egrets and miscellaneous things

I was worried that I wouldn't have anything to post this week, and then a Cattle Egret showed up on Tuesday. He has quite a bad fracture on his left wing near his shoulder and another on his radius. It'd be great if there was an x-ray available to see the extent of the fracture, but alas, this is Belize. He was found in somebody's backyard with foam sealant on his feet. You know, the stuff you spray to fill in holes / cracks in houses? It dries and expands quite fast. I don't want to think about how the egret even got into this predicament; I try not to think the worst of people.

These really tiny, crazy ants seem to have taken over the clinic. They're generally harmless but ants are never a good thing when you have a debilitated patient. They decided to flock to the water dish that I had put in the egret's carrier so I had to improvise. The internet is trashed, again, so there is no picture to share... just imagine a picture of a carrier basically on stilts sitting in water pans. Note to self: put the water in the trays BEFORE putting the plycem slab and carrier on top. Fun times with water and a 60 ml syringe. Not.

I keep seeing new birds! There was a pair of Keel-billed Toucans on the property the other day; I had only seen toucans before flying overhead as a black funny-shaped bird. There's also a pair of white-tailed kites nesting next door. They've got four chicks and I was able to watch them feed the other day. Hopefully I'll be able to get a clear enough picture of them to share.

My current list of skills that I really should have possessed before coming to Belize used to stand at two: fishing (I found out today that I am still lacking those skills) and being a car mechanic. My newest realizations include building construction skills and the ability to look extremely intimidating in order to discourage being "hollered at". I have a little construction experience but no knowledge of construction jargon. And it's too bad I'm not 6 feet tall with a scary muscle builder's body.

It's been a fairly slow week so I haven't anything else to update.. except that my sister will be here on MONDAY (!) and my birthday is in exactly a month. Ack!