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Look what landed on my doorstep today

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by efusco, Aug 21, 2006.

  1. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    Heard a 'thunk', not that uncommon when birds crash into the windows of my house, but this was a particularly loud 'thunk'. Didn't think much about it until ~20-30 min later I took the dog out for a walk. Hear a rustling and the dog freaked out. On my front porch under the window was this Juvenile Easter Red-tail Hawk. Possibly with an injured wing, possibly just stunned, haven't been able to tell.

    Made a couple calls to the conservation dept. and apparently there isn't a raptor rescue program around here, the zoo usually only takes eagles, and he wasn't really very helpful with other options other than to wait and see if he 'comes around' and if not to call him back to see if he can think of something to do.

    Open to any ideas.

    Prius Content....notice the shape of the head is quite similar to the profile of the Prius!

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  2. San_Carlos_Jeff

    San_Carlos_Jeff Active Member

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    Beautiful bird, hope it "comes around" and can fly away soon.
     
  3. Tom_06

    Tom_06 Active Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Aug 21 2006, 04:44 PM) [snapback]306959[/snapback]</div>
    Try contacting these guys: http://www.tristatebird.org/about/contactinfo.htm . They are about two miles from my house and are an internationally recognized year-round staffed bird rescue organization. Although they can't help you directly in MO, they should be aware of anyone who could in your area.

    - Tom
     
  4. hyo silver

    hyo silver Awaaaaay

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    Wow, your own hawk! Pets that adopt me have always been my favourite. The neighbour's cat lived with us for about five years.

    There's no mama bird frantically circling your house? I helped Gardner Martin, the recumbent bike guru, catch one of these once. He wore welder's gloves and a helmet, and we cornered the bird and threw a blanket over him, his mother screaming at us and dive bombing the whole time. The rescue society was there within the hour. In the absence of someone who will take him off your hands, I have only one question: Does the local pet store sell mice? :blink:
     
  5. tochatihu

    tochatihu Senior Member

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    Super photographs Evan! My only other ideas are to call up local vets, science museum, or a local bird club. In the worst case scenario, remember at least that they are not rare. If you end up with a deceased one, I cannot imagine that the nearest college with a 'real' Biology Dept would not want to taxidermy the skin.

    Dumb birds. You could put colorful stickers on your windows, on behalf of the next one that comes along.

    Missouri Audubon Society 2620 Forum Blvd., Ste. C-1, Columbia, Missouri 65203; Ph: 573-447-2249

    http://www.americanbirdcenter.com/

    (don't know who you're closest to)

    Good luck to the little Buteo jamaicaensis!
     
  6. glenhead

    glenhead New Member

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    He looks to be fuly fledged. If he's not hurt, he may have been released from some rescue organization, and knows that a house means a handout. We had one that stayed with us for three days when I was a kid in Amarillo that had just been released. He loved hamburger - maybe try putting out a blob. Way cool!
     
  7. jimmyrose

    jimmyrose Member

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    How beautiful! Once my wife gets off her conference call, she'll love seeing these great shots, at the same time hoping it's not too badly hurt.
    You're really reaching with the "Prius Content" however... :)
     
  8. Rancid13

    Rancid13 Cool Chick with a Black Prius

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    Beautiful bird! Hopefully you'll be able to either get ahold of the right someone that can 'rescue' it, or you can nurse it back to health so he(she?) can fly away on his/her own.
     
  9. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

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    wow, what a gorgeous bird! we've got a few redtails around here too, but they're always perched waaaay up in a tree somewhere. i hope this guy gets back to wherever he belongs soon.
     
  10. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
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    It's possible that s/he harmed the beak with the impact. Being a doctor yourself, you might want to feel around to see if it's still okay. Let us know the results. :D

    Seriously, that first picture is stunning!
     
  11. SSimon

    SSimon Active Member

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    This has to be my all time favorite bird.

    Here's a link with a bunch of contact information and it even breaks out the rehab centers per locale. If the bird is stunned enough, I've seen them sit for almost 10-15 minutes before taking off. If your bird sits for more than a half hour, I would say it's injured and is in need of help. I wouldn't try handling the bird as I've been told that captive red tails can be highly aggressive. Here's the link. If this isn't of help, let me know and I'll see what else I can find. I can always place a call to the Audubon Society and they'll probably have contact info.

    http://www.tc.umn.edu/~devo0028/contactA.htm
     
  12. naterprius

    naterprius Senior Member

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    Awesome bird. I hear they are quite common, and love to eat pigeons. It may enjoy a few feeder mice as well (from your local pet store). Don't feel too bad if he doesn't make it, the species is thriving reasonably well. (Anyone know if bird flu affects hawks?)

    There was one of those up on a lampost near my house when I was out jogging at dawn a few years ago. He looked down at me, and for a moment I felt fear; he had a look in his eyes like "I could take you if I wanted to." I laughed outloud and kept jogging. They have since developed the area and I haven't seen him since.

    If you are ever in NYC, stop by the remote control boat pond in Central Park, find someone with a telescope, and ask to through it. You'll get to see Pale Male, perhaps the most famous red tail of them all. I had the pleasure in June 04.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pale_Male

    Good luck with your little one, Evan.

    Nate
     
  13. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    Well, 2 hours+ and he's still sitting there. The Conservation dept. guy is coming, but I'm frankly anxious about that b/c he did not seem to have any idea what he was going to do with the bird.

    One of the better sites I googled specifically said NOT to feed the bird, but that giving it water is OK....apparently it's harder to return them to nature if they aren't seriously injured if you feed them.

    There Raptor rehab project at U. Missouri, Columbia is interested, but that's hours away.
     
  14. tochatihu

    tochatihu Senior Member

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    Just now, at the bottom of the PriusChat page, I see an ad for "Nixalite bird control products". This is way to much of a coincidence.
     
  15. steviet

    steviet New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Aug 21 2006, 06:07 PM) [snapback]307049[/snapback]</div>
    That bird is fledged and own his own by now I bet, they don't hang with parents very long from my understanding, eagles are the same from my reading and watching.

    It's true about the feeding, or if you do feed it make sure it is something alive and he would normally capture on his own and kill and not to just hand it to him (for future ref). But there are exceptions to this, like enticing him into a carrier. It can be done without rushing at him or further injuring him.

    What you can do is make a smart safe trap of sorts, a dog carrier (non wire one and the smaller the better) with some enticing food inside it should be placed within walking distance of the bird but not too close to scare him, with the food all the way at the back of the carrier. One person could be at the birds back as it walks in the crate for the food and protection and shut the gate of the crate gracefully. A dark towul or sheet could then be used to cover the sides to give the hawk some comfort, it's injured, scared and vulnerable any extra excitement on capture could push him over the edge of no return or further injury. wish I was closer I would help you.

    I have done this before, twice, once with a wild bird and once with someones pet bird that escaped, it worked like a charm with the wild injured bird, took more coaxing for the pet, those trips to the vet in a carrier make a lasting impression sometimes.

    I hope everything works out allright and someone with experience with wild catches shows up and can help.

    Steve



    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(naterprius @ Aug 21 2006, 05:54 PM) [snapback]307038[/snapback]</div>

    Yes they can, chicken hawks and crested hawks as near as 2004 had tested positive for it.

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...6043000446.html

    Steve
     
  16. steviet

    steviet New Member

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    I don't know if it's too late or if you've seen this but this organization is in Missouri, they shoudl be able to give you some advice and there is info on the site, http://www.worldbirdsanctuary.org/ , they probably won't take him but maybe they know a place that will that is nearer to you.

    Steve
     
  17. mssmith95

    mssmith95 Michael

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    I'll bet it would love to eat


    SQUID (as in Mystery...)
     
  18. tmgrl3

    tmgrl3 Member

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    What a stunning photo of a gorgeous bird, Evan!!

    Hope it is able to return to nature....


    From crest to beak...sure looks like the Prius hood right down to the "beaky" hatchback....
     
  19. markymags

    markymags Junior Member

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    And here I thought I was going to be reading about some new Prius mod that you ordered. Great pictures of the bird though! The first one is stunning!
     
  20. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    I've gotta run, but will post more pictures later. The Conservation guy came, by then the bird was pretty lethargic and didn't even try to resist when picked up. He had blood coming from his mouth and a small pool of blood was on the porch where he'd been sitting.

    He looked pretty bad and I think he's gonna die before the night's out. Too bad.