On June 4th, I picked up a juvenile Red Shoulder hawk near the Withlacoochee Forest in Inverness. It had been sitting on a fence all day in the rain. A physical examination of the hawk showed that it only weighed 295 grams (10.4 oz). A normal weight should be almost twice as much. The hawk did not exhibit the normal defensive behavior of lying on its back and grabbing with his sharp talons. The shafts of all the tail feathers had stress fractures indicative of an improper diet. Eventually all these feathers would break off making it impossible for flight to occur. Radiographs taken showed that the hawk had a fungal infection in his lungs.
I suspect that someone found the hawk as a baby and did not phone a rehabber to put him back in his nest. Instead, they tried to raise it. Not having the proper permits and training, this person caused the hawk to become malnourished and imprinted on humans. This person eventually released the hawk without having any hunt training which is needed in order train the bird to hunt for food. This hawk was literally starving to death. We determined that this hawk was not releasable since it is imprinted on humans.
If you ever find a baby raptor, (hawk, owl, etc.), please, phone a licensed rehabilitator.
HOPE Wildlife Rehabilitation, Inc., is a non-profit all volunteer organization working to Help Our Precious Environment through rehabilitation and education of Florida's native wildlife.
HOPE Wildlife Rehabilitation currently has rehabbers that specialize in Florida native birds such as hawks, owls, falcons, water birds and song birds. The animals we rehabilitate are Florida native deer, opossum, all three squirrels (fox, grey and flying), raccoon, rabbit, bat, armadillo and baby skunk. We do not have the facilities to rehabilitate water mammals, wolves, coyote, panther, bobcat, bear, fox or adult skunk. We work with many other rehabbers though who are equipped to take these animals.
We are also always in need
of volunteers. We need people to
transport animals to veterinarians and rehabbers as
well as volunteers who are willing to obtain
a rehabilitation permit from the state and / or
federal government in order to work with
the animals directly by raising orphans and rehabilitating
injured birds and animals. We also need volunteers
to help with fundraising and nest box and
cage building. People who are interested
can phone direct at 352-628-9464 for more information
Your tax-deductible donations can be sent to:
HOPE Wildlife Rehabilitation, Inc.
PO Box 234
Crystal River, FL 34423
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