NEST NEWS - The New Habitats
This month, we focus on the birds' new habitats. Our education birds are so happy in their new homes!
The new rehab building (below), separate from the education birds' new homes and currently under construction, is used to house raptors in recovery who have 'graduated' to being outdoors, but are not yet ready to be released. This building provides twice the square footage than what we had in the past, and a really cool feature: It has movable partitions so we can adjust the layout, depending the number and species of raptors being temporarily housed. And even cooler: It's built to be easy to clean, and has excellent light and ventilation.
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Short-eared owls Skylar (left)
and Sherman (right) in their new habitat
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"
One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.
"
-
William Shakespeare
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Jefferson, our handsome Bald Eagle, loves fish. When he started to get low on his favorite meal, we put out a call for fish, and you came through with flying colors! Thanks to
Matt Parr
of Undertow Baits (260-908-4484),
John Grimm
,
Kevin Hodge
, plus
Steve
and another
John
, Jefferson now has
over 50 pounds
of fish to eat! That will last a little less than two months.
Do you like to fish? You can go fishing for Jefferson too!
IMPORTANT:
Whole fish only. No fillets please. No carp (Jefferson doesn't like carp). Remove all hooks, etc. Blue gill or other similarly sized fish are perfect. If you can, please package in flat, one-pound packages.
If you have fish you'd like to donate, call 260-241-0134 to arrange a pick-up.
Thank you for fishing for Jefferson!
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A SPECIAL RELEASE
This beautiful red-shouldered hawk was found alongside a road and was delivered to a vet in Auburn, IN on December 27, 2019. The vet called Soarin' Hawk, and one of our volunteers delivered her to our ICU, where she was found to have a large gash on her shoulder. Her wound was sutured, and she recuperated at Soarin' Hawk's ICU.
Finally, on January 15, 2020, after doing well at practice flying, she was ready to return to her home. She was released at a beautiful little park in Auburn, where there are lots of tall trees and a nice stream where she can find lots of frogs to eat.
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THE FUTURE LOOKS LIKE THIS
This is Finn. When Finn's Pre-K class had career day, he chose to be a
hawk rescuer
! The future of raptor rescuing looks very bright!
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SEE YOU IN FEBRUARY!
Feb. 8 - Wizarding World Night - Fort Wayne Komets, Coliseum, Fort Wayne - 6:00pm
Feb. 29 - Koinonia Nature Center, Pierceton, IN - 6:00pm
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A SPECIAL NOTE FROM GIGI,
OUR VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR
Would you like to be a Soarin’ Hawk volunteer? Come to our next Volunteer Orientation and learn all about the different opportunities within Soarin’ Hawk. There's something for everyone! Our next orientation will be in March. We don't have a date yet, but it will be posted on our
web site volunteer page
. You can also
check our volunteer page
to read about the opportunities available.
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RESCUE OF THE MONTH
by Lynne Ostergren
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On January 14, the hawkphone received a call from Tara at Poet Biorefining in North Manchester, IN. There was a hawk in their parking lot that just hopped around and would not fly. We asked Tara to send a photo, and saw that it was a Cooper's Hawk. Tara and her team chased the bird around their parking lot, under two dumpsters, and finally caught him, put him in a box, and put the box in a dark restroom, while we tried to find a volunteer to pick him up.
After a half-hour, Tara called to let us know one of her managers, Keith C., lives in Fort Wayne, and was willing to drive the bird to Pine Valley Vet Clinic for us. Hooray!
An exam by Dr. Funnell found an open wound on the bird's right wrist area and a broken metacarpal bone, which were treated with an antibiotic and medication for pain. The wound was cleaned and a dressing applied, and his right wing was also wrapped to keep him from further damaging it. Let the healing begin!
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2nd RESCUE OF THE MONTH
by Gary Carlson
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Melissa M. was driving home when she saw a great horned owl at the side of SR13 in Pierceton, IN. She turned around and drove up to the owl, which was sitting on a pile of rocks behind a landscape business. The bird flew down off the rockpile, and Melissa saw that it seemed to be having trouble walking, and couldn't fly well. She took a video of the owl, then went home and called us to come and help.
We were concerned that, because the owl was near a wooded area and not confined, the bird would leave before we could rescue her, so Melissa went back to the bird's location and waited for over an hour, keeping her eye on the bird (and a nearby cat) until Gary C. arrived to rescue the owl. Gary had to do a little chasing, but finally the owl gave up and Gary was able to secure her.
Gary delivered the bird to Dr. Funnell at Pine Valley Vet Clinic, who found an injury to the front edge of the bird's wing. The owl was also dehydrated and extremely thin. She was treated in our ICU.
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WHAT HAPPENED TO JANUARY'S "RESCUE OF THE MONTH?"
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Photo: Harry Collins/2017 National Geographic Photographer of the Year
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This little owl ate so many mice and voles that she was unable to fly!
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CELEBRATING GENEROSITY
Thanks to December donors!
D. Brandenberger, M. McCulloch, C. and D. Shook
Thanks to January donors!
B. Courts, P. Davich, D. & J. Frey, Kroger Community Rewards, Network for Good, B. Walker, A. Zepke
Thanks to fishers for Jefferson!
J. Grimm, John, M. Parr, Steve
Thanks also to the donors who give each and every month!
L. Dearing, Fort Wayne Subaru, S. McInnis
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Identifying Large Nests
This time of year, with most of the leaves off the trees, we can see the nests from the previous Spring. Is there a way to tell whose nest is whose?
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We were able to rescue this beautiful red-tailed hawk, thanks to donations from folks like you. Won't you make a donation now so we can help others like this hawk? No contribution is too small! (This hawk was hit by a truck, and got stuck in the truck's grille. He's currently recovering from a ruptured crop in our ICU.)
Your donation is tax deductible.
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