|
This story is from Lora Smith, our
Bunnell, Florida volunteer.
Lora Smith, our Bunnell, Florida
volunteer works every year with seabirds that are sick or injured. In
the past years, the Common Loon as had a tough time. This year has been
no different. There have been a lot of deaths – cause unknown! Other
loons, because of the mild weather have begun to molt, losing flight
feathers and unable to migrate. They are helpless while their feathers
are growing back. The increasing number of sick and dying seabirds in
the past years has even sparked the interest of the Vet School at the
University of Florida. They have agreed to help us try to figure out why
so many of these birds become ill and die during migration.
This is a story about “Lucky Loon”. He
had become a pre-mature molt and could not fly. Lora realized that he
was very unsettled, because he was a healthy bird who just needed some
feathers to fly.
After some research by St. Johns Wildlife
Care, Inc. volunteers, a temporary home was found for him in one of the
ponds at Ideal Division – St. Augustine. Ideal agreed to let the loon
stay until his feathers grew back and he could continue his trip north.
It has been
reported by many of the Ideal employees, who have, unofficially adopted
this bird, that he is living the good life and is very content.
|
.jpg)
