Serendipity

[Debbie Foster]

Serendipity is one of my favorite words. It means a happy surprise. Yesterday I had a truly serendipitous experience.

I had a call on my machine from a woman I didn't know. She was at Squirrel Lake Park with her kids and noticed a baby hawk on the ground. She had called the Parks and Rec Department in the Town of Matthews and they told her to call me.

Understand that I am not a wildlife rehabilitator and, short of enjoying bird-watching, have little experience with wild birds. Nevertheless, I thought I should go over and check it out.

Armed with my cell phone and numbers for a wildlife rehabilitator and Carolina Raptor Center I took off for the park. When I got there I yelled, "Hey, is anyone here named Jennifer?" Two people answered. Figured out which was the right Jennifer and got down to business. She showed me the little guy tucked into the woods just adjacent to the parking lot. He was fully feathered, with downy feathers still on his head. He was alert and didn't seem to be hurt. I asked if they had seen a nest or heard an adult. They said no, but it wasn't two minutes before we started hearing calls and another 30 seconds before we found a nest in a tree across the parking lot with another juvenile in it. I suggested we leave it alone and see if mom would take care of the situation.

I called the Raptor Center and they gave me great directions for how to handle the situation. I went back a couple of hours later and the little guy had hopped out of the woods, across the parking lot, past the playground and picnic areas and was sitting exposed in a sunny patch of grass. I figured I couldn't leave him there, with the number of people and dogs in the area. So I followed the instructions for relocating him (after taking some pictures, of course!) and watched him. Still didn't feel he was safe, so called in reinforcements.

Jennifer Gordon, of Carolina Waterfowl Rescue and a wildlife rehabilitator, came to the rescue. She plucked him right out of the tree and did an assessment. She estimated that he was 3-4 weeks old, and had probably been out of his nest 4-5 days. His keel bone was very prominent, meaning he had not been well-fed, and he was dehydrated. She assessed this by pinching the skin on his foot. Turns out it does the same thing our skin does when we are dehydrated - keeps the pinched shape for several seconds. She also noticed that his vision didn't seen to be as good on one side as the other. She took him home, with plans to hydrate him subcutaneously, and offer him a scrumptious dinner of a skinned mouse. Yum! She will find a volunteer to transport him to the Raptor Center.

If all goes well, we'll be allowed to release him back into Squirrel Lake. He'll need to be able to hunt for himself before that happens.

So, while I never saw myself sitting at the park for several hours yesterday and certainly had no idea I'd be scooping up a juvenile red-shouldered hawk it was a wonderful experience. I highly recommend a bit of serendipity for everyone on a regular basis.

[Dee & Frank Hughes]

Wow- Me and D and have going to Squirrel Lake once or twice a week for the past 5 years. We see tons of Nuthatches. Not that there's anything wrong with Nuthatches mind. I guess you earned your habitat and wildlife keeper for sure. Good for you. (and the hawk). Can we see the pics?
Frank

[Debbie Foster]

Well, I know there are brown-headed nuthatches there and Carol spotted a white-breasted. Both of those are somewhat rare sightings. So nuthatches aren't too shabby.

The weird thing is the hawk's nest is in the tree next door to the one that was cut down. If you really want to get a crick in your neck, stand under the pavillion and look up the tree to the last group of branches to the right. It's not very large. I wonder if the other one was so big because they added on each year?

Miss Carol took pictures and video. I took a few, too, but I'm sure it'll take me a lot longer to post mine than it will for her. I know you can sympathize with someone who's technologically challenged - and pretty much disinterested, for that matter!

Got a report on the baby a few minutes ago. Jennifer believes he will be fine.

D

[Carol Buie-Jackson]

[Carol Buie-Jackson]

[Joan Melville]

Is it not the coolest feeling to hold a raptor in your hands? I remember getting all goose-bumpy when I realized that I had done just that last year with the red-tail hawk. Thanks for your rescue efforts!

Joan

[Debbie Foster]

Yep, it sure is! I can't believe that you handled an adult. I will tell you that when I called CRC they were GREAT about providing me info on how to do the rescue. I expected they would send someone out, but instead they told me what to do.

Jennifer Gordon is sending him to CRC this morning. He is doing very well. She says he is "feisty" and feeding himself quite readily. We were worried about a possible vision problem on one side, but she said that may have been due to dehydration. She thinks he will be just fine.

Look for pics in the Matthews Record next week.

Debbie

[Debbie Foster]

An update on the rescue. Two weeks ago Carolina Raptor Center contacted HAWK and told us the hawk was ready for release. He had been given supportive care by Jennifer Gordon of Carolina Waterfowl Rescue for several days and then transported to the Raptor Center. After additional treatment he was sent to "mouse school" to learn to hunt on his own.

We took him in a cardboard carrier to Squirrel Lake to release him. There was QUITE a difference in size. He was big and sleek. As soon as we loosened the tabs on the box he burst forth like he'd been shot out of a cannon. At first it looked like he was headed straight for the tree where his nest was, but he stopped and perched on top of the pavilion for about 30 seconds. He then flew straight into the woods at warp speed and we never saw him again.

Even though we couldn't get decent pictures, it was a satisfying ending to this rescue.