August 25th, 2009

The Georgia Southern Wildlife Center and Lamar Q Ball Raptor Center are proud to announce a whole troupe of new arrivals! We are very fortunate to have recently taken on several new birds and we have some bright new faces joining the Center for this Fall.

New Birds:

Meet Dudley. Dudley is a juvenile Red-Shouldered Hawk, a very common and beautiful raptor common to Statesboro. Dudley was found as a fledgling after falling from the nest. He suffered a broken clavicle and a punctured eye and was taken in by a rehabilitation center. While there, he was nursed back to health and given time for his bone and eye to heal. It was hoped that he would fully recover and could be released into the wild. The broken clavicle mended well, however, his eye was never the same. The puncture caused irreparable damage, and it's estimated that now his vision is only at 20% of normal for that eye, which prevents him being re-released. Our curator recently arranged with his rehabbers to house him here, where he can be cared for in a safe environment while allowing them the space to accept another injured animal. Dudley is a real cutie and quite inquisitive, and is currently undergoing training to join us in our flight shows. This will allow him a great chance for stimulation and exercise. He's a quick learner and a real charmer, our staff is truly in love with this bird and we hope you'll adore him as well!

Also new to the center are a whole troupe of new wading birds. We have recently acquired several juvenile Black Crowned Night Herons and Little Green Herons, a trio of each! These birds have all unfortunately suffered wing injuries which did not heal properly, a common problem in birds. They are currently being acclimated to their new surroundings and will be released into the Wetland Preserve over the next month or so. They'll be joining our Wood Stork, Great Blue Heron and Little Blue Heron, which was released recently. Keep an eye out during your visit for these gorgeous birds, since they are free roaming you never know where you might find them!

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