In the wild, the diminutive
dovekie lives offshore and feeds on crustaceans, krill, other invertebrates, and small fish. They are relatives of puffins and murres, but much smaller - only 5 to six inches long. At
our rehab center, we very rarely see dovekies - we had one in '05, one in '06, and two in '07. Quite unexpectedly, three dovekies were admitted at CFW on December 27 and a fourth was
admitted the following day. Three of the birds were found inland, we think as a result of an off-shore storm that blew them in. One bird was three miles inland!
Coincidentally,
another rehab center in central Maine also received one on December 28. All four CFW birds were weak and thin on admission but had no apparent injuries. One had a respiratory infection
and was put on antibiotics. They were all treated for heavy loads of internal parasites (coccidia) and were also given a medication twice per day to prevent aspergillosis, a fungal
infection which is often carried by seabirds and can be fatal to weakened birds in captivity.
With so few dovekie
admissions under our belt, staff worked hard to learn as much as possible in a very short time to make sure we did everything we could for these guys. We spoke to other bird
rehabilitators in Maine, and spoke to waterbird specialists at Tri-State Research & Rescue in Delaware and
IBRRC in California, got advice from a rehabber in Nova Scotia, and even called a waterbird rehabber in England for her advice! We
did learn that these birds are almost always emaciated and already dying by the time they are rescued.
Dovekies have
incredibly fast metabolisms, faster even than little songbirds, so our main goal with treatment was to get them to gain weight while preventing them from losing waterproofing or developing
foot problems. We tube-fed a high calorie slurry every hour and a half from 7am to 7pm and also fed fresh minnows, a dozen per day. Because pelagic birds like dovekies have a salt gland that
atrophies if they are given only fresh water for drinking and bathing, salt was carefully added to their diets to keep the gland working. Otherwise, when the birds are reintroduced to
salt water, they would not be able to eliminate the salt and would die.
They were put in a special tub with a water overflow to keep any contaminants off
their feathers which would ruin their waterproofing, and their cages were lined with ultra-soft, smooth bedding to prevent pressure sores and swelling of their joints. The bedding was
changed whenever it was soiled to keep their feathers clean; sometimes this meant several changes per day - so we did lots of laundry!
Two of the CFW birds
died on day three. The other two did well until day 12 when one of them died, we think from complications due to an old wound we discovered on his side. The one survivor was
released on January 16, 2010 at the Isles of Shoals. The challenge and hard work were worth it even if only one life was saved, and the knowledge we gained will be invaluable the next time
we admit one of these amazing little birds.
*****