NEWS FLASH!!!! EXCITING UPDATE ON OUR NEW HOME!!!!!
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March 6 - 12:00pm - Lakewood Park Christian School, 5555 CR 29, Auburn, IN
March 18 - 3:00pm - Emmanuel Community Church, 12222 W. Jefferson Blvd., Fort Wayne, IN
March 19 - 7:00pm - Huntington Co. Humane Society, 502 Lake St., Huntington, IN
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"When one tugs at a single thing in nature,
he finds it attached to the rest of the world."
-
John Muir
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This great horned owl was found in New Haven on September 10, 2018, caught between a building and chicken coop. He had a severe mouth infection that had affected his ability to eat, so he was pretty thin when he came to Soarin' Hawk.
The infection cleared up after 4 weeks, so he was moved to our rehabilitation facility. After a month in rehabilitation, his mouth infection came back, so he went back to our treatment facility for another round of pain medication and treatment for a probable fungal infection. Treatment lasted about 6 weeks, then he went back to our rehabilitation facility, where he gained strength and practiced flying.
When the owl was ready for release, we contacted the individual where he was found and, because he was found next to a chicken coop, the individual did not want the bird released in the same location, so we found an alternate release location that was still in the New Haven area, and he was returned to the wild on February 7, 2019.
(Video is beneath the "How You Can Help" box)
Moments like these are what we all live for! It is profoundly humbling to watch a bird fly away, healthy, to continue its life in the wild. If you are able, please
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CELEBRATING GENEROSITY
Thanks to February donors!
Amazon Smile, AEP Foundation
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OUR UNSUNG HEROES
One of the most easily overlooked functions Soarin' Hawk volunteers do is Avian Care. This job is dirty and difficult at times and, to top things off, it rarely gets public recognition, because the public never sees behind the scenes! This month we give a big shout-out to all the dedicated volunteers who show up day in and day out to do what needs to be done to care for the birds.
Birds aren't the neatest of guests, and as a result their pens require daily maintenance. Come rain, shine or freezing temperatures, our volunteers spend many hours each day cleaning and feeding our bird-of-prey residents.
The Avian Care job is important because our volunteers can spot if one of the birds is sick or injured. We use a feeding chart that is critical in the care of the birds. Each bird's food is weighed when fed and the weight of any food not eaten is noted. (One way we can tell if a bird is not feeling well is that they stop eating, so keeping track of the food eaten and left over is very important.) This isn't glamorous work, but it is essential in the care of our bird-of-prey residents. Thank you, Avian Care team! We appreciate you!
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CONSERVATION CORNER
Be the change...
Clinical assistant professor Maureen Murray of the
Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine
in central Massachusetts was doing a good job of keeping her emotions under wraps as she clicked through photos of her recent necropsies. But I was watching her eyes as well as her computer screen, and they revealed anguish. Like her colleagues here and at similar clinics around the country, Murray is a wildlife advocate as well as a scientist.
Each image was, in her word and my perception, “sadder” than the last. There was the great horned owl with a hematoma running the length of its left wing; the red-tailed hawk’s body cavity glistening with unclotted blood; sundry raptors with pools of blood under dissected skin; the redtail with a hematoma that had ballooned its left eye to 10 times normal size; and, “saddest of all,” the redtail with an egg. The well-developed blood vessels in her oviducts had ruptured, and she had slowly bled to death from the inside.
All these birds were victims of “second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides” used by exterminators, farmers, and homeowners. They’re found in such brand names as d-Con, Hot Shot, Generation, Talon, and Havoc, and they sell briskly because of our consuming hatred of rats and mice. The most pestiferous species are alien to the New World and therefore displace native wildlife; they contaminate our food and spread disease. We also hate them for their beady eyes, their naked tails, and their vile depictions in literature, from Aesop to E.B. White. So the general attitude among the public is “if a little poison’s good, a lot’s better.” But even a little second-generation rodenticide kills non-target wildlife.
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RESCUE STORY, CONTINUED
Red-tailed Hawk #12302018 (a/k/a Right Orange, per his leg band color)
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This Red-Tailed Hawk continues to make great progress! He has begun creance flying, and is doing well, but still needs to gain some strength. In creance flying, a bird is tethered to one of our trainers, and given progressively more line as he gets stronger and can fly farther. Tethering keeps birds safe, and allows them to gain flight strength, while assuring that they can be retrieved as they train. Once this guy can fly well, he will be released.
Check back next month to follow this bird's progress!
Read a detailed description of the rescue
here.
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VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT
Sandy Moore
I have been working with wild animals most of my life. I love animals of all kinds. I started volunteering at Soarin’ Hawk 9 years ago in April, and I enjoy the people and helping these beautiful birds of prey.
I look forward to educating the public on how important birds of prey are to the environment and why we need to save as many as we can.
To be able to help these birds get back to the wild is the greatest joy of all. Just to know that I had a part into getting them back to the wild is the greatest feeling in the world. To this day, when I am part of a release I still get emotional.
This organization is a great place to volunteer with great people that really care about the birds.
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EDUCATION CORNER
MEET OUR EDUCATION BIRDS - Apollo
Apollo is a male Great Horned Owl. We believe he is a male because females are larger than males and, although Apollo appears quite large in real life, he really is small for a Great Horned Owl. Apollo was picked up in Fort Wayne with an old, already-healed wing fracture. Because the fracture was healed (but badly), there was nothing we could do to help the fracture heal properly so he could regain his ability to fly. Luckily, we had an opening for an education bird when he came along in 2010.
Apollo is not a ferocious bird; in fact, he is quite shy. It takes him a long time to trust his handlers; there are few people he is really comfortable with. If he gets really frightened, he will try to tuck his head under his handler’s arm!
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PLEASE HELP US HELP THE BIRDS!
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We were able to help this little Northern Saw-Whet Owl after he was attacked by a hawk, thanks to donations from people like you. Won't you make a donation now to help us help these magnificent birds? No contribution is too small!
Your donation is tax deductible.
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