Admission of shot cooper's hawk

One of the main goals of this blog is to bring public awareness to the plight of human inflicted injuries to birds of prey and other wildlife. I believe that if more people can witness these atrocities and the face of the individual animals they might think twice about walking away as they occur or keeping their mouths shut when they hear someone bragging about shooting that pesky critter that's been hanging around. It is morally wrong in my opinion to persecute an animal for its inherent nature, especially when its only crime is being born of some creature that some human deems unworthy to draw breath.



This beautiful fully mature cooper's hawk was admitted with a hole in her lower abdomen and one in her back. Although we have yet to find any remnants of ammunition, it looks suspiciously like a bullet wound (theorized as a high powered rifle by our resident gun expert). Cooper's hawks are frequently persecuted by bird fanciers and livestock owners. It is a federal crime and these people can only be prosecuted with the help of concerned people who are willing to get involved.


Although it certainly seems miraculous that this bird survived this heinous attack, she is not out of the woods yet. We will not know the full extent of her injuries until an x ray or radiograph is taken. She may have internal injuries as she has already exhibited respiratory distress. These pictures may be hard to look at, but I feel that it is important that people are exposed to this. Just think what the bird is and will be going through.



We also received a short tailed hawk also suspected of being shot. There was a massive amount of bleeding around the site. This bird unfortunately perished as a result of her injuries. This will make the fourth short tail received this season. A rare visitor to our center, and all under suspicion of gunshot injury.

3 reasons to celebrate the new year

As usual, at the end of any given year we still have quite a few patients in rehabilitation from the yearly migration. Because Miami and the Florida Keys are considered hot spots in the Atlantic Flyway and one of the last stops before heading over the ocean, we see more of a variety raptors this time of year than any other. Starting in late September and early October, we will see the first of these visitors, the peregrine falcons.

This peregrine falcon was the last one received in 2008. She arrived with no visible injuries other than a massive amount of weight and the inability to fly. Laboratory tests yielded no conclusive answers other than the extra weight causing an enormous amount of stress on her internal organs. Her reluctance to feed was another cause for concern as peregrine falcons seem to be willing to eat rather readily. As her appetite came around and she finally began to eat, we were disheartened to find that she had injured herself in her outside enclosure. It seemed that every gain that we were to make ended up in a loss right behind it.

I brought the bird back inside so that I could treat and monitor the injuries, and I became quite fond of her. Though she was a wild creature with all the characteristics that any patient would have, I could see quite readily why the peregrine falcon was so coveted and beloved by falconers all over the world. In fact, at this moment I'm reading Jim Enderson's "Peregrine Falcon: Stories of the Blue Meanie." It is a fascinating account of the history of the loss of the peregrine and other raptors due to the use of a pesticide called DDT. Although I am only about a third of the way through, I look forward to reading about how the peregrine made a comeback as Enderson hints early on that it was a labor of love by field biologists, falconers, and many others.

It was a very happy moment for me this day when I watched her fly away and over the building without a look back. This is where she belonged, back in the world and free, and to resume the next chapter in her life. I would be maybe a distant memory for her, but she would always be remembered, as are all of the peregrines that stay for any amount of time. You can follow the migration of peregrine falcons from their home in the Artic to South America on one of my favorite raptor sites the Falcon Research Group's http://www.frg.org/. Don't forget to look for the links to the Southern Cross Peregrine Project, their blog about their research on wild peregrines using transmitters for tracking. It is very interesting!

Not to be understated, we also released an American kestrel this same day. This tiny little falcon was admitted with a fractured wing that healed beautifully. He was the picture of health and flew away with no problem. The American kestrel is the smallest of all North American falcons and migrates in large numbers also to Florida for the winter season.

Lastly, at the end of the day an eastern screech owl (our educational screech owl is pictured here) was released back into the area where it was found in West Miami near the Everglades. This owl was found in the middle of the road, likely hit by a car. After a little rest and recuperation, it was ready to return to its home and possibly its mate as breeding season is upon us very, very soon. We will have but a brief few weeks between the migration and baby season to catch our breath.

Why Rehabilitation, Does It Matter?

What a week! Between getting over the holidays and rounding up all of the records that will be included in a report to the federal government, I've had barely time to breathe. I've been sitting on a couple of pictures that I've been dying to post, when it occurred to me that I wanted to address this controversial question that has recently popped up in a fight over the validity of wildlife rehabilitation in the state of North Dakota. Seems that state wildlife agencies believe that the contribution of rehabilitators is insignificant and even at times detrimental to wildlife populations. The outcry against this decision caused reconsideration.. You can read about it in the Grand Forks Herald at http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=100107&section=News

I have many thoughts on this issue, some of which border on the highly emotional "over the top" variety, but I would like to present a couple of cases that arrived this week as evidence for why rehabilitation is so important, both for the animals themselves and for humanity as a whole. It is a lengthy post, but one I hope will be thought provoking.

Example # 1
The evil that men (or women) do

You are looking at a photo of a mourning dove that was admitted at the Miami Science Museum on Wednesday January 7, 2009. What you see protruding from either side of the bird is a blowdart from a blowgun. Unfortunately, I didn't think to snap a picture before I cut off the sharp end and taped it to prevent further injury to the bird or handlers. You can however clearly see that it has been impaled, likely from a person standing over it probably while it was feeding on the ground at a feeder. It was transferred to Pelican Harbor Seabird Station for further care. The dart could not be removed without causing immediate further damage and possible uncontrolled bleeding. Unfortunately it died before surgery could be performed to attempt this delicate procedure.

The woman who discovered this bird, worked tirelessly to find out where to take it. It is not always easy for members of the public to find rehabilitators. After all, there's not a listing in the yellow pages like veterinarians or even pet groomers. Then, after she found the Miami Science Museum, she was faced with the task of capturing the bird. I could not go to the location as I was on the way to an appointment for a recheck on another bird. I offered her the option of bringing it to the vet's office. She agreed but did not come because she could not find the bird. I was now on the way back from the vet's office and I counseled her on where to look for the bird. Finally at around 6pm she called again to tell me she had found it and I was able to arrange with one of our volunteers to receive the bird from her.

Now, imagine this scenario playing out without the rehabilitator. She may have never found the bird, because between the time she saw it and the time I told her to retrieve it and bring it to the vet's office, the bird went and hid. Then if she had in fact found the bird and found no one to help her, she may have attempted to pull the dart out and the bird would have possibly bled to death in front of her.



It would be completely reasonable to say, well the bird would have died quickly rather than in two days. I say however, how would this have affected this person, who by the way was extremely distraught by the cruelty of the individual who had speared this bird? Would she make the effort to save another injured or suffering animal? Because if she did, who would help her anyway? Maybe she would encourage others to do nothing. Or maybe she would continue to try to help, and unknowingly cause the death of a savable animal because of her lack of knowledge.


I say it is not the outcome of this case, but rather what qualities in the human being this little creature brought out. I believe that many or even most of us want to help the helpless, and by feeling that we helped an animal that would have suffered and died a painful death without us, helps us to feel that we can somehow affect a balance for this horrendous act. We were also able to share this story with others as the news media broadcast the photo. Hopefully we were able to spread the word that help is there if they need it, and yes one person can make a difference.

Example #2

There are happy endings
This little hawk is called a sharp shinned hawk. These tiny little bird hunters migrate to our area during the winter months. A concerned citizen found this bird in his back yard unable to fly. it was rescued by the Venom One Response Unit of the Miami Dade Fire Department. They have donated their rescue services this year and become a valuable resource for us during the busiest part of our year. Many thanks always to them for their dedication to saving animals all across Miami Dade County!

We believed that the hawk was suffering from severe head trauma, most likely from a collision with a window, and after less than a month at our facility, it was time for its release back into the wild. The other shots show myself and Lt. Jeff Fobb releasing the bird just outside our facility. Since these birds are migratory, we are allowed to release them in locations of our discretion. The neighborhood of Coconut Grove is comprised of dense canopy and lies within the Atlantic flyway for many migratory birds of prey.


Moments like this are the holy grail of wildlife rehabilitation. Not only do we save the individual, but we contribute to the overall survival of the species by returning an individual that may successfully mate and raise young. To the skeptics and critics of wildlife rehabilitation who claim that a certain percentage of the wildlife population is doomed to die in their first year, I say does that take into account all of the man made obstacles such as cars, windows, buildings, shotguns, and poisons? I see more than enough animals that do not make this comeback from these hazards. So we celebrate these moments of triumph and hope that you will as well, and support wildlife rehabilitation in whatever corner of the world wildlife thrives!