We got a call at work today from a woman who had a "large bird flopping around in her yard that wasn't a vulture". We advised her NOT to handle the bird, and gave her some numbers to call for help with it. But she needed to go to work, and made the decision to capture it herself, put it in a cat carrier and have it brought to us.
The bird is an adult Red-tailed Hawk. As you can see, it was flat out down and unresponsive except for labored breathing. We VERY lucky to contact a licensed wildlife rehabber right away, and even luckier that he was able to come immediately!
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| Mr. Copperfield assessing the hawk |
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| The hawk was very "out of it" and only made one half hearted attempt to bite, and he was able to remove his glove to get a better feel. My coworker and cobirdcrazy friend Sharon looks on. |
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He was able to handle the bird very easily (not the best of signs) and do a quick assessment of his condition. There appears to have been a head injury, and a possible broken wing, but he decided the bird might just have a chance so he took him. Thank you very much for your help Mr. Copperfield!! He will let us know how the hawk makes out.
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| Gorgeous! |
For some of my coworkers, this was the first closeup look ever of a wild Red Tailed Hawk!
We sure hope he makes it......
