ospreys impacted

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How did the intense hailstorm impact wildlife?

Saturday, I spoke with Dr. Cheryl Greenacre, DVM, Associate Professor of Avian & Zoological Medicine at UT's Veterinary Teaching Hospital. She was on duty last Thursday at the hospital located on Neyland Drive near my home. After the hailstorm and tornado passed through South Knoxville, she had never dealt with so many injured wildlife in one day. It was like triage for a MASH unit.

Cheryl said the surprising thing was the number of ospreys they received and most had broken ulnas: the major bones on the back of their wings. It appeared they had been on their nests mantling their clutches: holding their wings open like umbrellas to shield the eggs, very much like the above photo.

I've watched ospreys many times do the same thing to shade their young on hot, sunny days.

A few of the ospreys UT received were coughing up blood and had to be put down but the ones with only broken wings might be saved.

A check of the two closest nests near my home and consequently closest to the path of the tornado/hail turned up parent ospreys at both. One appeared to have one incubating with no sign of its mate. The other, on the railroad trestle at UT near Neyland Stadium, had both parents. We saw one fly in to take over nesting duties from the other.

At this time of the year, both nests are probably late in the incubation period or there may be young ones to protect. Osprey incubation lasts between 34 and 40 days and the nestlings fledge eight to ten weeks after hatching.

I'll keep you posted.

Osprey nest on railroad trestle at the University of Tennessee
on Sunday after Wednesday's storms.

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they're not pets

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Look at this sweet face. Would you do anything to harm it?

Lately, we've been getting several telephone calls at the nature center about box turtles. It's the summer season, it's hot, and the brightly patterned reptiles are out and about.

They are not lost! They are just a bit more active when it's warm. Nesting season should be over but there could even be a little of that spreading the old gene pool around going on out there.

In the state of Tennessee all reptiles are protected. You cannot bring them indoors and turn them into pets. Box turtles can live 130 years or more and that is quite a commitment. Don’t take away their freedom. Would you want to spend the next 100 years inside a cramped glass enclosure?

To quote one of my readers, "Wild box turtles often die in captivity because their needs—dietary and environmental—are not being met. This can even take a couple of years, and the decline may not be obvious." You would be sentencing them to a slow death.

I've also heard reports of box turtles that look sick, with growths or abscesses. If you find a sick-looking turtle take it to The University of Tennessee Veterinary Hospital on Neyland Drive. They are the experts. Please, don't try to treat it yourself.

(This post was prompted by a woman I talked to who felt strongly that she could cure a sick box turtle and keep it despite my telling her she could and should do neither.)

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