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grampy Rescues A Raptor!

grampy

By grampy,
in General Chit Chat

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grampy Veteran

grampy

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After work I had some business in the town of Scoharie. Finished up what I had to do and was heading home on Rt.30. A couple miles outside of Scoharie, I notice something moving on the side of the road, and see a bird that appeared to be injured. I pulled over, went back and he was going into the road. I quickly scooped him up. He was quite docile and did not struggle much at all. Someone else pulled over and called police. Police called a wildlife vet, and after I wrapped him in a towel took him, away. No doubt he would have been killed on busy Rt. 30. I hope he makes it. Seemed like a wing injury.  I think it was a falcon, but not sure? Can anyone make a positive ID? His talons were impressive.20170802_164743.jpg

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Pygmy Experienced

Pygmy

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Hard to be certain from this angle, but I am about 90% sure it is a redtail hawk, judging from the size of the head, talons, etc..

Redtails  hunt roads very often, preying on both roadkill and critters crossing the road..They are frequently victims of vehicles due to their hunting habits..

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grampy

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1 hour ago, wooly said:

Cool save!

Hopefully he pulls through and has learned his lesson.

Did they tell you what rehab facility they were taking him to?

A place in the town of Middleburg is all I was told.

 

1 hour ago, Pygmy said:

Hard to be certain from this angle, but I am about 90% sure it is a redtail hawk, judging from the size of the head, talons, etc..

Redtails  hunt roads very often, preying on both roadkill and critters crossing the road..They are frequently victims of vehicles due to their hunting habits..

I'm very familiar with Red Tails, don't think it was one of them. Although maybe it could very well be an immature red tail? He looks much bigger in the pic because of the outstretched arms. He was less than 12 inches tall. Tail feathers were gray and black. He was also soaking wet as it had just poured rain. So all his feathers were a bit ruffled too.

I've always loved watching birds of prey. Being part native american, they hold much symbolism and power in the native culture, as spirit birds.  Was an honor to hold him. I'll try to find out how he made out.

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Pygmy Experienced

Pygmy

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One of the things that I noticed was the size of his talons/feet compared to your hands...

I still think he is a red tail, probably an immature..

The other two  similar birds, the red shoulder and the broadwing, are perhaps half the size of a red tail, and I think that they would look considerably smaller compared to your hands..

Raptors are a challenge...They tend to vary quite a bit even within a certain species..

I am also no expert,  just an interested observer..It would be interesting if you could get an educated ID  from the folks that took the bird...

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grampy

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11 minutes ago, ATbuckhunter said:

Awesome job! Good thing you didn't get hit by those talons. Wonder what happened, but due to you being able to pick it up so easily I think its something to do with lead poisoning.

It had a wing injury for sure. But I was very surprised at how docile it was. Hardly put up a fight at all. And didn't struggle at all when holding it. When I first grabbed it, I thought, "what the hell are you doing"? But could easily tell it was hurt but alert. So I hoped it wouldn't take a chunk out of me!....lol. But he wouldn't have made it long on that road, that I'm sure of. I too did think some type of poisoning and then perhaps injured by a passing vehicle? I'll contact the sheriff's dept. tomorrow to see where they brought him and follow up.

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ATbuckhunter Rising Star

ATbuckhunter

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3 minutes ago, grampy said:

It had a wing injury for sure. But I was very surprised at how docile it was. Hardly put up a fight at all. And didn't struggle at all when holding it. When I first grabbed it, I thought, "what the hell are you doing"? But could easily tell it was hurt but alert. So I hoped it wouldn't take a chunk out of me!....lol. But he wouldn't have made it long on that road, that I'm sure of. I too did think some type of poisoning and then perhaps injured by a passing vehicle? I'll contact the sheriff's dept. tomorrow to see where they brought him and follow up.

Maybe both. Poisoning could have lead to odd behavior that caused it to get hit by a car. Or maybe it getting hit by a vehicle made it loopy. Either way i'm extremely interested in finding out what the prognosis is. 

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grampy

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Update! He is a she! An immature female Goshawk. Prognosis is wait and see. Broken left wing and suffering from shock when it came in. Seems to be a bit better this morning. But is not eating. If she pulls through the next few days, she will be sent to a NYS raptor rehab place, for possible release back to the wild. Or kept for educational activities. That's all I got. If I learn more, I'll be sure to share it here. I'm really hoping she pulls through. But nature does not always give a happy ending.

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