{"id":19983,"date":"2013-11-15T06:37:53","date_gmt":"2013-11-15T13:37:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/?p=19983"},"modified":"2013-11-15T06:37:53","modified_gmt":"2013-11-15T13:37:53","slug":"eye-defects-in-raptors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2013\/11\/15\/eye-defects-in-raptors\/","title":{"rendered":"Eye Defects In Raptors"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Over the years I&#8217;ve seen a number of birds with eye problems.\u00a0 Some of them appeared to be infections and others injuries but I&#8217;m beginning to notice a pattern of symptoms that looks similar from bird to bird, particularly in raptors.\u00a0 I&#8217;ve included two examples here.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/american-kestrel-8692-ron-dudley.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"19984\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2013\/11\/15\/eye-defects-in-raptors\/american-kestrel-8692-ron-dudley\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/american-kestrel-8692-ron-dudley.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"749,900\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS 40D&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1202472028&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;700&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;400&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.00025&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"american kestrel 8692 ron dudley\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/american-kestrel-8692-ron-dudley-249x300.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/american-kestrel-8692-ron-dudley.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-19984\" alt=\"american kestrel 8692 ron dudley\" src=\"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/american-kestrel-8692-ron-dudley.jpg\" width=\"749\" height=\"900\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/american-kestrel-8692-ron-dudley.jpg 749w, https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/american-kestrel-8692-ron-dudley-249x300.jpg 249w, https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/american-kestrel-8692-ron-dudley-124x150.jpg 124w, https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/american-kestrel-8692-ron-dudley-400x480.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 749px) 100vw, 749px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>At first I thought this male American Kestrel was simply sleeping but it soon became apparent that it wasn&#8217;t opening its left eye at all.\u00a0 It took off after I got off a\u00a0few quick shots.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/american-kestrel-closeup-8692-ron-dudley.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"19985\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2013\/11\/15\/eye-defects-in-raptors\/american-kestrel-closeup-8692-ron-dudley\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/american-kestrel-closeup-8692-ron-dudley.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"871,900\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS 40D&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1202472028&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;700&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;400&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.00025&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"american kestrel closeup 8692 ron dudley\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/american-kestrel-closeup-8692-ron-dudley-290x300.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/american-kestrel-closeup-8692-ron-dudley.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-19985\" alt=\"american kestrel closeup 8692 ron dudley\" src=\"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/american-kestrel-closeup-8692-ron-dudley.jpg\" width=\"871\" height=\"900\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/american-kestrel-closeup-8692-ron-dudley.jpg 871w, https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/american-kestrel-closeup-8692-ron-dudley-290x300.jpg 290w, https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/american-kestrel-closeup-8692-ron-dudley-145x150.jpg 145w, https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/american-kestrel-closeup-8692-ron-dudley-400x413.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 871px) 100vw, 871px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>A tight crop to show more detail.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/northern-harrier-0669-ron-dudley.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"19986\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2013\/11\/15\/eye-defects-in-raptors\/northern-harrier-0669-ron-dudley\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/northern-harrier-0669-ron-dudley.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"900,643\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;6.3&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;RON DUDLEY&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS 7D&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1357121504&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;700&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;640&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0004&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"northern harrier 0669 ron dudley\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/northern-harrier-0669-ron-dudley-300x214.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/northern-harrier-0669-ron-dudley.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-19986\" alt=\"northern harrier 0669 ron dudley\" src=\"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/northern-harrier-0669-ron-dudley.jpg\" width=\"900\" height=\"643\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/northern-harrier-0669-ron-dudley.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/northern-harrier-0669-ron-dudley-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/northern-harrier-0669-ron-dudley-150x107.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/northern-harrier-0669-ron-dudley-400x285.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>This Northern Harrier had a similar problem, this time with the right eye.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/northern-harrier-closeup-0669-ron-dudley.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"19987\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2013\/11\/15\/eye-defects-in-raptors\/northern-harrier-closeup-0669-ron-dudley\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/northern-harrier-closeup-0669-ron-dudley.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"900,643\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;6.3&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;RON DUDLEY&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS 7D&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1357121504&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;700&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;640&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0004&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"northern harrier closeup 0669 ron dudley\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/northern-harrier-closeup-0669-ron-dudley-300x214.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/northern-harrier-closeup-0669-ron-dudley.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-19987\" alt=\"northern harrier closeup 0669 ron dudley\" src=\"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/northern-harrier-closeup-0669-ron-dudley.jpg\" width=\"900\" height=\"643\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/northern-harrier-closeup-0669-ron-dudley.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/northern-harrier-closeup-0669-ron-dudley-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/northern-harrier-closeup-0669-ron-dudley-150x107.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/northern-harrier-closeup-0669-ron-dudley-400x285.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Another tight crop for more detail.<\/p>\n<p>The other eye of both birds appeared normal, as did their behavior as far as I could tell.\u00a0\u00a0 To my untrained eye\u00a0it looks like the eyelids of each bird are open and the problem may have to do with either the nictitating membrane or the cornea.\u00a0\u00a0 I&#8217;m struck by the similarity of the physical appearance of the abnormal eye in both birds and I&#8217;ve seen similar conditions in at least one other raptor (a female kestrel).<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m always interested and curious about what I see in the field when it involves birds (good or bad) so I wonder if any of my readers have any insight as to what may be going on here.\u00a0 I&#8217;ve posted other images of this harrier previously and asked about the eye but I&#8217;ve just recently noticed the apparent\u00a0similarities between the eye of this harrier and kestrel.\u00a0\u00a0Am I correct in believing that the\u00a0symptoms that we can see in both birds are\u00a0similar?\u00a0 From the physical\u00a0appearance of the eyes can it be determined if these &#8220;anomalies&#8221; are likely caused by injury or infection (or perhaps injury followed by infection) or something else?<\/p>\n<p>Thanks in advance for any feedback or insight.<\/p>\n<p>Ron<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Over the years I&#8217;ve seen a number of birds with eye problems.  Some of them appeared to be infections and others injuries but I&#8217;m beginning to notice a pattern of symptoms that looks similar from bird to bird &#8211; particularly in raptors.  I&#8217;ve included two examples here.<\/p>\n<p> <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2013\/11\/15\/eye-defects-in-raptors\/\"><span>Continue reading<\/span><i class=\"crycon-right-dir\"><\/i><\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19987,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[340,5,334,341],"tags":[28,86,1749,1108,1716,131,515,234],"class_list":["post-19983","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-american-kestrels","category-bird-oddities","category-birds","category-northern-harriers","tag-american-kestrel","tag-circus-cyaneus","tag-cornea","tag-eye-infection","tag-eye-injury","tag-falco-sparverius","tag-nictitating-membrane","tag-northern-harrier"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/northern-harrier-closeup-0669-ron-dudley.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1zzJh-5cj","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19983","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19983"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19983\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19987"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19983"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19983"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19983"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}