GROUND-BREAKING! IT'S FOR THE BIRDS!
|
|
On May 16, the first shovels of dirt were overturned at our new nest site by Board President Harry Owen, Vice-President Mike Dobbs, Treasurer Bob Walton, and Volunteer Representative Mary Koher. A special, exciting day, over 25 years in the making!
Many thanks to all the people who made this great day possible: AEP; Pat & Byron Funnell; Ted Geers; Allen Vet; Veterinary Services; Pine Valley Vet Clinic; Maureen Voors, Allen County Dept of Planning Services; Beth Shellman, Huntertown Supervisor; Engineering Resources Inc.; Miller Land Surveying; PinPoint Directional Drilling; Dave Ewers & Fox Contractors; Meyer Building; Hikson Sand & Gravel; Arbor Farms; all the surrounding neighbors; and, of course, all the volunteers over the years for their tireless work for the birds.
When all is finished, in the Fall, our new nest will include:
• Enclosures that will give our rehab birds a natural setting in which to regain flight strength
• An exercise enclosure that will allow us to exercise birds in all weather conditions, resulting in faster recovery and release
• A climate-controlled operations building for triage and treatment, food prep, and a base for Soarin' Hawk's volunteers.
In addition, part of the site will be restored for prairie, pollinator and riparian habitats.
Our dreams are becoming reality! Stay tuned!
|
|
NOW, ONLY TWO WEEKS LATER...
|
|
PEOPLE ARE TALKING . . .
about Soarin' Hawk educational programs!
"I've never been so close to them before!”
“They are amazing!”
“They're so magestic!”
“I always heard they could turn their head all the way around, but never had seen it. Wow!”
|
|
WHERE WE'RE GOING IN JUNE
June 1 - Wild Birds Unlimited, Northcrest Shopping Center, Fort Wayne, IN - 11:00a
June 6 - Monroeville Library, 115 Main St., Monroeville, IN - 1:30p
June 6 - Grabill Library, 13521 Grabill Rd., Grabill, IN - 7:00p
June 7 - Moser Park Nature Center, 601 Main St., New Haven, IN - 1:00p
June 10 - Georgetown Library, 6600 E. State Blvd., Fort Wayne, IN - 10:15a & 2:30p
June 11 - Hessen Cassel Library, 3030 E. Paulding Rd., Fort Wayne, IN - 1:30p
June 12 - Dupont Library, 536 E. Dupont Rd., Fort Wayne, IN - 3:00p & 7:00p
June 13 - Main Library (Children's Section), 900 Library Plaza, Fort Wayne, IN - 10:30a, 2:30p & 8:30p
June 14 - Waynedale Library, 2200 Lower Huntington Rd., Waynedale, IN - 2:00p
|
|
June 15 - Kate's Cart Fundraiser - 14701 Scwartz Rd., Leo, IN - 11:30a
June 19 - Woodburn Library, 4701 State Road 101, Woodburn, IN - 10:30a
June 20 - Chain O' Lakes State Park - 2355E CR75S, Albion, IN - 2:00p
June 22 - Pretty Lakes Conservation Club Block Party, 4410S 890E, Wolcottville, IN - 10:00a
June 24 - Little Turtle Library, 2201 Sherman Blvd., Fort Wayne IN - 1:00p
June 25 - Main Library (Teen), 900 Library Plaza, Fort Wayne, IN - 2:00p
June 26 - Pontiac Library, 2215 S. Hanna St., Fort Wayne, IN - 1:30p
June 28 - New Haven Library, 648 Green St., New Haven, IN - 2:00p
June 29 - Aboite Library, 5630 Coventry Lane, Fort Wayne, IN - 2:00p
|
|
|
"The earth laughs in flowers
.
”
-
Ralph Waldo Emerson
|
|
|
|
On May 6, Soarin' Hawk's rescue phone received a call from a mom in Berne, Indiana. The previous evening, her daughter had found this little guy and his two siblings sitting on the ground at the bottom of a tree. Their landlord was mowing the lawn, and the daughter was afraid the babies would be killed by the mower, so she put the babies in a box and brought them into their home. Because they didn't know how to care for the babies (which are screech owlets), the family called us for help and advice.
|
|
MORE WAYS YOU CAN SUPPORT SOARIN' HAWK
|
Amazon Smile -
Instead of doing your shopping at amazon.com, shop at
smile.amazon.com
. It's the same amazon, but you can select Soarin' Hawk as your preferred charity. Then, each time you make a purchase, amazon donates a percentage of your purchase total to Soarin' Hawk!
Donation of Stock
-
Soarin' Hawk is now able to accept the direct donation of stock. You can donate stock which has appreciated directly to Soarin' Hawk without paying taxes. Please contact
mike.dobbs@soarinhawk.org
for more details.*
IRA Distributions -
If you'd like to make a donation of cash or stock to Soarin' Hawk directly from your retirement account, that donation should qualify under IRS Guidelines for Required Minimum Distribution and Qualified Charitable Contribution. Please contact
mike.dobbs@soarinhawk.org
for more details.*
* Seek the advice of your financial advisor first,
|
|
|
CELEBRATING GENEROSITY
Thanks to May donors!
L. Dearing, Dekalb County Community Foundation, Dr. R. Gebfert, D. Hall, J. McCrory, K. McGowan, Network for Good, Noble County Community Foundation, T.J. Skiba, Subaru of Fort Wayne
|
|
 |
|
|
|
WHY DO EAGLES ALWAYS LOOK ANGRY?
|
Bald Eagles, and many other raptors, have a built-in visor, called a "brow ridge," which makes them look very grumpy, but it helps keep the sun out of their eyes.
|
|
|
|
CONSERVATION CORNER
Be the change...
|
|
|
|
DO YOU NEED TO WORRY ABOUT YOUR PET BEING CARRIED OFF BY A HAWK?
We've all seen the stories on social media about people's pets being picked up and carried off by a raptor, but in the world of social (and regular) media, stories are often sensationalized, and reports are not always what they seem.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Peregrine falcons Coco, Jojo, Skittles, and Flash make their public debut after they receive their identification bands, accompanied by Soarin' Hawk volunteers and the Early Childhood Alliance kids who named them. The falcon chicks' nest box is
on the roof of Indiana Michigan Power Center in downtown Fort Wayne. Each chick received a numbered band so wildlife biologists can track their movements.
|
|
|
|
NEW VOLUNTEERS GET A SWEET "FIRST RESCUE"
|
|
This was our first rescue!
We were contacted around 3:13 on 5/23 by Lynne asking if Bill could pickup a box of baby hawks at a residence in Syracuse, IN.
We arrived at the residence around 4:45. David Zorn, who found the birds, told us the tree where the nest was located was ok when he left for work that morning, but when he returned home half the tree was down. The nest and babies were scattered on the side of the driveway. He gathered the babies up put them in a towel-lined box. He had not seen the parents. He assumed the tree came down in the storms that came thru after he went to work. He tried to feed them small bits of worm.
When we arrived, we observed 5 baby hawks (we know they were hawks because one pooped on Bill). All were breathing, One was particularly vocal and active; the others appeared to be sleeping, but occasionally responded to “big mouth”'s vocalizing.
We arrived at the ICU around 5:45. Kat was there, and we stayed while she examined each one. There appeared to be no significant injuries.
It was a great first rescue for us. Looking forward to more.
Bill Oberg & Sue Hansen
Follow the babies' progress in next month's issue!
|
|
|
|
Not all rescues go the way we would like.
Lana Lee had been watching an eagles nest near Orland, Indiana. She had been able to photograph the parents raising three eaglets. On the morning of May 23, 2019, a severe storm went through the Steuben county area. A neighbor, noticed the eagles nest had been knocked down during the storm. This person had become an acquaintance of Lana’s and was aware she was a member of Soarin’ Hawk. We also used her property to photograph birds. The nest had been located about sixty feet up a cottonwood tree.
After speaking with Deb, we located the landowner and received verbal permission to enter the property. Both parent birds were still present. We were able to drive to the nest tree, where we located the remains of the nest. Two of the eaglets appeared to have died during the fall, or shortly after. A third eaglet was alive. It did not resist or try to escape capture. It did not show obvious signs of injury. All eaglets were taken to Pine Valley Vet Clinic and released to Dr. Funnel, who said the living eaglet also sustained lung/chest injuries revealed during a fluoroscope.
|
|
EDUCATION CORNER
EEEEEEEWWWWWW! A VULTURE! REALLY?
Possibly the most maligned and misunderstood of the raptors, the vulture plays a unique and indispensable role in the natural world. Assumed by many to be a dirty bird because of what they eat, they actually are quite clean - and fascinating.
|
|
(Photo by Dario Niz / Wikimedia Commons)
|
|
PLEASE HELP US HELP THE BIRDS!
|
|
|
|
|
We are able to help these beautiful little American Kestrel babies, who lost their home in a storm, thanks to donations from people like you. Won't you make a donation now to help us help these little ones make it to adulthood? No contribution is too small!
Your donation is tax deductible.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
