Friday, May 30, 2014

Red-Bill Tropicbird Rehabilitation…

Recently a guest, John Erickson, found a juvenile tropicbird seemingly abandoned on the beach. Initially we decided to leave the young bird in the hand of nature, hoping that a parent would be caring for it. However, after a few days it was apparent that the bird was getting weaker and alone and thus vulnerable to stray dogs, carrion or starvation.  I decided to bring the young bird to the hotel and give it a more secure space to mature. Upon examination the bird seemed healthy and readily ate raw fish cut into strips. I am currently feeding him 4 to 6 ounces per day.

Here is his picture. A friend of mine, Kathy, named him, "Larry-bird:"




John also suggested a few things: give the bird an area to bathe, and exercise its wings by gently tossing him  in the air but not letting him fall.  Flapping his wings would help build strength and balance.

Red Billed Tropicbird- (Wikipedia entry)
(Adult)




 

1 comment:

  1. Exercise Day 5: I exercise the bird for about ten minutes every day… I have noticed that while his wings are still a bit under-developed, Larry-bird is getting stronger and today actually stayed aloft for a couple of seconds and, although rough, he actually "softly" landed on the grass about six feet from me.

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