VA-Birders,
After at least a week, probably longer, of receiving insufficient
food, two Red-tailed Hawk chicks were removed from their nest at Fort
Ward Park yesterday by a biologist with the Virginia Department of
Game and Inland Fisheries. Jeff Cooper determined that it would be
appropriate to place them in the care of the Raptor Conservancy of
Virginia. He climbed the pine tree and brought both birds to the
ground safely. The smaller bird was in worse shape, but both were
dehydrated, and the sharpness of their keel bone indicated that they
were indeed underfed. Kent Knowles of the Raptor Conservancy of
Virginia will rehydrate them, provide them with food, and eventually
allow them to learn how to catch their own live prey in a flight cage
before releasing them in suitable habitat. He felt very confident
about their prospects.
The female parent was hit by a car near the park on June 6. She was
treated and cared for by the Raptor Conservancy and returned to the
park on June 18. Her mate had been parenting alone in her absence
until he disappeared on June 16. After her return, the female didn't
begin feeding the young until June 21 but, even then, was not
bringing food to the nest often enough to satisfy the nutritional
requirements of fast growing chicks. These birds were observed each
day for 12-15 hours, and all trips to the nest were recorded.
This outcome seemed like the best possible under the circumstances,
even though it meant separating the mother from her chicks. We are
told that she, too, will do much better now that she needs to hunt
only for herself. Her convalescence had been shortened in order that
she get back to her parenting duties as soon as possible.
Please check out the web site of the Raptor Conservancy of Virginia.
They do wonderful work. Those of us who watched these events unfold
are extremely grateful to both Kent Knowles and Jeff Cooper.
Paula Sullivan
Alexandria
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