Nisos

Nisos, the osprey, came to us over 2 years ago. Somehow he had a self amputation, either by flying into a cable or wire, or he had a situation with a airplane. He lost his left wing tip, so obviously he can't fly or be released.

Ospreys can be hard to care for in captivity. They are a migratory bird, so Alaska is a tough place to keep one year round. In the photos, he has bumper pads on his wrist so he doesn't bang them up in his kennel during shipping.

Nisos is headed to Sea World in San Diego. There he should be happy year round. With Sea Worlds reputation for caretaking birds, mammals and animals, he should be well taken care of.

Thanks for your time with us Nisos.

2nd series of photos by Sharon Larson / Bird TLC

Phoenix, Thanks for the visit!

In August of 2008 we received two osprey chicks that were recovered after their nest on a power line caught fire. They both were too young to leave nest. One had no injuries and one had severe burns to its legs and a broken wing. The one that had no injuries was placed in a foster nest a few weeks later.

The other took some time to heal. After healing he was so imprinted there was no chance of release. Cindy was told that it was impossible to keep an osprey in captivity. So that was her inspiration to have an education osprey. I spent a lot of weekends building an insulated mew that would stay heated above 32°f, with a sad light on timer and remote thermometer.

Phoenix as he became known was well accepted by all of the volunteers. He would readily squeal at you if you didn't talk to him as you went by his mew. He became so easy to handle on glove that several volunteers checked off on him and were doing presentations. Phoenix was getting well known.

A few weeks ago Phoenix was a little quiet. It was also noticed that he wasn't eating as well as he normally did. An exam and blood test should nothing abnormal. A couple days later he passed away. There wasn't a dry eye in the building.

Even though Phoenix life was short, he sure touched a lot of people. I'm a little late writing this post because I didn't want to get anyone more upset. I doubt he'll ever be forgotten.

A little snow and Erin checks off on Phoenix

We got about 20 inches of fresh snow last week. Because of the previous heavy frost and the snow was very moist, it accumulated on the netting. The only way to get it down is to knock it down. It's not an easy task, but it needs to be done. Too much snow on the netting will cause it to tear and or collapse.

In the mean time there are still birds in the flight center. We need to keep and eye on them so we don't accidentally harm them or vise versa.

The temps were near 0°f. Gary and Warren were hard at it while I had to come in once or twice to thaw my mustache out.

Erin checked off on Phoenix the osprey on Saturday. I missed it due to work but Cindy took this picture for me. Congrats Erin!

Daryl & Phoenix the Osprey

Yesterday, Daryl checked off on Phoenix the osprey. Phoenix came to Bird TLC last summer after its nest was caught in a fire. His other sibling in the nest survived without injury. Unfortunately Phoenix had bad burns to his legs and a broken wing. The other was placed in a foster nest. Phoenix was never able to recover enough to be released, so he became part of Bird TLC's Education Program.

Daryl came to Bird TLC after retiring from the National Park Service. He has been a welcomed asset to TLC with volunteering several days a week in the clinic, out at the flight center, picking up birds at the airport and helping with maintenance wherever needed.

Watch for Daryl and Phoenix doing education presentations soon. These guys make a great pair.