Born to be Wild

This is where I post stories about various experiences with Wildlife Rehabilitation. Things are usually pretty quiet in January, but will certainly heat up as the season gets underway. The first to appear are usually orphaned and/or injured baby squirrels, sometime in February. The Eastern Grey Squirrel has a second mating season in late summer/early fall. Now you know why there are so many squirrels!

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

The Flight of Phoenix

Well, Phoenix the Red-shouldered hawk is now free. He was released way out in the country, about 70 miles from where I live, in a beautiful clearing flanked by trees and by a large lake. Here's a photo of him right before release, bright-eyed and feisty (his mouth is open because he's fussing at us humans). His grey eyes label him as a first year bird; they will turn yellow-orange as he matures.
When he was released he flew right over the trees in the background of this photo and caught a draft and soared a bit before settling into a tree farther away. He was immediately mobbed by crows, something he'll have to get used to since crows and bluejays constantly harass hawks. He took it all in stride though and flew off to another perch.
Freedom is a beautiful thing.
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1 comment:

  1. Seema B MenonApril 9, 2010 at 4:01 AM

    Hello Zoz :)

    Loved your blog. You have a very interesting profile coz I'm an animal lover myself :)

    I have been playing escape games for a while and whenever I check the walkthrough I see the same names and yours was one among them... just followed the link and reached this blog... I'm glad to find your blog...

    You may visit me at http://seemudiaries.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete

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