wildlife rescue association of BC

Yesterday (April 25)

I went out three times yesterday to check on progress. On my first early morning trip I found Wanda but couldn’t find Mr W at all, so that freaked me out a bit.

I tried again after nine and found him sitting on a Hydro wire in the alley. His demeanour could be summed up as “sick as a chip.” I eventually got him to come down to a fence for some peanuts, but he was very skittish (almost as if he knows I’ve been plotting to try and grab him to go to the wildlife rescue!)

When I visited again around lunch time I found both he and Wanda — and he seemed every so slightly more perky, even having a little look in someone’s recycling box at one point.

I left some peanuts for him, but it’s tricky as I don’t want the neighbouring crows to notice he’s getting extra treats in case it starts a crowfuffle. He’s in such a vulnerable state and the crows in general are so territorial at the moment — the last thing he needs is any trouble. The neighbours are Mr. Wing and Bongo (both mates, White Wing and Bella, seem to have vanished to their nest sitting duties.)

The lovely people at @wildliferescuebc have been in touch and would definitely have him in for treatment if only I could get him there — but he’s very insecure because of his impaired vision so I doubt I could get closer than ten feet away from him at the moment.

Today (April 26)

On the morning walk I couldn’t find any sign of Mr Walker or Wanda. We walked around their block so many times that Geordie was beginning to drag his heels. Not this same block again!!

The lunchtime expedition yielded slightly better results as I found both of the Walkers snuggled together in the top branches of a large tree.

Wanda on right, Mr W on left.

I left a few peanuts and bits of kibble for them, but they didn’t seem interested in moving from their perch, so I couldn’t get a good look at Mr W’s eye today, although it looked to be closed.

I’m hoping that a few days of rest will lead to some level of recovery.

I’ll be checking in with them every day so I’ll let you know if there are any further developments.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

© junehunterimages, 2023. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to junehunterimages with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

There’s a lot of local crow news right now (Wings, Bongo, P.Earl) but unfortunate circumstances bring me back to the Walkers today.

I saw the Walkers on the weekend and all seemed totally fine, if a little soggy.

This morning I saw Mr. Walker, but he wasn’t walking. He did fly over to me and then I saw his eye …

I tried to convince myself I’d got mixed up and this was Wanda, who IS blind in one eye — but I knew it was Mr W and they eye injury looked quite different from Wanda’s. Also, the other eye.

Wanda in the cherry tree last week

I put out a call for help from bird rehabbers and those with more knowledge than me on social media and received lots and lots of great suggestions. I also got in touch with our local wildlife rescue association, sending photos, and they suggested we take a wait and see approach.

I’m sincerely hoping it’s just a minor injury and he’ll recover without me having to attempt to get him into a box. I have zero crow trapping experience and I fear he is likely smarter than me.

Besides which, it would be a terrible time to take him away as Wanda is already, as I mentioned in the last post, making begging sounds and showing other signs that she’s either laid eggs or is about to, and will be 100% dependent on Mr Walker for food in the nest for awhile.

I went for a second visit this afternoon and saw the Walkers together at our usual meeting tree.

Mr Walker on the lower branch

I did notice in one of the photos I took this afternoon that his eye was open a little, which seemed like a big improvement, so fingers crossed it looks better and not worse tomorrow. I’ll keep you posted.