Watcher: Jim P

I was on my way downtown for a noontime fledge watch when I received a phone call from Carol P stating that Jemison had been found on the ground outside the Crown Plaza hotel, and had been taken to the Vet’s office by Rochester Animal Control. I diverted my course and arrived at the Vet’s office at the same time as the Rochester Animal Control officer, to whom I identified myself. He took Jemison out of his van in a pet carrier. Jemison looked to be in good shape. He was quiet, but nothing was out of place, no obvious broken bones or injuries. His eyes were open and he was alert to his surroundings.

The Vet took him back into the aviary and performed a quick physical exam, during which Jemison was quite noisy. Jemison moved his legs, feet and wings normally. The doctor didn’t find any injury to Jemison’s wings, sternum, head or legs/feet, and pronounced that he appeared to be in good condition. Dana was also there (Grannywood on the forum– she works at the Vet’s office) so we have one of our own directly involved with Jemison’s care. He’s in great hands.

At the request of the Vet, I’ve sent an email off to Mike Allen at the DEC to see how they would like us to proceed. I then went downtown to update the watchers and get more information.

From what I’ve been able to learn, bystanders at the Crown Plaza found Jemison on the grass, flapping but apparently not able to fly (according to their reports). Someone called 911, and Rochester Animal Control was dispatched. Our watcher MAK was alerted by an RPD patrolman who drove up to let her know. By the time she got to the scene, Animal Control had already taken Jemison into custody.

Based on Jemison’s condition and the description of the scene, I suspect (though I don’t know for sure), that Jemison may either have just gotten tired and landed, or had a minor collision with a building or window, that caused him to be dazed. It is quite possible that with a little more time, he would have “rescued himself” and after a bit of rest, flown off on his own. However, the Animal Control folks certainly did the right thing gathering him up and getting him checked out.

As soon as we get more information I’ll be sure to post it. For now I’m not too worried about Jemison. It’s possible he has some occult injury, a concussion, strained muscle, or something else. Observation and a little time should bear out the Vet’s original prognosis or show us if anything is indeed wrong. If it turns out he’s fine, he’ll probably just get some rest and then get released. We’ll know more after we talk to the DEC.

I took a couple of pictures of Jemison at the Vet’s office. I had to use my camera phone, so the quality’s not terrific, but you can see that he’s in good shape overall (and seems not too happy about his present circumstances).

This entry was posted on Friday, July 2nd, 2010 at 2:05 PM and is filed under Fledge Watch. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.