Red Tail Hawk
This female Red Tail Hawk was brought in the first week of February. She had a broken wing. It was to late in the day to get her to Dr Riggs so first thing the next morning I took her to him. The day after I took her to Dr Riggs office she laid an egg. They made a nest and placed the egg in it. She wanted no part of the egg and would not take care if it. Animals are not dumb. She knew she did not have a mate to help her. In my 61 years of Wildlife Rehabilitation, I’ve never had a hawk as aggressive as she was. It was a piece of cake for her to go thru the gloves.
After the splint came off she had to have the wing tips taped together for two weeks. I knew there was no way I could take the tape off myself so I asked a close friend, Mike Giron, to help me. I held her and he took the tape off taking great care to not destroy feathers.
She was placed back in the flight cage and after a few weeks was now ready for release. Getting her was a challenge. Once I caught her I placed her in the pet taxie. Her favorite thing to do when in it was to flip on her back, thrust her talons thru the grate of the top door on the pet taxie and hook your fingers when you were getting the handle. The photos were taken by Dana Giron. The one above is Mike and I getting the tape off of the feathers the other ones of her release. She was as mean as a junk yard dog but I fell in love with her spirit. She was a real fighter. We released her where she came from and hopefully today is with her mate.
If you would like to find out more about birds you can find interesting facts and information on bird feeding here.
