength.

Like other birds, the “relaxed” position of the feet is closed. This helps keep the owl on its perch even when it is asleep. Two of the four toes always face forward and one of the four toes always face backward. The fourth toe is uniquely flexible and faces forward during flight and backward when perching. During a strike, the toes fan into an oval shape.

Adaptations in eyesight and hearing make the Great Horned Owl a formidable predator. At a glance, the bright golden yellow eyes mesmerize the observer. Contrary to popular lore, the nocturnal Great Horned Owl has equally excellent vision during the day and the dead of night. The eyes are not spherical like mammals, but instead are oblong and fixed in bony orbs. To compensate, the neck has fourteen neck vertebrae allowing for 270 degrees of rotation.

  Great  Horned Owls have three eyelids. The top eyelid “blinks”, owls frequently blink eyes independently of each other, appearing to wink at the observer. The lower eyelid raises to meet the closed upper lid for sleeping. A third eyelid, a translucent nictitating eyelid functions as a “windshield  wiper” that slides across the eye at a 45 degree angle.

The Great Horned Owl’s extraordinary hearing depends on many adaptations, including a  much larger and more complex area of the brain that processes hearing located in the medulla. The asymmetric placement of ears allows the Great Horned Owl to triangulate the source of a sound without tilting or twisting the head. Facial disks and “ear” tufts can be shaped much like a radar dish to channel sounds even more effectively.

The feathers of the Great Horned Owl are uniquely designed to limit the noise of flight. Compared to other birds, owls have few down feathers, instead the contour feathers have downy barbules and the leading edge has flutings or fimbriare. The wings are relatively large and rounded which allows for slow silent flight. The Great Horned Owl is a perfectly designed stealth hunter. Even the legs and feet are covered in feathers! These tiny feathers provide warmth and act as tactile sensors.

The courtship between owls begin in October and is marked by greatly increased vocalizations as single owls try to locate mates. By December, the mated pairs will begin singing duets. The female may be physically larger, but the male’s voice is much lower. Pairs are monogamous and remain in their territory year round. This territory is aggressively protected while the pair is raising chicks.

Pairs often start with an abandoned raven or squirrel nest and proceed to improve it. Tree hollows are sometimes selected. Either way, mating occurs in the early spring, resulting in a usual clutch of two eggs. Incubation is 30 – 37 days and the hatchlings will be brooded continuously for two weeks.

Hatchlings are bright white puffballs that slowly gain their distinctive plumage.  Nestlings move from the nest to nearby branches at about six weeks and fledge a week or two later. 

Great Horned owlets are one of the first animals that arrive at the Wildlife Center each spring. Great Horned Owls nest much earlier than other birds because survival of their offspring hinge on the babies being old enough to hunt at the peak of summer.

This year saw a dramatic increase in the numbers of Great Horned owlets finding their way to us for care. It is believed that the Ike ravaged squirrel and crow nests did not provide a sufficient base for the Great Horned owls to embellish.

Baywood Country Club, located in Pasadena, TX, hosted this year’s tournament on Monday, March 26th, 2007.  Birdies were flying as the 25 teams swung their way to fabulous prizes.  Sam’s Boat Richmond donated and catered a tasty lunch.

First place Joe Watts, Donnie Anderson, Jeff & Susan Standridge Team Second place Egret Bay Neurology Team Third place Davis International Team 

The proceeds from this tournament alone will greatly benefit many of the thousands of wildlife that have a second chance through the hands of WR&E rehabilitators. None of this would be possible without the contributions of time as well as money from so many.

The support was once again overwhelming and for that we are for ever grateful. WR&E would also like to add a very special thank you to one of its own – EJ Rogers. EJ has been solely responsible for organizing the golf tournament since its inception three years ago.  Through her countless hours of sacrifice, EJ defines the committed spirit of a volunteer’s gift of love – TIME.  As a special touch, one of EJ’s many projects this year was to give each hole sponsor a framed print of the animal which represented that golf hole. The photos EJ took were beautiful.  What a personal touch for WR&E supporters…EJ, thank you for all you do!

Wildlife Rehab & Education’s oldest educational ambassador died peacefully in his sleep during November of 2008.  His mesmerizing golden eyes were photographed by amateur and professional alike. The public usually  responded to the eyes first, talons second then finally to his sheer presence.

WR&E does not name our ambassadors out of respect for their wild nature. WR&E also feels bestowing a human name on a wild animal sends a mixed message to the children and adults attending our educational lectures where they are told that almost all wildlife is protected by state and federal laws.

The beloved “Great Horned Owl” that was entrusted to our care was an educational ambassador for over twenty (20) years.  He came to us after he was shot and part of his wing was amputated.  WR&E obtained the state and federal permits to keep him as an educational ambassador.  He educated over 100,000 schoolchildren, teens and adults about respecting wildlife, respecting the environment, and respecting each other. 

No one could come in contact with this powerful bird of prey without feeling  profound emotions. In the words of his caretaker, Sharon Schmalz, “Great Horned Owl was never my pet. He still belonged to Mother Nature; I was just his caretaker after a human injured him. He gave to me more than I ever gave to him.

My favorite times were watching the expression on the faces of children and adults when they saw him majestically emerge from the carrying case. I knew how the audience felt because I felt it too…every time. The perfect colors of his feathers, the strong wing beats, the huge talons and the large golden eyes made me respect him and all his fellow wild creatures. A picture could never capture his magnificence. I always felt so lucky to be able to care for this Great Horned Owl but sad that he would never soar again on this earth. He is soaring now above us all and watching how each of those human hearts that he once touched can make a difference for his fellow wild animals and for their fellow human beings.”