When a young Green Heron was brought to DCHS’s Wildlife Center, staff could tell immediately that something was wrong with its right leg. Here is its story from the perspective of the licensed rehabilitator who first evaluated the bird.
When I lifted this little Green Heron out of the box it had arrived in, it was alert and active. But immediately, I could tell something was wrong with its right leg. As I held the bird and examined its leg, I could feel that one of the bones was broken.
Fortunately, the injury was a single break in the bone and not near any joints. It had likely happened recently, and the skin was still closed around the break, which reduced the chance of infection. Together, this meant the injury was the type of fracture that could be repaired. This bird was otherwise in healthy condition, making it a good candidate for surgery. I was excited that this young bird had a chance at a full recovery!
As luck would have it, the bird came in on the very day we had our veterinary team on site from the UW Zoo and Wildlife Medicine Program. Though they couldn’t examine the heron immediately, I brought up its case, and they gladly agreed to add the little bird to their rounds.
While it waited, we administered pain medication, made it comfortable so it could rest to help reduce its stress, and wrapped its leg so it couldn’t move the injured limb and cause further damage.
During its veterinary evaluation, the team found significant swelling and bruising near the fracture. The broken bone fragments had caused these injuries before the bird was brought in, and we could only hope that the muscles and nerves of the leg had not suffered too much damage. Alongside the UW veterinary team, we performed the surgery. The procedure went well, with one pin placed and a cast on the leg as well. We were thrilled when the heron started walking on it right away!
For the first two days of its recovery, we tube-fed the bird, but our great patient quickly graduated to eating all the minnows we provided. Our only remaining concern was some swelling that developed on the foot of the repaired leg. This can be caused by a cast being too tight, but with daily monitoring, we determined the swelling was not worsening and was a result of the original injury, not the cast helping it heal.
After a month, the bird was strong enough to move to a small outdoor enclosure, and in a few more weeks, it graduated to a larger outdoor flight pen. As the young bird grew and healed, we increased its food so it had all the calories it would need. The bird gained a full one-third of its original body weight by the time it was ready for release!
Seven weeks after it was first admitted, broken and in need of help, the bird was released – but not before we placed a metal federal bird band on its leg.
We hope that one day it can be identified by this band, living life successfully out in the wild!
Sarah Karls is the Wildlife Rehabilitation Coordinator
