One of the young Ms takes a flying leap off the rim of the nest into the bowl. But what I didn't realize the other day when I published this, is that--
It was an intentional flying leap onto a sibling.
That's a young hawk for you
Robin of Illinois sends in an Eagle rescue story with a Wildlife Officer with a sense of humor--
http://www.wpbf.com/cnn-news/19455659/detail.html
Baby Bald Eagle Stuck In Fence Rescued
Eagle Recuperating At Treasure Coast Wildlife CenterPALM CITY, Fla. --
A baby bald eagle got a second shot at life after rescuers found it with its head stuck in a fence.
The person who saved the female eagle, a wildlife officer, said it was scarier than tangling with analligator.
The eagle was found two weeks ago, stuck between a fence and a ditch.Officer Kyle Patterson, of Florida Fish and Wildlife, was called to the scene.
"I had no clue what I was getting myself into, really," Patterson said.
Patterson said he has snagged his share of alligators, but he said facingdown a 2-foot-tall eagle was scarier. "With a gator, all you Gotta worry about it his mouth," Patterson said. "Eagles, you Gotta worry about their feet and their wings and beaks and a lot of stuff you Gotta control with them."
Patterson and his lieutenant blocked the eagle and gently placed a box overits head. Then, he was able to carefully pick it up.
"She actually grabbed my finger with her claws, but I was able -- since I had welding gloves on --I could get my hand out," Patterson said.
Officials brought the bird to the Treasure Coast Wildlife Center. "The eagle is suffering from critical starvation," said Dan Martinelli, of the TreasureCoast Wildlife Center. "It has completely burned off all of its muscle mass and that lack of muscle tissue means it can't fly."
The eagle is eating now,although it still can't fly. Patterson got his first look at it since therescue on Wednesday.
"I don't think she really likes me anymore," he said.
The eagle is no longer an endangered species, but it is protected under several federal and state rules. Officials said they hope the baby will be nursed back to health and released back into the wild.
And from Jackie Dover of the Tulsa Hawk Forum who sent in the news about the Hornsby Eaglet--
Jackie
In reading some posts about the Hornby accident, I ran across a quotation by Henry Beston that you may already familiar with----
"We need another and a wiser and perhaps a more mystical concept of animals. Remote from universal nature, and living by complicated artifice, man in civilization surveys the creature through the glass of his knowledge and sees thereby a feather magnified and the whole image in distortion. We patronize them for their incompleteness, for their tragic fate of having taken form so far below ourselves. And therein we err, and greatly err. For the animal shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more complete than ours they move finished and complete, gifted with extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not brethren, they are not underlings; they are other nations caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendour and travail of the earth.”
The more I thought about it, the more light it seemed to offer on the emotions roiling about such sad occurrences as this. I think there is something in there that I need to consider, if I'm going to keep watching these natural dramas.
I found that Beston had written a book (source of the quote?). So I ordered the book from Amazon.
The Outermost House: A Year of Life On The Great Beach of Cape Cod
I'd never seen the complete quote above, only the section speaking of animals being of other nations so I very much appreciate seeing the whole progression of the idea. I can't wait for Jackie to tell us how the book is.
D.B.
What can we as ordinary citizens do to help these magnificent creatures?
ReplyDeleteDear Anon,
ReplyDeleteThere are many things we can do and I invite others to add comments of their own to the following list because, I without a doubt, won't think of all of them.
Not all of us can do all of the following but each of us can do some of them. Know that though you may be helping individually at first others will join in and know that there are like minded folks who have already started that you can join in with as well.
1. Educate yourself and gently educate others to the wonder, beauty and joy of all creatures. Particularly raptors who have often gotten a bad rap over the years.
2. Know what they need and protect their habitat(s) and prey base in any way you can.
3. Find a raptor in your area and watch he or she. Know them in a personal way. You can not only lure your friends into the fun with group observations at a particular time, such as nesting season, or day of the week but people will begin to wonder what you're doing at that spot all the time. They'll stop and ask. Hand them the binoculars or a view from a scope. We've seen it happen over and over at the Hawk Bench in NYC. Some people are immediately transformed by that moment. They are seeing something magnified that they never ever knew existed and it changes them. Suddenly you'll have a new recruit and have made another companion in helping these creatures as well.
(Nesting season, is also the time of year when the birds stay put so there isn't lots of running about if you aren't up to it. You can stay put if you want and enjoy the show.)
4. Volunteer to help a Wildlife rehabilitator.
5. Become a Wildlife rehabilitator.
6. Do you know a raptor nest in your area in which any eyass flying out for the first time might be in particular danger from cars or pavement under the nest? Is there no way for an eyass to branch up and it could well become grounded? When the time draws near watch over them and recruit others to do the same. Have a pair of welding gloves, a blanket and a cardboard box (or pet carrier) and if that eyass lands in the road, get her out of the road. If an eyass lands badly on pavement, be ready to take her to the nearest rehabber or to a sympathetic vet. In other words create an educated group to be on Eyass Watch. Or Eaglet Watch or Owlet Watch or Kestrel Watch.
7. If you have the means, make a financial contribution to your local rehabber, companion parrot sanctuary, local Audubon Society, or other hard working wildlife group. (But hands on with that is even better.)
8. Write letters to the powers that be when they aren't doing what needs to be done for raptors or pigeons or Woodpeckers or BobWhite....
9. Document the life of a particular raptor and family, give them names, introduce them to those who live in their neighborhoods. Take their pictures and those of their mates and their children. Make people know that they have lives, and spouses, and kids, that they go about life in their own way but do the same things that we do, grieving for a mate for instance. But also introduce them to the marvelous mysterious things they can do but we can't. Document, document, document. Share your love, your passion, your knowledge.
10. And when worse comes to worst, get your friends together and stand out where the world can see you and make some real noise if you have to--and don't forget to call the press and tell them you're going to be there.
:-)
Okay, folks, what else have I forgotten or never thought of?