May-June is the period when most birds from Romania are breeding. This is the period when the chicks of different breeding species fledge earlier and can fall into hands of benign people. It is best to leave these birds at the location where they were found, possibly in a place protected from predators (cats, dogs).
In May and June we received more calls than in the previous months. Totally 32 bird lovers from 12 localities asked for our help, in most cases about young birds which left their nest, this way seeming orphans. Most of them were released at the location of their finding. In this period 15 birds arrived to our center: 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Common Buzzard, 2 Common Ravens, 1 White Stork, 6 Little Owls, 2 Long-Eared Owls, 2 Common Kestrels.
At the beginning of the period we had 8 birds: 1 Saker Falcon, 2 Common Buzzards, 1 Little Owl, 1 Sparrowhawk, 2 Common Kestrels, 1 Tawny Owl; a total of 23 birds received treatment.
There were 4 surgical interventions, 6 birds were released, 8 birds perished and 8 were under treatment at the end of the period (1 Saker Falcon, 1 Common Buzzard, 3 Little Owls, 2 Common Kestrels, 1 Long-Eared Owl).
The following bird species were treated in May and June 2012:
- White Stork (Ciconia ciconia) – 1 individual
- Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo) – 4 individuals
- Sparrowhawk(Accipiter nisus) – 2 individuals
- Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) – 4 individuals
- Saker Falcon (Falco cherrug) – 1 individual
- Tawny Owl (Strix aluco) – 1 individual
- Long-eared Owl (Asio otus) – 2 individuals
- Little Owl (Athene noctua) – 7 individuals
- Common Raven (Corvus corax) – 1 individual
The case of May
On the 28th June 2012 a White Stork was brought in our center by our colleague, István Kovács from Glodeni locality. We knew that the stork is a female bird from a known nest, from which the male had been ringed by us a few years ago as a chick. The pair had two eggs. While the female bird was treated, the male was brooding by himself, but he had to leave the eggs from time to time to search for food. After the female was brought back she started brooding also. Because of the rainy weather during her absence (4 days) though, the eggs got cold.
The case of June
On the 2nd of June 2012 Daniela Badea from Bucharest sent us 5 Little Owls which couldn’t be left at their finding location. When they arrived to Tîrgu-Mureș two of them had been weakened, and one of them had an injured eye. Unfortunately the two weak birds perished soon enough. The other chicks grew up, one of them was released in Tîrgu-Mureș on the 2nd of July, and the other two in Hodoșa on the 9nd of July.
We would like to thank those who asked for our help and especially to veterinarian Levente Borka for his fast and invaluable help.
In the name of the Rehabilitation Center,
Róbert Zeitz
