Watcher: Jim P

Well, the afternoon was full of activity. I spoke with the DEC to inform them of Jemison’s condition. Mike Allen gave his approval for returning Jemison to the top of the Times Square building as soon as the veterinarian certified that he was in good health. I called the vet’s office again and was informed that the vet was confident that Jemison was OK and could be released. Good news to be sure.

I made a couple more phone calls to get everything prepared at Times Square for our arrival, then went and picked up Jemison from the vet. He was quite feisty, puffing himself up and putting on his scariest face as the veterinary technician placed him in my pet carrier. We appreciate everyone’s offers to help with veterinary bills, but at this time we don’t anticipate needing any assistance. The Genesee Valley Audubon Society and/or the DEC will take care of any costs related to Jemison’s care.

I called Carol P to let her know I was on my way to Times Square with Jemison. I covered the pet carrier with a light blanket to minimize his stress during the 15 minute drive, and arrived downtown just after 3:30. Carol and I took Jemison up to the top of the building. We intended to release him at the nest box, but unfortunately the door outside was padlocked, and the building manager (who had the only key) was unavailable. What to do, what to do…

Janet, our liaison with the folks at ePostmarks.com, the company that occupies the top floor office at the Times Square Building (where we banded Jemison and Callidora), suggested releasing him one floor down. She took us into their offices and we were able to gain access to the ledge just below the nest box level. There, I opened the pet carrier door and gently tilted the carrier up, to give Jemison a little assistance. All the while, Beauty and Archer circled nearby, kacking with displeasure.

Jemison walked out onto the ledge and almost immediately took off. I couldn’t see very well since my view was blocked by the pet carrier, but we assumed all had gone well. Unfortunately when we returned to ground level our other watchers informed us that Jemison had fallen several stories, then glided toward another building, bounced off a window, and finally landed on an air vent in the north side of the Times Square building about 2 stories up from ground level.

That wasn’t quite the result we’d hoped for. We located him without any trouble and backed away to avoid stressing him and his parents, who were still circling and calling. It seems like Jemison may have been disoriented, and he was almost surely stressed from the day’s events, so it’s not surprising that his return flight didn’t go as well as planned. The fact that he glided rather than flapping may mean that he strained a flight muscle, though there’s not really any way to tell.

In any event, other than being close to the ground, he looked none the worse for wear. I spent about 45 minutes observing him. During that time he snoozed some, but was alert when awake, looking around and actively tracking birds and other movements. He looks OK physically, and it may be that he just needs to take some time to reorient himself. Beauty went back to land on Mercury’s foot and Archer retired to the First Federal Plaza. Neither of them seem overly concerned. We’ve seen this situation before with our young fledglings, even those who appear to have been doing well. In fact, it’s possible he just tired himself out from all the flying he did this morning (more to come on that, along with lots of pictures). I left him with plenty of watchers. Hopefully after some rest and time to de-stress he’ll pick right back up where he left off.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 2nd, 2010 at 5:55 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.