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240 Hand-Rearing Birds

Figure 14.2 Newell’s Shearwater chick.

where there is little light from the moon or it is very overcast. On Kauai (Hawaii, USA), members
of the public find these birds and hand them into aid stations set up by the SOS program. These
birds are given a physical examination to check for any injuries and/or contamination of feathers.
Many of these downed birds have no detectable injuries and are banded and released at appropri-
ate ocean‐side sites – often on the same day. Birds that do not pass the initial exam are brought
back to the facility for further care.
An intake exam consists of a full physical examination which also includes a “flap‐test” wherein
the bird’s body is held securely aloft with the wings free to assess the symmetry of the flap. Blood
is taken to look at packed cell volume (PCV), total protein (TP), and buffy coat. Body condition is
assessed and scored. Plumage is evaluated with the knowledge that when birds come down on
roads or crawl into garages, they can become contaminated with petrochemical oils. The shearwa-
ters and petrels that this program works with tend toward lower body temperatures (99–100 °F/37.2–
37.8 °C is normal), especially in the morning, but that can change rapidly when handling the
stressier Wedge‐taileds.
Birds that pass the more thorough intake exam and are not contaminated with oils are placed in
the conditioning pools right away to assess their waterproofing and behavior. Remember, despite
the fact that these birds are pelagic, this will be the first time that these birds have been in water. It
is stressful and many will initially panic and try to get out. SOS does not leave birds in the pools
overnight. The birds are housed off water on net‐bottomed enclosures. Care must be taken if the
birds are held in drying pens or tall‐sided enclosures as many of these species are very good climb-
ers and will get out if given half a chance. Also, if they are constantly trying to get out, they can do
damage to their tail feathers and primaries as they reach to get a hold of the edge of the enclosure
with their bill. When birds are not on the pools or being dried, they are housed in modified hard‐
plastic crates with mesh‐bottom frame inserts (Figure 14.3).
The already fledged young shearwaters and petrels are rehabilitated the same way as any adults
that are received by SOS, although more attention is paid to their pre‐release body condition.
Young seabirds have a much higher survival rate when they have a good body condition and fat
reserves.