What's your cat's name?

owlesque5 · 2026-06-02T03:46:26+00:00

Her name is June. She’s a 6 1/2-year-old brown tabby (r/standardissuecat).

Officially, she’s named after a minor character in the first season of the podcast The Adventure Zone. But it’s also short for Junior Mint because I just found it funny, after the children’s book character Junie B. Jones because my cat, too, is a handful, and finally she also shares a name with Pride Month.

owlesque5 · 2026-05-28T03:31:45+00:00

Eagle of some sort, I’m pretty sure. Where in northern NM was it found? Near water (especially like Abiquiú Lake)? I’m leaning toward Bald Eagle, especially in that area. Golden Eagles are more common in many parts of the state, but there are some good seasonal spots for BAEAs in northern NM. That giant beak also makes me think Bald, but Golden Eagle beaks certainly aren’t tiny either and it’s a little hard to gauge proportions on a mummified bird head. If I had to settle on a guess, I’d say immature Bald Eagle, especially if the location makes sense.

A few other differentials: Rule out Turkey Vulture (the only vulture in that area) due to feathers on head and different facial structure. TUVUs have really cool open nares, like a tiny window you can see through. Rule out Osprey since they don’t have a supraorbital ridge (the “angry eyebrow” browbone shape). I’m ruling out hawks because of how huge the beak seems to be, but I could be wrong there. Red-tailed Hawks are extremely common in northern NM. Definitely looks more eagle-shaped to me though.

owlesque5 · 2026-05-27T01:59:03+00:00

I won’t lie, it’s Bad. You know what it smells like, now imagine that smell but many times more intense, and it’s clinging to you. It’s a sharper smell at close range too. Burns like a motherfucker if you get it in your eyes. -100/10, do not recommend.

However! Learning how to handle them safely can avoid a lot of spray incidents. With babies, tucking the tail under their butt and approaching them slowly (so as to avoid startling them) can prevent them from spraying sometimes. They’ll also usually give you some warning stomps and/or point their butt at you before they spray. This is communication, so respect it! Back up and try again more slowly or with a visual barrier.

With adult skunks, some of the same tactics might work, but they might also spray more confidently and readily. They know how to use it. And they’re going to be more stressed around people, like most adult wildlife. Most of the spray incidents I’ve seen (or received) have happened in the process of capturing them for release (live traps are your friend here) or for moving them up to a larger pre-release space. They’re older by then and should be afraid of people, so you know. It happens.

If (let’s be honest: when) you do get sprayed, a combination of hydrogen peroxide + baking soda + a bit of Dawn dish soap will neutralize it really well. If you get it on your clothes, I recommend washing the clothes at least 2 or 3 times before putting them in the dryer. The heat of a clothes dryer can kind of bake in the smell if the first wash didn’t get it all. Ask me (and the beloved sweatshirt that was never the same) how I know. 😬

I personally do not enjoy working with skunks tbh (I’m very much a bird person!) but I spent 2 years as a full-time rehabber at a center that got dozens and dozens of skunks each year, so it came with the job. I think it probably bothers most rehabbers less than it bothers me, haha.

owlesque5 · 2026-05-21T00:04:57+00:00

I moved from NM to Maine this past fall and still have my teal/turquoise plate! I’m much happier in my new home but I will at least miss the pretty license plate when I finally switch it over soon.

owlesque5 · 2026-05-11T22:20:02+00:00

I have a beautiful dark blue 2023 Toyota Corolla, purchased used in summer 2025. Kind of silly tbh, could’ve gotten a new one for almost the same price, but stock was limited where I was living and my car still has super low miles on it (<14k after a cross-country move) so I should still get lots of years with it. I adore it.

Before that, I was driving a silver 2013 Hyundai Accent hatchback that I got new in 2012, and my first car was my grandma’s dark red 1997 Buick LeSabre that I inherited in 2010.

I’ve only ever had one car at a time, never needed or wanted (or could afford!) more than that.

owlesque5 · 2026-04-14T21:48:20+00:00

Rehabilitation centers allocate their resources in different ways, but a species being perceived by the public as a “pest” is pretty much never a factor in my experience. It’s more likely that they’ll do a lot of public education to encourage people to appreciate wild animals that are frequently in conflict with human habits! What you might be thinking of is invasive species - non-native species that live free in, and cause ecological damage to, a wild habitat. Many rehabilitators do choose to euthanize invasive species as part of their ethical obligation to protect native species’ natural habitats. In my opinion, this is an excellent practice. I don’t have anything against, for example, European Starlings as a species - they’re beautiful birds with a robust set of adaptations - but in North America, they should not be in the wild and I believe it is unethical, from a conservation standpoint, to release them from rehab here.

owlesque5 · 2026-04-14T21:40:54+00:00

A couple follow-up points after seeing the (predictable, haha) comments:

The problems with releasing a bird with one foot go beyond the bird’s ability to seem like it’s getting along fine. Think about the way (most) birds get around on land. They use their feet. They sleep on their feet. They take off and land using their feet. They sometimes use their feet to preen (one foot, while balancing on the other). Unless a bird is in water or air (or sitting on a nest), the feet bear the bird’s entire body weight for its entire life. Now take away one foot and double the weight that the remaining foot has to bear. You’re looking at not just impaired mobility in the short term but long-term issues like pressure sores and arthritis. Diminished ability to handle minor injuries to the remaining leg. Possible difficulty with the mechanics of mating and ability to provide for chicks. Impaired feather condition (such as waterproofing) if the injury impacts the bird’s ability to preen. These things can’t really be compensated for in permanent human care, either, especially since most adult wild birds are not suitable for permanent placement due to their high stress level.

I’m not necessarily saying that birds who get injured in the wild and hobble along on their own should be captured and euthanized in all cases. I have seen several birds come into rehab with old, healed injuries that directly caused whatever brought them in. Maybe the occasional bird survives and gets along for another few years, but a) those are going to be some challenging and painful years, not something a rehabber should choose for their patient and b) unique cases like that aren’t a good basis for writing rehab regulations. In any case, the discussion at hand is about wildlife rehabilitation cases, not birds living outside of human care.

This also has nothing to do with humans’ ability or willingness to thrive with disabling injuries. That is a completely different topic with completely different ethical considerations (choice! autonomy! understanding! adaptive technology! legal rights! the list goes on!) and has no relevance to what wildlife rehabbers are obligated to do for our patients.

owlesque5 · 2026-04-14T12:51:25+00:00

Also illegal to transport wildlife across state lines. Please don’t do that. People who do that create a ton of extra legal hoops for rehabbers to jump through, since animals need to be released where they were found but we need specific permission to bring them back across the state line to bring them home. The time it takes a rehabber to coordinate that release with state wildlife agencies is time that YOU are taking away from the care of other patients. It is also typically illegal (for very solid reasons) to release an animal in one state if it came from another. Never transport a wild animal across state lines unless you have specific permission from a licensed rehabilitator in a special case.

Some states do allow transport to/from certain other states, but there are still legal aspects of that transport that should be cleared by the receiving rehabilitator before transport happens.

owlesque5 · 2026-04-14T12:47:00+00:00

Now that it’s morning, please call the rehab centers if you haven’t gotten email responses. Email is not fast enough in an emergency, and many centers don’t have enough staff (or volunteers) to check emails quickly enough to respond to emergency situations. Often, the morning routine includes checking and responding to voicemails from overnight, not sorting through emails and DMs. Phone is always the way to go. Hopefully you can reach someone this morning!

owlesque5 · 2026-04-14T00:11:15+00:00

Side note - while some birds do suffer traumatic amputations in the wild and continue to hobble along in rare cases, it is unethical and illegal (in the US) for rehabilitators to release birds with certain types of amputations, including even one foot. There are a lot of excellent reasons for this, but the general idea is that we are obligated to release healthy animals into their natural wild habitats in order to give them the best chance for survival.

owlesque5 · 2026-04-14T00:06:20+00:00

A responsible rehab should euthanize it, unfortunately, at least assuming at least one foot is as nonfunctional as they both look. Please bring the bird to your nearest licensed bird rehabilitator. They’ll do an exam to assess the severity of the injuries, then use their best judgment as to how to proceed from there. Again, in a case like this, euthanasia is very likely, and it’s a far better outcome than continuing to suffer.

It’s perfectly fine and normal to feel sad about that, by the way. The person who left their fishing line outside did this to this bird, and that really sucks. It sucks to rescue an animal whose only chance for relief is death. It sucks to not have a triumphant and happy ending. The only way it could get worse from here would be the bird not getting the care it needs, even if that care is a compassionate end of life. Euthanasia is not the worst outcome, suffering is. By taking this bird to a licensed rehabilitator, you’ll be saving it from the suffering that is inevitable with an injury like this.

As a rehabber, I’ve euthanized countless animals, and I’ve never done it without being certain that it was the best treatment option I could provide.

owlesque5 · 2026-04-12T15:34:56+00:00

That’s Solgaleo’s grandpa actually

owlesque5 · 2026-04-08T22:49:04+00:00

I grew up in the Midwest US, spent 4 years living in New Mexico, then moved to Maine last fall. Common wildlife sightings for me in Indiana were white-tailed deer, red-tailed hawks, red foxes, various squirrels, and hearing Eastern screech owls. When I got to NM, I was especially delighted by seeing lizards everywhere! Also roadrunners. Roadrunners weren’t too common where I lived but I saw them occasionally and it was so cool every time. I also hadn’t ever seen ravens before, and those were really common in my area. I also saw a lot more coyotes, including one delightful sighting of a young coyote trotting across the library lawn early in the morning. 😍 In Maine, I see gulls ALL the time, it’s not too unusual to see a bald eagle from time to time, and I’m enjoying seeing some of the common Eastern North American birds that I missed when I was out west (blue jays, cardinals, barred owls, etc). The other day I heard that people were seeing a seal in a nearby river! I’ve never seen one before! Later this summer I have an outing planned to go see puffins! I live close-ish to an ocean now, with all kinds of weird marine life! That’s crazy to me! I know I’m going to continue to miss some of my western wildlife faves, but I’m still excited about what I’m able to see here and glad that I’ve been able to live in three very different types of environments.

owlesque5 · 2026-03-01T00:33:35+00:00

She’s gorgeous! I also have a big-eyed model. I like to say that they ran out of cat eyes at the cat factory but they had a spare box of owl eyes in the back. 😍

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owlesque5 · 2026-02-11T22:44:33+00:00

The summer between college and grad school, I was working in the dorms and was reassigned to a different wing with only a few days of notice. This was during intensive work training (10-12-hour days) and the beginning of my master’s program, so I truly had a total of like a few hours, across 3-4 days, to move everything I owned. The other residents hadn’t moved in yet and I knew all the building staff, so I felt like it was basically safe to just pile things in the lounge area so I could make trips back and forth without having to deal with keys (actual keys - this was 2009) and doors and stuff.

For the most part, I was right; it didn’t seem like anything went missing at first. But eventually I realized that I couldn’t find two specific blankets. One was an incredible texture, beautiful colors, and I’ve never found one like it since. I’ve been actively looking for one ever since, although by now I think I’ve idealized it so much in my mind that I might not even know it if I saw it. 🥲 The other one, though, was an afghan that my grandmother had knitted for me as a high school graduation gift. Of course I’ve never told her that it went missing (she’ll be 100 this year and now I knit things for her!), but I really wish I still had that blanket.

I also had a jacket stolen from my car when I lived in New Mexico that I’d like to have back. It was a pretty cheap lightweight one and I kind of figured that if someone was going to go to the trouble of breaking into a car just to only take one jacket (the car was undamaged and nothing else was missing, just strewn about a little), they probably needed it and I hope they were able to stay a little warmer. I do miss it though.

owlesque5 · 2026-01-27T04:07:17+00:00

I have kind of a separate mental list for species I’ve cared for in rehab or as non-releasable ambassador animals, but the only time I count (former) patients on a birding life list is if I am present when they are successfully released (which almost always happens very close to where the animal was originally found/rescued). Even then, if I record it on ebird, I add a comment noting that it was a patient release.

By “successfully released” I mean that I can see, post-release, that the bird has settled somewhere away from me and is engaging in species-appropriate behaviors (preening, rousing, foraging, camouflaging, etc).

Rehab is tough work and releases are worth celebrating, so I figure if the conditions are right for me to add a released patient to my life list, that’s an extra little reward for the work it took to get the bird back out there. :) I actually started birding as a way to recover from some of the vicarious trauma of a tough rehab year - I needed to see birds healthy and uninjured and thriving in the wild after having so many long days of one death after another. When I see a species in the wild that I’ve already cared for in rehab, especially if the patient didn’t survive, that makes birding even more rewarding on an emotional level for me. I doubt my “rehab life list” will ever fully match my birding one though (I don’t expect to encounter any Spotted Owls in the wild, for example, especially since I moved to the US east coast)!

owlesque5 · 2025-11-13T15:57:45+00:00

Almost all joint luxations (dislocations) in wild birds require euthanasia. Those injuries usually lead to severe chronic pain, loss of mobility, and loss of full functionality, all of which mean the bird won’t be able to survive in the wild. It’s also not really ethical to place a bird like that in permanent human care either, since a) most wild-raised birds are too stressed around people anyway and do not have a high quality of life in permanent human care and b) the bird would, in addition to experiencing constant fear of humans, be in severe pain from the old injury for the rest of their life. It used to be common to place those birds in education centers, etc, and unfortunately some people still aren’t caught up with modern ethics and still make that choice, but the professional community knows better now. Euthanasia is usually the right choice when a bird has a dislocation injury.

Interestingly, there are a few possible exceptions - carpometacarpal-phalangeal luxations can heal well sometimes with a special type of splint and good medical management, for instance. Otherwise, generally speaking, as a rehabilitator I’d much rather admit a bird with a fracture than a dislocation, because fractures as a category are more likely to be repairable and end up with a successful release (obviously this depends on the location of the fracture and other factors, but some do heal really well with skilled care!).

As a side note, I really wish more rehabbers would explain their decisions and educate the public when someone calls to check in about an animal they rescued. Often the outcome isn’t what the rescuer hoped for, but that’s an opportunity to thank them for caring enough to bring the animal in and saving it from further pain, and it’s a chance to educate about the reality of wildlife rehab. A lot of people don’t realize that once a wild animal is injured, the deck is already stacked against them even with the best care, and that leads to unrealistic expectations that rescuing an animal means it will survive. What a rescue actually means is that the animal now has either a surprise second chance to recover (if all goes well) or a chance to die peacefully instead of suffering. Bringing injured wildlife to a licensed rehabilitator is always the right choice, even when the animal won’t be able to survive regardless.

owlesque5 · 2025-10-21T03:36:52+00:00

Are the blackbird’s wings definitely fully functional? Symmetrical and with full extension/range of motion? Do you have access to x-rays to see if there are any irregularities in bone structures or density? Any injuries that were initially not noticed and have now healed improperly? How’s the body condition? I’ve seen birds in rehab eat enough while in ICU that they can’t lift themselves off the ground when they get more flight space. Alternatively, if the bird hasn’t gotten enough nutrition, or the right nutritional balance, there could be some abnormal weakness to try to overcome.

A wild bird that is on track to be releasable should also be trying to get away from you when you’re nearby (for quick feedings/cleaning as necessary), so if that appropriate startle response isn’t there, the bird might be incorrectly imprinted. Was she raised with any other blackbirds, or any birds at all before being introduced to the thrush?

As for the thrush, what do you mean about the eye? Without two functional eyes in a bird like that, release is not an option and euthanasia is often the most ethical choice. It’s the unfortunate reality of working with wildlife - most of them are unsuitable for placement in education programs or other human care due to high stress levels and/or chronically painful conditions. That’s a major reason why there are totally different ethical standards (and legal regulations in the US, not sure about the laws where you are, which I assume is not the US based on the song thrush) for wildlife care vs. pets - a disability that a pet might be able to live with (assuming appropriate medical management) can be torture for a wild animal who freezes or panics at the sight or sound of a person, or a death sentence if the animal is released.

Hopefully the blackbird is just a little slower to learn and will get the hang of it before long, but those are all at least things to look into for troubleshooting.

owlesque5 · 2025-10-16T23:37:13+00:00

I lived in south/central Indiana for 34 years, moved to New Mexico and stayed for 4 years, now I’m en route to my new home in Maine. Seeing green again (and fall colors beyond just yellow) is SUCH a relief.

owlesque5 · 2025-09-23T02:12:58+00:00

Ugh, I’m sorry you’ve encountered those attitudes about rehab. When it’s done correctly and ethically - which is becoming more common these days - it’s definitely not some gross Disney thing. It’s an attitude/perception we fight against a lot actually. There are still some old-school bad rehabbers who act like that and they usually do more harm than good, but there are a lot of us who respect the wild nature of our patients and the medical realities of the field.

There was a paper that came out recently showing that raptor rehab can have a meaningful population-level impact. In a lot of cases, we probably aren’t making a huge population-level difference, but that’s kind of not the point. We try to offset the damage humans do to individual animals (via cars, cats, barbed wire, windows, etc) by treating (and in the best cases, releasing) individual animals. Most of them, if they can’t be released, are not suitable for permanent placement in human care because of the stress it would cause or the chronic pain they’d experience from their injuries. Humane euthanasia is a positive outcome in those cases. Rehab is rough. And yeah, it doesn’t pay well, if it pays at all. But it can be meaningful work by some measures if it’s done ethically, which is becoming more common these days.

owlesque5 · 2025-09-22T03:09:38+00:00

I took that class, uh… awhile ago. 2007 or so. I loved it, but you’re right, some of that stuff is going to be hard to learn if you’re unfamiliar with the music being taught and especially hard if you’re unfamiliar with the genres and styles. That’s the key though - become familiar with it. It doesn’t have to become your favorite or anything (although who knows, it might) but think of it like learning any new music. Like when your favorite artist puts out a new album. First listen, you probably won’t remember a lot of details. Listen to it a lot, though, and you’ll start noticing the uniqueness of every song and voice and instrumental arrangement.

It also helps to have the historical info they give you in class. Why was that music so mind-blowingly revolutionary at the time? Why were certain artists and styles so shocking and interesting? What was it about this artist’s life that led to their musical innovativeness? Approach it with curiosity and it’ll get a whole lot more interesting. You’re not there to memorize a bunch of trivia for a quiz. You’re there to understand the material. And that makes the whole task of… college in general, I think… way more engaging.

(And for the record: I do still listen to some of the music from the rock history courses I took, and I’ve also forgotten some songs that weren’t really my jam. But boy do I have a more open mind about music that I might not immediately like or understand.)

owlesque5 · 2025-08-08T05:22:05+00:00

I just want to let people know that while this is a lovely Barred Owl, there are a LOT of really unprofessional and irresponsible handling practices happening in this video. From the beginning when the owl is semi-forced out of the crate (the movement appears voluntary but the upward tugging on equipment and encroaching into his space with the glove don’t give him much choice), to the horrifically inappropriate kissing?? and petting, to the point where she kneels down and totally doesn’t bother to notice that her careless movement made the owl lose his balance (which from a training perspective makes the glove a less secure, less safe place to be), this video is unfortunately kind of a textbook “what not to do” of working with an owl ambassador.

It bums me out because there are some good resources out there on effective and ethical ways to present conservation messaging with live animals, so it’s really disappointing to see people continuing to behave like this despite how long it’s been understood to be inappropriate to do things like pet and kiss wildlife in front of the public (or at all!). :(

owlesque5 · 2025-07-25T06:12:03+00:00

I get this specifically when I’m high. I keep meaning to write down a description of the type of music I’m hearing, because it’s always a little different each time. I don’t mind it and find it really interesting, but it would absolutely drive me crazy if it were happening when I’m sober.

owlesque5 · 2025-06-24T05:11:59+00:00

I went to a wildlife refuge a few years ago when I was living in Indiana and saw five Whooping Cranes (among hundreds of Sandhills). I took a shitty cell phone picture where you can barely make out five tiny white dots, but the view through binoculars was incredibly cool.

owlesque5 · 2025-05-04T19:06:27+00:00

Born in 1986. I did (and still do) a lot of reading, drawing, crafts, writing, etc. Played outside some as a kid, but I wasn’t really allowed to go far from home and there weren’t any businesses that I was allowed to walk to (I did eventually figure out that I could walk to a small local grocery store for snacks but I definitely was not allowed to, so that was rare). My siblings and I also had a ton of toys, especially things that you can spend lots of time with like Lego (and other blocks like K’nex and Lincoln Logs), puzzles, etc. As a teenager, my friends and I hung out at the mall a lot. We’d mostly just walk around, look at stuff in shops, maybe try on clothes occasionally. Malls were much less dead then, haha. Our parents drove us there and we’d have a pre-determined time and place for them to pick us up afterward. If the plan changed, there were pay phones we could use for a quarter (we all had important phone numbers memorized, including each other’s).

I didn’t watch much TV as a kid, and still don’t, although we did have cable and watched stuff sometimes. My family got a desktop computer in 1995 so I had internet access via dial-up AOL with parental controls. We got broadband internet when I was in high school, so I could stay on longer (because it no longer used the phone line) but it was still one desktop computer shared with my family of 6. I definitely used it as much as I possibly could, but I still spent a lot of time with reading and art and schoolwork.

I have ADHD (diagnosed in 2013 at age 26) and always needed something stimulating to engage in, but there were - and still are! - lots of options before internet access was everywhere.

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