WEST NIPISSING — On July 20, two osprey chicks were rescued in West Nipissing. Sadly, one was euthanized. The other clings to life within a ventilator, but caretakers continue to hope for the best.
The West Nipissing Fire and Emergency Department was dispatched to a hydro pole on fire in Lavigne – this was on July 20 – as many residents in the area reported a power outage. Hydro One sent an alert indicating the outage was due to animal contact.
There was a large osprey nest at the top of the pole. Ospreys prefer tall, open platforms for their nest, which, unfortunately, tempt them toward utility poles from time to time. This osprey’s nest was on fire, with two chicks within and the mother bird flying above.
One bird jumped from the nest to the ground, and the other was removed from the nest. Municipal Law Enforcement Officer, Pat Rainville, brought the two birds to the Springer Animal Hospital in Sturgeon Falls. The two chicks spent the night there receiving care, and the next day, Rainville brought them to a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation centre – the Turtle Pond Wildlife Centre in Val Caron, within Greater Sudbury.
“We are hopeful that our friends will make a full recovery and will be reunited with mama safely,” the Municipality of West Nipissing posted on its Facebook page. “Hats off to the staff at Springer Animal Hospital, our firefighters, and our Municipal Law Enforcement Officer for their great work and compassion.”
That first night at the vets the birds were treated for smoke inhalation, and both had some singed feathers. The vet’s office is more equipped to help with pets and farm animals, but the staff did all they could to stabilize the birds before they were transported. They were given oxygen therapy and something to help ease their pain.
The young osprey who jumped from the next was in better shape than his sibling, who was in the nest longer. Each bird was brought to the vets at different times. The one who jumped made it there about an hour before the other one, thanks to Rainville.
When the birds arrived at Turtle Pond Wildlife Centre in Greater Sudbury, they were breathing heavily – from the smoke inhalation – and each had some of their feathers singed. The tail feathers were particularly damaged, but some of the wing feathers were also ruined.
Gloria Morissette founded the Wildlife Centre, and yesterday confirmed the sad news – “unfortunately, we euthanized one of them.”
The little osprey who jumped, she believed was electrocuted and perhaps was jolted from the pole because of this. “We tried medical treatment” before the decision to euthanize was made, “but he had lost the circulation in one foot. Three digits were dead, and we knew it was obvious that there was no going back from that.”
Ideally, the young bird would be reunited with his mom, who could teach him to fish. However, the injuries were too severe for such an ideal reunion to materialize.
The sibling is still hanging on.
Morissette has her in a small oxygen chamber so she can breathe easier. However, the smoke inhalation is bad. She’s bringing up what looks like dried blood from her nostrils, and her feathers are very damaged, as are her claws.
So Morissette and her staff will continue to hope for the best and care for the osprey, but she knows it doesn’t look good. Even if the bird recovers, the odds of the family accepting her back are next to zero, and without help from the mom, she won’t be able to learn the skills needed to survive.
Turtle Pond Wildlife Centre can’t take care of her forever, as it isn’t licenced for that. The Wildlife Centre treats animals with the goal of putting them back into nature. A sanctuary might take the osprey, but as things look now, she probably won’t survive.
“It would be nice to be able to release them all,” Morissette said. “That would be my goal. But often it’s just not in the cards, and you make the decisions.”
David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
