Update on the wounded hawk (with Pics)

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

Shattered radial, infection. Vet's inserting a wire and treating with antibiotics.

The bird had been shot.

That's a felony and I hope there's some way to catch the bastards that did this.

(For those that missed the OP, The hawk sought refuge in my garage on Saturday. I tried to keep it fed and comfy until I could find it proper treatment.)

[4_Legs_Good]

1. OMG! What a beautiful bird!!!

I can't believe how yellow his feet are!

david

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

2. She is georgeous! And notice how long and sharp those talons are!

[4_Legs_Good]

4. Amazing!

Just like kitten teeth. Sharp as pins.

david

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. What a beautiful bird, my dear Tom.......

She is so fortunate to have ended up in your garage!

Will she be able to return to the wild?

Stunning pics........

Thank you for keeping us updated!



:hug:


edited to change bird's gender......

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

7. The vet says that as long as we can beat the infection, yes.

I feel good about this, she had live food twice between Saturday and today. God, I hope she makes it.

[AlienGirl]

21. The first 24 hours are the hardest

Wounded birds often die of shock during the first twenty-four hours. After they've made it through a full day, you can kind of expect them to live, barring anything really drastic happening.

She's eating and drinking, which means she's not too stressed and she has a strong will to live. From those pictures, she looks like she was very healthy up until the injury.

My guess, based entirely on experience, is she looks like she's got an excellent chance for recovery. :thumbsup:

Tucker

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

26. That's my feelings and hopes as well...

She ate both days in my care, lost no feathers and her droppings were white and clear.

god, I hope she makes it through the operation.

Peace.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

12. I'm really not sure about the gender... She just struck me as a female

Don't know why.

Peace.

[trof]

5. What kind of hawk?

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

11. Best guess is now a Cooper's Hawk...

Hear it here: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/programs/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Coopers_Hawk_dtl.html#sound

[skygazer]

6. Wow, what a beauty

Raptors are so gorgeous. I'm glad the vet was able to treat her - what kind of prognosis did he/she give?

I too hope the idiot who shot her gets caught. What the hell is wrong with people? :grr:

[Dastard Stepchild]

8. Woah!

That's an amazing and excellent thing that you are doing. I'm in awe.... now I have to REALLY admire and like you forever for being such a good friend to the feathered. :)

:yourock:

[BikeWriter]

9. Damn the bastards who did that!

[Ikonoklast]

10. You did good, TYJ.

I was wondering how things would turn out. What a beautiful animal. I can only hope that the human shitstain that shot him receives all the karma due for such an act of senseless violence.

[bigwillq]

13. What a beautiful creature.

Get well soon little buddy.

[Shine]

14. Whoa, that is one big-ass gorgeous bird!!!

Thanks for keeping us posted on the outcome.

~Shine

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

15. One thing I've learned is if you ever have mice. Forget the cat, get a

hawk.

Per the suggestion of Animal Rescue, I bought some mice to feed the raptor. They suggested I hold the mouse by the tail and let the hawk grab it. Left me in a bit of a cunundrum to say the least. Which life was more valuable?

Thankfully, the bird didn't grab it.

I put the mice in what I thought was a place they couldn't escape from, but the hawk was smarter than the mice. It spread the mice out to feeding times all on its own.


http://www.birds.cornell.edu/programs/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Coopers_Hawk_dtl.html#sound

[SoCalDem]

22. My girlfriend and i found an OWL just walking down the sidewalk one time..

It didn;t even try to get away.. We took it to the high school and asked the biology teacher what we should do with it.. he said it had an injured wing, and he would take it home with him and have his vet look at it.. That owl spent the rest of his days, happlit ensconced in a big ole barn on the teacher's farm...

[sendero]

16. Hawks are awesome...

.. there is nothing like that hawk cry from the sky.

What a beautiful bird that one is!

[Briarius]

17. how beautiful!

good on you for taking care of that beauty!

[DS1]

18. How did you catch that?

:yourock:

I know it was hurt, which makes me wonder why it let anyone get close.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

19. She could only fly as well as a chicken, but was pretty fast and not

keen to have me pick her up.

I tried to be a slow and non-threatening as I could and gently picked her up and put her in a crock pot box with a blanket for the lengthy trip to the vet's office an hour away.

It might be nutty, but I imagine she trusted me for the same reason she picked my garage to hide in. I've got a labrador retriever in the back yard and the bird had to be aware of that.

I think animals sense things about people.

[bleedingheart]

20. What a gorgeous bird...

absolutely magnificent and I too agree with you....the person that shot the bird should get a kick in the ass....

[Ksec]

23. My guess is its a Broad Winged Hawk

I looked through my Audubon field guide.

Are you East of the Mississippi? Because the BWH are only east of the mississippi.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

24. The broad winged hawk's tail is shorter and only extends barely

past the wingtips. This hawk's tail feathers were a good 3-4 inches beyond the wing tips and the legth of the raptor was a good 16 inces rather than the 13 noted for the BT hawk....

However they are listed as similar species in the information I have found so far. This has really been a fascinating education for me.

peace.

[proud patriot]

25. Thanks for rescuing this bird

gorgeous bird

[Floogeldy]

27. Way to go!

I love the sweet little birdies. :)

[Redstone]

28. Is that bird a juvie? Its coloration is a lot like the 2-year-old

Bald Eagle we had for a while.

Though the eagle, of course, has a much different head and beak shape, I was really struck by the similarities in coloration.

Redstone

[AlienGirl]

30. Without knowing the species, it's hard to tell

She looks young to me, though, and it's usually the young, inexperienced raptors who get in trouble. (My kestrel roommate, for instance, was post-fledging and pre-puberty.)

Tucker

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

31. I think he's pretty young. Here's a shot of a young Cooper's Hawk

http://bailey.aros.net/nature/images/Cooper's%20Hawk%201%20small.jpg

from a site that I would guess knows quite a bit more than I do about the species.

I want to think that he's the same hawk that I have seen preying on flying doves in my front yard from time to time for the past two years.

[nytemare]

29. Just an amazing bird!

Good for you. The bird knew the right garage to go to!