Rare and beautiful patient

This rare short tailed hawk arrived last week with a broken wing. This bird was banded by one of the area researchers so we knew that this was a female, first year or juvenile bird. The short tailed hawk is only found only in Florida in the United States. Otherwise the population resides primarily in Central and South America. Their diet consists primarily of birds but they will eat rodents or reptiles. There are two color morphs, a dark phase like this one and a light phase.

Unfortunately, for this bird and many others like her, she was shot by some uncaring human that had little regard for her life. We receive dozens of birds each year that bear the marks of being shot. Fortunately for this bird most of the bullet went all the way through the wing and caused a limited amount of damage. Some fragments of the bullet were however left in as you can see in this x-ray (services donated by Pinecrest Veterinary Hospital).

Others are not so lucky. Their gunshot wounds leave them mortally wounded, left to suffer in pain, to starve to death, and eventually die. By the time we see them at our center many of them have severe infections or the bone has been destroyed rendering them grounded forever.

In particular, there are individuals who keep birds for pets, sport, or farm fowl who will shoot a raptor on sight, just to remove any threat that their pets or livestock would be harmed. Little do these ignorant individuals realize that most of the raptors down here in Miami are simply passing through and may not even stop to prey on their animals. What a tragic shame to lose such a magnificent creature based upon what might happen. Furthermore, what arrogance and malice possesses someone to assume that they have the right to decide what creature lives and dies based upon their own selfish needs. Better yet what gives these people the right to play God and to claim the sky above their head as their own or to take away my right to enjoy the everyday sight of them flying across the sky?

Seriously folks, it is time for people to stand up to these people and say no more. Please report any gunshot raptors to your local U S Fish and Wildlife Office. The home page of their website is at http://www.fws.gov/birds/. It is against the law to shoot any migratory bird, including raptors. Please take the time to report these crimes. Don't let these people take our birds and our skies away from us.



In the meantime, I will keep you posted on this beautiful patient and keep your fingers crossed that she will one day fly again.