Oya (56 days), the eldest chick from the Salt Point nest, who fledged last Sunday and has been flying around since had an accident today. She was found on the railroad tracks at 8:30 am a few yards north of the SP entrance standing, but was obviously injured. She was taken to CU's wildlife hospital on Hungerford Hill by a kind passerby, who then walked out to the platform to me. Both Melissa Groo and I, who were at Salt Point to take her photo, got to see Oya after she was administered pain medication, examined under anesthesia, and euthanized around 11:30 am. I imagine she suffered, but primarily her demeanor shocky and out of it. From the feathers I collected—clumps of her primaries, coverts, alulas, and marginal coverts ripped out together—it was obvious she had a serious shoulder wound.
I got to examine her thoroughly before they sent her to the DEC for a necropsy. She was the biggest of the three and in top condition—beautiful, plump, strong, and the leader of her brood. The doctor promised to send me copies of all the measurements the collect and the cause of her death. I hope they follow through. I did some "forensics" at the site collecting the feathers left behind and tracking the blood patterns. I can only make an educated guess at what happened without the autopsy. From there blood and distribution of feathers, it looked like an aerial attack perhaps by an eagle (great horned owls only attack at night) and her right shoulder had been partially ripped apart. Her shoulder and wing feathers, including the alulae, coverts, and primaries were still attached in a clump, which made me suspect the outcome would be bad. Alternatively, she could have hit something sharp like the railroad bridge over Salmon Creek. Young fledges are usually clumsy fliers, getting much too close to objects and are prone to accidents. Ospreys have roughly a 53% chance of surviving their first year, After that they have a 70-over 80% chance of survival. Oya was such a magnificent young bird that my heart aches at her loss Such is life and death in the real world. We should always celebrate what is and not what might have been. Candace -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
