Saving an injured dove - contacting a bird rehabilitation centre today

reeb

New member
Oct 23, 2017
568
Media
4
Albums
1
84
Cape Town, South Africa
Parrots
Berry (♀ Cockatiel) hatched June 2017
Opal (♂ Budgie) hatched 13 August 2017
Pearl (♀ Budgie) hatched 15 August 2017
+ an aviary of 16 other budgies! all hatched 2014-2017
Hi everyone,

The most dramatic predator/prey moment happened yesterday in my driveway. A bird of prey (we believe it to be a sparrow hawk) was chasing a turtle dove, who crashed into our balcony and fell to the ground. The hawk managed to grab him/her, but not before our tiny dog (a miniature pinscher) chased the hawk who dropped the dove to the ground. We managed to catch our dog before he could get to the dove. We actually have all of this on CCTV footage. In this screenshot you can see the hawk capturing the dove and my dog in chase:

10e33a75b6cc8d30bce1994d94174ebf.jpg


It was drizzling and cold, so we couldn’t just leave the poor thing in shock and terrified out in the open. We got a towel and a flight cage, gently picking up the bird and setting him/her up in a warm place in the house with accessible wild bird seed and water.

Luckily, he/she made it through the night, and is eating and drinking, as well as preening this morning. We are contacting a lady who lives nearby who not only rescues pet birds but rehabilitates injured wild birds. We are not sure of the extent of the injuries, there is no visible blood, but we are concerned about whether he/she has a wing injury that may prevent flight. We will then make a decision on a vet visit if needed.

Here the little one is:

24359289d3a9fa5ab9dea9bde1648fa4.jpg


Hoping for the best!!
 
What a wonderful save from certain oblivion! Thanks so much for caring and attempting a rehabilitation. Hopefully the injuries are minimal and will heal, allowing release. Please keep us updated on this saga, hope all turns out well.
 
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #3
GREAT news! We managed to release her - on advice from the centre we checked her wings and her eyes, as well as her body for injuries. The test was to see if she flew up, and she flew really well! All the way up into the trees! I’m glad we gave her a warm place to rest overnight, being cold, wet and in shock could have meant death for this little one. I’m so happy that she’s okay!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
What a lovely story for a Saturday morning ❤️❤️


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #6
It’s so great, I keep spotting her outside my bedroom window (can tell by her slightly scruffy head) and it makes me so happy to see her preening and with her other dove friends. We’ve put some seed out for her too! I’m so glad she’s seeming so well!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Most Reactions

Latest posts

Back
Top