The Real Santa

We all know that the real Santa Claus is the spirit of kindness that lives within us all.  It is with that spirit, that Larry took a Western Bluebird that he found, flopping around on the road,  into the care of Tri County Wildlife Care on Christmas Day 2015.
 
 This brilliant blue bird had a broken left wing that needed to be wrapped to heal.  The wrap is relatively simple, but it took 4 attempts to get it just the right tightness and to perfectly align the bones for healing.
 
 Birds bones are hollow to keep them light for flight.  These bones heal in an amazing 5 to 7 days, so it is critical that TCWC get birds in quickly to assure proper bone alignment.
 
 This beautiful bird healed quickly and it was next the job of Tri County Wildlife Care to assure this Western Bluebird was able to fly well again and in good body condition to return to the wild.  It was also important to return him to his home because these birds are territorial and this bird had stayed behind as a "defender".
 
 Some of our Bluebirds migrate and some stay behind to defend the territory of the group.  In the Spring, the birds that have migrated will return and more females will move in to breed.  If there is a shortage of females, males will feed one or sometimes even two nests.
 
 The females will brood the eggs and will remain on the nest for about 10 days after the eggs hatch before leaving.  The males do the job of bringing food to the nest and continue feeding until the babies fledge.
 
 This cooperative behavior helps to assure these birds thrive.  On January 20, 2016, TCWC finally saw a couple of rain clear days to set this bird free in his home territory.
 
 Our "Santa", Larry was able to share in what Tri County Wildlife Care calls their payday.  This beautiful Western Bluebird flew up, strong and free, into the trees to continue his job of defending his territory.

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