Mauled Hawk Morning….

 

 

(above painting….obviously a RedTail, not a Cooper’s)

Mauled Hawk Morning….

This is mostly for Steve New….a friend of over 25 years, from Devon, and now in the wilds of the coast of France. he was, and is, a Master Falconer. He was a terrific guide for me when I was an apprentince falconer…which only lasted a year.

Off the back porch, on the flagstones this morning was a bird. Still alive but with a broken left foot and some piercing under the wing on the left side. She just looked at me, and spread her wings. I think it was a juvenile Cooper’s Hawk, very stripped, and she wasn’t aggressive. Probably had flown down for a drink in the dry birthbath. For the next 20 minutes I tried to get her over the fence where she would be ‘safe’ from my dogs. Threw a blanket over her, but she kept turning around and though she only could grab witn one foot, she had some impressive black talons. And they bite.

Short story, I remembered I had a net, but trying to get her OUT of the net as I threw It over the fence (neighbors….our back yard has too much junk of my husband’s to get a clear launch) and she kept getting tangled. Finally she let loose and fell onto clear grass. I can tell she can fly, but only short distances…. I knew she probably was hungry and thirsty, so I lobbed cracked eggs over the fence to her. She was curious. In turning from the damn fence, I fell across a wooden platform on the ground and messed up my knee. There is always a sacrifice to be made in these things. I wanted to take her to a bird vet, but the closest was way in N. Ga. About 60 miles away.

Some times you can do just what you can do. Husband is coming home at lunch to see the hawk. He has a good heart and will want to catch her and take her to N. Georgia. I don’t think she will survive.

Ten years ago a young Cooper’s hawk flew down on our back porch. She mantled over to where we had a new pup in a cage. Our son ran in the house where he got some cooking chicken from a crock pot. He threw it to her, and she grabbed it and flew off. We thought this was the end of her. 20 minutes later she was back sitting in our willow tree. She flew up to the apex of the porch roof and looked down at us. Son got some sausage balls and rolled them up to her. She would hop down to retrieve. She hung around a while and then flew off. They have a territory of 400 acres and we saw her over our property frequently. So our hearts go out to this young hawk. Maybe a hatching of the original?

I pray to Jizo, the ‘saint’ of travellers, that she survive

Jane Kohut-Bartels

Copyrighted, 2019

 

 

 

Tags: Atlanta, Coopers Hawk, Injured Hawk, Jizo