Good sign...about 20 birds ran across the road close to camp on the way out! Lot of last year's hatch in the crowd including a mess of dumber than used dirt jakes! There was one really nice looking mature bird, too.
I had gotten a call earlier in the day and had to abandon Mr Iowabow to his own devices while I drove further south to pick up an injured raptor. Initially, the woman said it was an American kestrel, smallest of all falcons in the western hemisphere, a whopping quarter pounder. When I asked her about confirming details, we determined it was NOT. Her best guess, then, was a goshawk. Well, a gos' runs up to three pounds, a whole lot bigger. Goshawks are a species of great concern here in the Black Hills, so I was gonna get a move on! When I got there to pick up the bird, I was shocked to see an adult PEREGRINE BLOODY DANG FALCON!
Whereas the goshawk is a species of great concern, the peregrine is listed as critically endangered in the state despite how they have recovered populations otherwise in the country.
I could not find a broken bone, but one wing droops and she was incapable of flight. Possible soft tissue damage, possible sprain, possible hairline fracture/break of radius or ulna though not both...all things that require a proper rehabilitation veterinarian to get involved. I spent most of today arranging to get this bird hauled halfway across the state to the nearest licensed rehab facility. But she has a great chance of being back out in the wild soon, so it was worth it.
We fed her some rabbit livers/hearts/kidneys last night to help her restore some energy. Unlike hawks and eagles that are easy to forcefeed (pry beak open, push food down the throat and do it FAST), falcons are notoriously persnickety! I got bit no more than 25-30 times. Luckily, my hands are fairly tough from working with wood and hand tools, so no major stitching needed! This morning I thawed the one and only precious sharptail grouse breast in my freezer and donated it to her.
Hopefully, helping this falcon will appease Nature's Powers That Be and they will smile upon we simple minded
homo sapiens as we hunt a turkey with a brain the size of a shelled walnut. May we not be too badly humiliated, shamed, and sent packing with nothing to show for our measley efforts!
