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| Adult male Evening Grosbeak (photo from August 2011) |
On January 14, someone brought an adult male Evening
Grosbeak to the Wildwoods Rehabilitation Center in Duluth. His beak was injured,
soft tissue in his right wing was damaged, and his crop was torn so that when
he ate, the seeds came out through the hole. Apparently the poor bird had tangled
with an attacker, though probably not a cat. Evening Grosbeaks are one of the
most vulnerable species to window strikes, and it’s possible this one hit a
window and while it was dazed, a squirrel, jay, or other opportunistic animal
got it, or it’s possible that it escaped after a hawk or shrike attack.
The people at Wildwoods cleaned out the grosbeak’s wounds, gave
him antibiotics and subcutaneous fluids, immobilized his injured wing, and found
him a ride down to the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Minnesota, in Roseville.
There he underwent surgery to fix his crop. He wasn’t easy to deal with.
Evening Grosbeaks have powerful beaks and are quick to use them in
self-defense. Whenever he needed to be handled to treat any of his injuries or
rewrap bandages, he’d bite, which would reinjure his beak again.
He was healed and ready to go by last weekend, so they sent
him back north for release. By then, the person who brought him in was no
longer getting grosbeaks at her feeder. Evening Grosbeaks are extremely
sociable birds, seldom seen as individuals, so Wildwoods knew it would be
better for the bird if they released it where other grosbeaks were rather than
back where he came from. They put out the call on Facebook looking for anyone
who had a feeder where grosbeaks were visiting. Unfortunately, even in the few
places they were appearing through the winter, they’ve pretty much disappeared.
Fortunately, there were still a handful hanging out at a popular feeding
station in the Sax-Zim Bog, so on Wednesday, I drove out there with the bird to
release him.
Grosbeaks aren’t reliable even in the bog anymore. I waited
for almost an hour without hearing a single one. I wanted to release the bird
early enough in the day that he’d have plenty of time to adjust to freedom
again, especially because Evening Grosbeaks tend to start roosting in mid- or
even early afternoon, so finally I played some Evening Grosbeak calls on my
iPhone. The bird in the box in my car responded before those in the wild did,
but finally I called in two or three and opened the box. The grosbeak instantly
flew off into the trees toward them. I wanted to take some happy photos, but he
was hardly going to sit out where I could see him—I’m sure the poor guy had had
enough of people to last a lifetime. Fortunately, even if he didn’t realize it,
his lifetime was going to last a lot longer thanks to a few good people.
Evening Grosbeaks were once abundant up here, seen in Duluth
backyards year-round, and even more abundant in wilder parts of the North
Woods. But they’ve declined dramatically. I had a small flock in my own yard in
August and September 2011, but none since, and I’d gone several years without
them before that, too. As Minnesota and Wisconsin reconsider the species
designated endangered or threatened, I wish they’d add Evening Grosbeaks,
because the decline is troubling, the reasons behind it elusive, and research
is needed to reverse the trend.
Saving one bird at a time isn’t an effective
way to restore populations, but each Evening Grosbeak is a valuable individual in
its own right as well as an increasingly significant fraction of the total
population. The joy I felt sending this one off was intensified by his focus on
getting away. Wildwoods Rehabilitation Center restored him to health, and he’ll
live out his days in the wild woods where he belongs.