Posted by:
Wyvern
at Wed Mar 25 17:43:20 2009 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by Wyvern ]
>>Still pretty cool!!!
>>-----
>>Thanks,
>>
Yes still very cool. Below is a red-tail hawk I just finished rehabbing that was released this past weekend (after having spent a week of bed rest and good eating (F/T chicks and rats).
This is "Chicken Hawk Fail" - an adult red-tailed hawk weighing in at 1,145 grams (2.5 lbs). His physical size suggests male, but the weight is more like female.
He earned his name because he was injured trying to raid a local commercial chicken farm - got one of his feet badly tangled in the thin plastic netting covering one of the outdoor pens. The netting was so thin, he probably didn't even realize it was there until he hit it. The damage is not too bad (mostly minor abrasions to the leg and foot and a case of severe exhaustion of fighting with the netting all night long).
For a wild hawk he was wonderfully well behaved - much much better behaved than some of our permanently kept raptors. Of course once "vacation-time" was about over he was quick to drive home the point that it was time to leave. My poor hand suffered (even with an eagle-strength gauntlet for protection) after a near full strength "slap-grab" with his talons. I totally feel sorry for any squirrel that gets hit by him at actual full strength. 
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