# Pictures From A Very Strange Day - Nov 10, 2005



## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

http://www.rims.net/2005Nov10

My day started out with a hysterical phone call from a friend who
works at a nearby Montessori school. She was sobbing about
a parakeet being killed and another injured and bleeding. Once
she calmed down a bit, I was able to find out that a hawk flew
into a classroom through an open door, landed on the parakeet
cage, and taloned two of the little 'keets. One died almost instantly
and the other has a pretty nasty wound on the chest, but I think
it will be OK. I went over to the school to pick up the survivors and
look after them until my friend can pick them up after work this
evening.

As soon as I got back from the school I got a call about a wounded hawk. 
I'm taking my rehabber friend's calls for a couple of days while she is
out of town, thus the hawk call came to me. A very nice lady got the
hawk in the box and brought it to me. Nothing seems broken, but
the bird has no use of its legs. The finder seemed to think it hit
a power line. Hopefully the bird just needs some recuperation time.

The duck pictures are of some of the current group here for R&R.

Brownie and friends are three pigeons reported to 911 Pigeon Alert
that have quite a rescue story behind them. 

The fantails and little roller are new adoptees .. the roller and the
two large fantails from Debbie on Pigeon-Talk and the small fantail
found and rescued by a kind lady in Costa Mesa.

The two lovebirds are Tiki and Sassy that I adopted from a friend
on the Cockatoos list.

Terry


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

On the hawk, I'd palpate the abdomen to see if there's an indication of a hardened mass. As you've ruled out broken legs and spine, I'd also consider a kidney infection (bacterial or viral) as that can pressure the sciatic nerve.

Does this bird bite first and ask questions later or can you handle it as long as you give it a mouse to chew on in the interim?

Pidgey


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

Terry, thank you again for sharing your family pictures. I'm astonished that the hawk would fly into a schoolroom and grab those keets. I know that many times the ones we get in our yard seem fearless. Its kinda ironic that you get in the keets and then a hawk. Rehabbing doesn't play favorites, does it?

The ducks are so cute. I have never seen one with a topknot. He is very handsome.

Debbie's little fantails look happy already.

Thanks Terry

Maggie


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

What an assortment of lively looking birds. Just wonderful... 

Love the ducks, the pigeons, the "keets", the hawk.....

You are having another one of those very busy days, mmm??? I'm glad you have time to share the pics with us, * and * an explanation.

Thanks for all you do!


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## upcd (Mar 12, 2005)

*Wow*

Terry, you must be busy. I really enjoyed see my little babies. they look great. Cute little hawk. What kind is he? How many love birds did you end up with. I am looking for a little boy. I have a hen sitting on 4 eggs right now. she is a peachface. Lucky keet. That Hawk must have beem desperate or belonged to someone and thought dinner was served in the house.


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Pidgey said:


> On the hawk, I'd palpate the abdomen to see if there's an indication of a hardened mass. As you've ruled out broken legs and spine, I'd also consider a kidney infection (bacterial or viral) as that can pressure the sciatic nerve.
> 
> Does this bird bite first and ask questions later or can you handle it as long as you give it a mouse to chew on in the interim?
> 
> Pidgey


Thanks for the suggestions Pidgey .. I'm certainly no expert on hawks and am probably more than halfway afraid of them. Fortunately my rehabber friend will be home sometime tonight or tomorrow.

This one is definitely a bite first and hang on bird and does =not= like being handled in any way. I'm a wuss and wear heavy leather gloves with this one.
I will check the abdomen this evening.

Is has eaten a thawed mouse for which I am thankful. I don't have what it takes to feed live mice or chicks nor what it takes to offer a freshly killed one.

Terry


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Lady Tarheel said:


> Terry, thank you again for sharing your family pictures. I'm astonished that the hawk would fly into a schoolroom and grab those keets. I know that many times the ones we get in our yard seem fearless. Its kinda ironic that you get in the keets and then a hawk. Rehabbing doesn't play favorites, does it?
> Maggie


Hi Maggie, 

Yes I found it quite ironic that right after the hawk attacked 'keets were settled in here comes an injured hawk. And, yes, you have to have compassion for both species and do your best to care for them all (at least IMO).

Apparently this is not the first classroom foray .. hawk visited a few days previous and was after the classroom cockatiel.

I'm going to bird sit all the school birds for a bit in the hopes that the hawk will move on. I've also suggested they install a screen door if they just have to keep the outside door open.

The hawk that comes to my backyard every 7-10 days is a brazen hussy and will stand her ground trying to stare me down until she sees the hose come out. Then she leaves because she knows I'm going to spray her.

Glad you enjoyed the other photos too.

Terry


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Trees Gray said:


> You are having another one of those very busy days, mmm??? I'm glad you have time to share the pics with us, * and * an explanation.
> 
> Thanks for all you do!


Yep .. terribly busy day .. thanks Treesa!

Terry


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## Pigeonpal2002 (Jul 27, 2002)

Hi Terry, 

Wow!, what a strange day you've had!!! All the birds are gorgeous though, beautiful

That hawk looks like either a male coopers or a male sharp shinned hawk. I can't tell because I don't know how big it is. FP, take note!

Thanks for the pictures Terry,


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

upcd said:


> Terry, you must be busy. I really enjoyed see my little babies. they look great. Cute little hawk. What kind is he? How many love birds did you end up with. I am looking for a little boy. I have a hen sitting on 4 eggs right now. she is a peachface. Lucky keet. That Hawk must have beem desperate or belonged to someone and thought dinner was served in the house.


Glad I could show you your babies, Debbie. That little white fantail just snuggled right up with your big guys and the little roller .. way too cute to see and watch in person.

Only two lovebirds adopted .. sex unknown. My other lovebird is a flesh eating female named Mango .. any flesh will work .. human or bird or otherwise .. she is a really feisty little booger.

I'm not sure what kind of hawk this is .. chest and belly are cream colored with brown speckles .. the color of the head, back, and wings are accurate in the picture. Perhaps Brad or another of our resident raptor experts will be along shortly to tell us .. it's a pretty good sized bird.

Terry


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Pigeonpal2002 said:


> That hawk looks like either a male coopers or a male sharp shinned hawk. I can't tell because I don't know how big it is. FP, take note!


Ooops .. I see our hawk expert made a "hit and run" here while I was typing. Thanks Brad! This is a good sized bird .. very long legs and body size about twice the size of a typical feral pigeon. Pretty good weight on the bird too and very strong in spite of whatever has disabled the legs. Nasty temperament to boot!

Terry


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## Pigeonpal2002 (Jul 27, 2002)

LOL, 

Sorry Terry for sneaking in there like that Well then from your description of the size, I'd say it's a male coopers hawk then. 

http://www.customfalconry.com/coopershawk.htm


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Pigeonpal2002 said:


> Sorry Terry for sneaking in there like that Well then from your description of the size, I'd say it's a male coopers hawk then.


Thanks again Brad! I'm pretty sure you are correct though the coloration is still throwing me off a bit. I've got some other raptor folks having a look to see what they think.

Terry


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## feralpigeon (Feb 14, 2005)

Hi Terry & Brad,

I can't believe the hawk has been flying into the classroom after caged birds.
Surely there must be other prey for it. Just doesn't even seem "smart" in that
the birds are caged, so how does it think it will get them out?

Anyway, I've been seeing lots of hawks lately. Saw one w/similar markings as
the last one in a tree on a center median strip to a 6 lane street in town here.
It was on the branch, twitching it's tail much the way a cat does when it gets excited. It had the stripes accross the tail and the ends of tail were squarish while sitting there. Still just not sure of kind, but I'd say about 14-16inches.

Thanks for sharing this unusual story about the hawk, I just never dreamed they could be so brazen.

fp


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## Lin Hansen (Jan 9, 2004)

Terry - Wow, what a day! For some of the birds pictured, and for you! Those poor little 'keets must have been terrified and I can't even imagine the hysterics and pandemonium that must have occurred in the classroom with all those children witnessing the event!

Although it was a strange day, I really enjoyed looking at all the pictures. What a colorful, beautiful group of different birds.

Linda


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## feralpigeon (Feb 14, 2005)

Another couple of questions, on the Sharp Skinned hawk, I'm also seeing the name Sharp Shinned Hawk. They appear to be one in the same although I'm not certain. If so how did it come about that they are called two different names for same bird? And on the Coopers Hawk, is it's tail also square when perched.
Can anyone clarify? Brad?? Thanks,

fp


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## TerriB (Nov 16, 2003)

Terry, these posts are like a favorite newspaper columnist. When I notice a new one, I know it will be interesting and informative. That hawk certainly looks like he would resent any interference! Eesshh! Perhaps chain mail gloves would be called for.  Poor little budgies - how terrifying for them and the children who witnessed the attack! Although, looking at the big picture, perhaps you could suggest a visit from a naturalist in the near future to reduce the anti-raptor sentiment.


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## Pigeonpal2002 (Jul 27, 2002)

Hi FP, 

As far as I'm aware, there is no such thing as a sharp "skinned" hawk...at least not in North America

A coopers hawk's tail *might* looked squared if it was perched but a sharp shinned hawks might look more indented...kind of like a purple martin's tail but not as defined.




TAWhatley said:


> The hawk that comes to my backyard every 7-10 days is a brazen hussy and will stand her ground trying to stare me down until she sees the hose come out. Then she leaves because she knows I'm going to spray her.
> Terry


LOL!!!!! I LOVE your commentary, choice of words and description of this Terry, LOL


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## feralpigeon (Feb 14, 2005)

Hi Brad,

Actually, that is what I was getting confused about 'cause they seem to use both names and they are in North America. In fact some html's will list sharp
skinned and some sharp shinned. But they both seem to be describing the exact same bird.

Oh well......


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

*Coopers / Sharp Shinned*

Got this from a waterfowl rescue person ..

_Looks Coopers hawk to me. Sharpies are smaller, but sometimes I cant tell without seeing size and tail etc. I am judging by the fact it looked like he was in a plastic carrier and filled it up. Here is a really good site with picture of sharpies and coops next to each other. http://www.ggro.org/sharpie.html_

Terry


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Hi Terry, 


Amazeing that a Hawk would do something like this..!

Is this particular Hawk missing it's Tail?

I prolly ought to have my old rideing gauntlets handy in case I should happen to need to pick one up or have them perch on my hand...!

I bet those Talons could dig in pretty nicely... &  and maybe  


Phil
Las Vegas


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## upcd (Mar 12, 2005)

*Pepper*

is our pet lovebird. Coopers hawk those are the ones that love pigeons, to come over for dinner. so Brad does the hawks? Do all the rehabbors have there special creatures?


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

*Do all rehabbers have their special creatures?*

My friend who has been a rehabber for years, rehabs them all and animals too. She has rehabbed hawks, ducks, chickens, geese, pellicans, gulls, pigeons, Sand hill cranes, parakeetes, lovebirds, doves. She recently rehabbed one of those long necked birds, that looks like a snake in the water when it catches its food, really neat looking. The water foul she gets usually have some kind of toxic poisoning, and/or injury.

She does not do raccoons because there are now, in fact, rehabbers that specialize in them in our area. She does squirrels, possums, rabbits, (usually orphans) and she also has turtles.


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## Pigeonpal2002 (Jul 27, 2002)

Hi Debbie, 

No, I'm not a rehabber of hawks or any other birds actually. Just an interested "birder" is all

Btw, your lovebirds are very sweet and beautiful, thanks for posting their picture


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## feralpigeon (Feb 14, 2005)

Well, not sure that this alone will prove I'm not daft, but here's a link to Audobon web site listing Sharp Skinned Hawk. There were many others, although I also saw lots of Sharp Shinned including the Golden Gate Raptor site;

http://www.audubonart.com/02_gall_OCB1.asp

Scroll to bottom.

fp


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## Pigeonpal2002 (Jul 27, 2002)

Hi FP, 

I never thought you were daft at all and I believed you when you said that you'd seen sites calling it a Sharp Skinned Hawk

It's obviously just a spelling error on their part is all. The net is fallable in many ways and people make mistakes all the time 

You should pick up one of the various field guides to North American Birds, you seem very interested in hawks and any of the good guides will have em all in there. I have several of them myself that I've collected over the many years


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## feralpigeon (Feb 14, 2005)

Hi Brad,

I was talking w/a fellow at work about that just yesterday. There is so much
bird drama there right now because of all of the hawk activity. The campus is 
located at the beginning of the hills w/a woodsy setting and we are constantly sighting hawks. It would be great to have a book there. Guess we won't get 
the Audobon one .

fp


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

pdpbison said:


> Is this particular Hawk missing it's Tail?
> 
> I prolly ought to have my old rideing gauntlets handy in case I should happen to need to pick one up or have them perch on my hand...!


Hi Phil,

Nope, this hawk has quite a sizeable tail. Yep, definitely don't be handling this type of bird without some protective gear.

Terry


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

upcd said:


> is our pet lovebird. Coopers hawk those are the ones that love pigeons, to come over for dinner. so Brad does the hawks? Do all the rehabbors have there special creatures?


Hi Debbie,

Loved the picture of your lovebirds! Yes, Coopers are especially fond of pigeon and dove.

Some rehabbers specialize in certain types of birds and animals and others do them all. I have to be sub-permitted by my friend Susan to take the protected species of birds when she is out of town. It requires both a state and a federal permit to rehab birds that are protected under state and federal law. In most states only English Sparrows, European Starlings, and Rock Pigeons can be rehabbed without a permit. Since I do not hold the necessary permits I rehab only non-protected species of birds but often rescue protected species and then transport them to a permitted facility for rehab.

Terry


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

Treesa mentioned her friend rehabbing the long necked bird. I think I may have mentioned this awhile back, but if any of you ever encounter an injured HERON, just leave him be until you can get help. Their necks can be deceiving - they may look short sometimes but are really long. They can "uncoil" that long neck in a heartbeat and the first thing they go for are your eyes. It takes someone skilled to handle these birds.

Maggie


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## TerriB (Nov 16, 2003)

Lady Tarheel said:


> ...They can "uncoil" that long neck in a heartbeat...
> Maggie


 Maggie, thanks for the heads up (so to speak)  
We have a fair number of great blue herons here. A neighbor put in a small koi pond and thought cats were taking her fish till we saw a great blue on her garage roof checking the selection!


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Maggie's caution is well warranted. There has been at least one rescuer/rehabber killed by getting stabbed through the eye into the brain. I know that many of us get carried away at times in our passion to help our beloved birds and animals, but sometimes you really need to stop and think about what you are doing and how you are going about it. 

Some of the birds like the big herons and pelicans can be way more than one person can safely handle, and that's especially true if the rescuer is inexperienced. I'd like to think I know what I'm doing, but I've still had the blue blazes beat out of me by a pair of Egyptian Geese and a single Canada Goose entangled in fishing line. Truly, you can't imagine how much hurt these birds can put on you. One with a lethal beak like a large heron would make me pause for the cause, and I am ever so careful even with the smallest raptors .. firstly, I don't know anything about them really, and secondly, those beaks and talons make me sit right up and take notice.

Heck, even Mr. Nibbles has talons and wings that are formidible, and his beak ain't too shabby either.

So .. moral of the story .. let's all be careful out there and not try to take on more than we can safely do.

Terry


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