A follow-up on my story about the injured hawk (see below if you didn't get it
the first time, see pics at link). I spoke to Mr. Kent Knowles, the rehabber at
the Raptor Conservancy of Northern VA. He says the bird is still alive but has
a long way to go. The problem is not so much the bump on its head, but that it
is way undernourished, and has been for some time. It was on the verge of being
expired. It also has a bad eye. It is a first-year bird, and I've read
somewhere that many young raptors die because they do not succeed at hunting.
Mr. Knowles said it is very unusual for a bird this young and unfed to be away
from its parents and rarely sees it, but this summer he has had 5 such birds.
Dave Boltz
From: David Boltz
Sent: Wednesday, September 01, 2010 10:25 PM
To: va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Injured Hawk at Huntley Meadows Park, Fairfax Co.
I took my camera down to Huntley Meadows this evening despite the heat (still
over 90 degrees at 7 p.m.). Right beside the main entrance to the Visitors'
Center building I saw a Red-tailed Hawk on the ground, near the edge of the
woods. I assumed it had caught something and so I took a few pics from a
distance. I got a bit closer and it did not move, so I took some more pics.
Only then did I notice the flies swarmed on it. It let me get within 5 feet and
only flicked its head occasionally to shoo the flies and I could see a wound
behind the beak, apparently a run-in with something nearby. I made a couple of
calls and was set to capture it with the help of my good buddy Dave Engelen and
we were going to take it to the raptor rehabber in our area. While waiting for
Dave someone else called Fairfax Co. Animal Control. The bird offered little
resistance and seemed very weak. The bird was in transit to the rehabber by
about 7:50 p.m. I hope good news is the final outcome of this encounter.
The first 3 pictures at http://www.flickr.com/photos/28499865@N07/ are of the ;
injured bird. Best viewed by clicking on the first picture, clicking the
magnifying lens with the +, end then clicking "older" to see the others.
Dave Boltz
