Late night rescue

Thought I'd share, because he's beautiful and I love working to save these guys. They're tough patients, but the most rewarding if they make a full recovery. Not to mention birds of prey are my absolute favorite.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...814d3f4326.jpg

Juvenile red tailed hawk, who flew into the side of a building chasing dinner. While they still have juvenile plumage, red tailed hawks don't have a red tail. You can also determine a younger red tailed hawk from an older adult by the color of their eyes, as younger hawks have lighter coloring.

Judging by his size and weight, I'm assuming he's a male as females tend to be noticeably larger and he's about 600g too light to weigh in as a girl. His weight (he's pretty fat, actually... his keel was hard to find), wings, and eyes are all ok, but he has no response in his left leg and is unable to stand. There was also a bit of blood in the mouth, but no other signs of trauma. He's aware, but not as aware as I'd like him to be. He was also mildly dehydrated, so I dosed and tubed a bit of pedialyte.

I'll do a much more in depth examination in the morning, and probably take him to my vet friend for X-rays tomorrow if he's still with us, but he's incredibly stressed and messing with him any further will do more harm than good.

Here's hoping.

Best of luck with the rescue. Birds of prey are amazing animals.

Wow, that's awesome! Do you work with birds as a career?

Wow, that's awesome!!
Red tails are beautiful birds, I'm lucky enough to see a lot of them in my area. I'm only a few minutes from Red Tail Golf Club in Fort Devens.
Good luck with him, well wishes being sent his way.

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Originally Posted by redshepherd

Wow, that's awesome! Do you work with birds as a career?

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I do wildlife rehabilitation for my state, got my permit about five years ago. I'm allowed to work with all animals native to Massachusetts, except deer, coyotes and bear (they require federal licensing and there's some crazy rules that go along with them) and migratory birds (which also requires a federal license, which I've filed the paperwork for just a couple weeks ago). I'm not allowed to take money from people, unless I get hired at a wildlife rehab facility, so it's purely on my own dime lol. I make all my money painting stuff for people, but If the opportunity ever presents itself that I can find a paid job doing this, I'll never paint again! The animals take up most of my time in the spring and summer anyways, and I'm tired of painting sand dunes and beach scenes for tourists.

He's still alive this morning, and a bit more alert than he was last night. I'm going to absorb some caffeine into my system and then get to work with him and the other animals I've got in my shed-hospital :oops:

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Originally Posted by craigafrechette

Wow, that's awesome!!
Red tails are beautiful birds, I'm lucky enough to see a lot of them in my area. I'm only a few minutes from Red Tail Golf Club in Fort Devens.
Good luck with him, well wishes being sent his way.

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I know where that is! :D And thanks, he made it through the first night, so I'm cautiously optimistic.

good luck!!! i'm sure he's in good hands. [emoji4]

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Originally Posted by KayLynn

I know where that is! :D And thanks, he made it through the first night, so I'm cautiously optimistic.

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That's great news!!

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Originally Posted by KayLynn

I do wildlife rehabilitation for my state, got my permit about five years ago. I'm allowed to work with all animals native to Massachusetts, except deer, coyotes and bear (they require federal licensing and there's some crazy rules that go along with them) and migratory birds (which also requires a federal license, which I've filed the paperwork for just a couple weeks ago). I'm not allowed to take money from people, unless I get hired at a wildlife rehab facility, so it's purely on my own dime lol. I make all my money painting stuff for people, but If the opportunity ever presents itself that I can find a paid job doing this, I'll never paint again! The animals take up most of my time in the spring and summer anyways, and I'm tired of painting sand dunes and beach scenes for tourists.

He's still alive this morning, and a bit more alert than he was last night. I'm going to absorb some caffeine into my system and then get to work with him and the other animals I've got in my shed-hospital :oops:

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That sounds amazing!! You have a dream life. I've always wanted to do wildlife rehab, but I also don't live in a place where there is much wildlife to rehab lol.

That is freaking awesome! Birds of prey are nothing short of being absolutely stunning! Reminds me of the time I got to feed a Bald Eagle one time at a wildlife rescue facility that a friends aunt was working at. I tossed a fat chunk of meat and she snatched it before it even hit the ground. Such an intimidating yet beautiful creature. I never really noticed how huge they are til I was in the enclosure with it haha.