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Don B
Captain

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USA
317 Posts

Initially Posted - 03/17/2006 : 07:14:16

Not sailing related but reminded me of John G's "Go ahead and click on the bird"

Great story of nature:

Posted on Fri, Mar. 17, 2006 (Bradenton Herald, Bradenton, FL)

Fly away (back) home

Not finding the wild to her liking, "Sky' returns after one day

RICHARD DYMOND Herald Staff Writer

Last Friday, 700 children and staff from Freedom Elementary School waved goodbye to 'Sky,' a young red-tailed hawk that had been rescued as a fledgling and was set to be released.

The children, who knew Sky was set to be released Monday in Duette Park, had adopted the hawk because it was close in kin to their official mascot - the falcon.

But wildlife rescuer Justin Matthews and school officials got a surprise a day after Sky's release, when the powerful brown-flecked bird with impressive talons showed up back at the Matthews Wildlife Rescue on 41st Avenue East.

Sky was released at 8:30 a.m. Monday deep in Duette Park and flew home 51 miles using her internal navigation system, riding gusts of warm air, which helped her glide and save energy, Matthews said.

"Hawks have a built-in GPS because they migrate," Matthews said.

Matthews found Sky on his roof at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, and, once he opened the door to the large wooden hawk house in his yard, she flew in, Matthews said.

Sky rejoined another female red-tailed hawk, which had lost the ability to fly when she touched a live power line with her wing.

"I love her, but I didn't want her to come back," Matthews said of Sky, as he watched the bird sit on a yellow perch at his East Manatee home, which doubles as a wildlife rescue. "She can't soar with other birds on warm thermals if she stays here. But evidently, she feels safe here.

Since Sky was never supposed to come back, Freedom officials had arranged with Matthews to adopt "Houdini," a Peregrine falcon that has been raised in Massachusetts by the man who trained Matthews.

"I'm going to Nantucket to get her soon and she will become Freedom's new mascot even though Sky is back," Matthews said. "Houdini can fly over 200 mph, so she will be a great teaching bird. And she's also a falcon, which is exactly their mascot."

As for Sky, she will live the rest of her days in East Manatee, perhaps as a surrogate mother for abandoned baby hawks or part of a breeding program using artificial insemination, Matthews said.

"She might have felt threatened in the wild," Matthews said. "She could be showing a little of an imprint behavior. I won't ever release her now."

Mike Craig, a master falconer from northwest Bradenton, said a hawk coming back to captivity once released is rare, but not unheard of.

"She probably came home because Justin's house had become home to her," Craig said. "Birds of prey know where their food supply is. But this doesn't happen often. It usually happens with hand-raised birds, which Sky isn't."

Matthews got a call to rescue Sky 2½ years ago when her mother was killed on U.S. 41 near the Dairy Queen in Bradenton, not far from a mobile home park, Matthews said.
The mother hawk was feeding on mice and rats.

Sky did not become tame under Matthews' guidance, but she did learn how to hunt with Matthews, diving down on wild rabbits when Matthews would encounter them on walks through wooded areas.
The bird also learned to take stew meat out of Matthew's gloved hand and to attack and eat dead rats and quail, Matthews said.

Richard Dymond, Herald reporter, can be reached at 708-7917 or rdymond@HeraldToday.com.

Don B
86FK/SR #5216 "Mighty M"
Southwest Florida

Edited by - on

takokichi
Captain

Members Avatar

USA
321 Posts

Response Posted - 03/17/2006 : 12:25:36

I used to work here: http://www.theraptortrust.org/

These birds are truly amazing.