Female martin can't fly...UPDATED

[KathyF]

I found a female in my yard this evening who can't fly....trying to find a rehabber. she's very ticked off and I'm having a hard time even inspecting her.

[Louise Chambers]

You can email Penny H, and she'll call you via her cell when she can. Hopefully your bird just needs a day or less to recover.

[KathyF]

Thanks, Louise - I just talked to a songbird rehabber in St. Louis - I need to get to know one here anyway - and she said to give her a bowl of water & some crickets and put her in a quiet place til tomorrow, then examine her for injuries.

I put her in a 5 gal. bucket w/ pine needles and put her on our screened in porch where she can hear the colony. I'll leave her there tonight.

she was really squawking and trying to bite me when I picked her up, so I'm not sure what her injuries are yet- I decided not to stress her anymore this evening. I just checked on her and she won't take crickets, but seems very alert and has pulled her wings together - watched me intently.

I'll update in the morning. Her adult man was on the ground next to her protecting her....so sweet.

[KathyF]

YAY! I put about 40-50 crickets on a small plate in the bucket and just checked on her. She's sitting by the plate and has eaten about half of the crickets. So glad to see her eat so much!

[flyin-lowe]

I am no expert but in my opinion that is a great sign.

[jmeyer]

keep us posted!

[TX Rehabber]

Great news Kathy! 90% of the battle when it comes to rehabbing is getting the bird to eat on its own or accept food when hand fed. It makes the healing process much, much easier and allows all the time you need for the mending process. Keep us updated.

[KathyF]

Hi Penny - thanks for checking in! I know you have lots of birds you're dealing with, so decided not to bother you, as I had already made contact with a st. louis rehab group ....yet.

Well, she was perched this morning on the little perch that I made for her and looking very alert. Gave her some more crickets, then wrapped her in a towel to examine her. Her right wing 'snapped' back in place easily, and her left wing - while it went back into place, seemed a little slower. Her left shoulder appears a little swollen. I tried to 'bicycyle' her legs, as advised by the rehabber and her left leg seems a little stiff too.

I decided to put her on the ground and let her go to see if she could even take off. She can't seem to extend her left wing on her own.

Penny - at this point, probably best to get her to a rehabber, right? I could keep her and feed her and see if she heals, but if she doesn't or gets worse, then I'll have a purple martin through winter. Just thinking out loud - I know what I need to do...it's a 2.5 hour drive this evening I guess.

[TX Rehabber]

Kathy, I wouldn't take off for that road trip yet. Since you said that her shoulder appeared to be swollen, it's possible that she has a very bad bruise. If the wing is not hanging, then hopefully the shoulder is not broken or dislocated. Give her about 3 to 5 days for some of the swelling to go down and try her again on flying. In the mean time, if you have a cat or dog kennel, place her in that on a towel. It gives her more room to walk around and I wouldn't give her a perch at this time. Just the extra movement of getting on and off the perch makes her want to use the bad wing for balance. As always, give her all she will eat! It may take up to 2 weeks for a complete recovery. Just take it one step at a time. If you need to talk, I'm off today and will be available after noon, so please call.

[jmeyer]

Kathy, I was looking for an update on your injured female. Any news?

[KathyF]

She's holding her own - keeping her injured wing tucked tightly to her body, using it only a couple of times. Rehabbers says it will take 5-10 days of bedrest to know for sure if she'll fly again. So for now, it's a wait & see situation and just keeping her fed and quiet.

The males in my colony are going bonkers this week, chasing another female down in the tall hayfield grass just this morning, I went to rescue her but she was able to get airborne before I could grab her. Don't know why this week has been particularly bad with male martins behaving badly.

Thanks for asking....I'll update every few days...progress is slow.

[Paul P]

Kathy,

Sorry for your injured girl. I know you will take the best of care to get her back on her wings.

Have you set any dates on banding yet? Please keep me informed.

Paul

[KathyF]

Hey Paul - the banding group is going to come by this Sat. and we're going to review records & decide then when the main banding date will be. Right now, it's looking like maybe the weekend of 6/24, or 6/25 or 6/26.

That's tentative right now, but I'll send everyone an email this weekend and let you know for sure!

Can't wait to meet you and your lovely wife!

[KathyF]

Well, apparently she was tested this morning in an open area and she wasn't quite able to take off, BUT her wing is functioning better than it did 5 days ago. She managed to get some lift for a couple of feet, but not full capabilities yet.

Prognosis is good - maybe another 5 days of rehab and try again! We're very hopeful. She's a good eater - has a huge appetite, so that's going in our favor. I'm proud of her - she still has a lot of spunk and fight in her. Atta girl!

[dsonyay]

wow- great job! How easy was it to recapture her after the test flight? Were you in an enclosed place somewhere?

Very interesting story to follow.

[katkola]

I also found an injured female SY Purple Martin on the ground last Monday. She was unable to fly and her left wing was dragging the ground. I took her immediately to the Wildlife Center of Virginia, which just happens to be a couple of miles from me, and they have had her ever since. I all daily to check on her.

They are giving her antibiotics and pain medication. She is eating well and nothing appears to be broken - just some swollen tissue. She doesn't stand on her own, however. They say her condition is still "guarded".

When I was able to find which nest she was in, I found it was the one with 4 eggs. I placed the eggs in other nests with eggs - hoping to give them a chance to hatch.

I really hope she makes it and I can return her to her colony!

[dsonyay]

Well, apparently she was tested this morning in an open area and she wasn't quite able to take off, BUT her wing is functioning better than it did 5 days ago. She managed to get some lift for a couple of feet, but not full capabilities yet.

Prognosis is good - maybe another 5 days of rehab and try again! We're very hopeful. She's a good eater - has a huge appetite, so that's going in our favor. I'm proud of her - she still has a lot of spunk and fight in her. Atta girl!

what's the status of the little female? I'm assuming she is ok by now and back to the air.

[KathyF]

Hi David,
She took off Wednesday and didn't miss a beat as she headed southeast. 2 rehabbers told me that she may never fly again, but she decided to prove everyone wrong and flew - a bit rough at first, but she seemed to 'get her wings' and remembered that she's a martin a started flapping.

She has probably left Missouri by now, but either way, at least she was flying when she left and that's all I could hope for!

[Daryl Lindstrom - MN]

Awesome story kathy! Thanks!

[dsonyay]

fantastic... you did a great job