As the year comes to an end 450 birds have been admitted this year. Many of the birds were released, and others missed migration due to injuries. They will remain with us until spring or summer of next year.
Collisions with vehicles remain the major cause for admission.
Loss of habitat is becoming another prevalent issue. Swainson’s Hawks in particular are choosing to nest close to human activities and as they raise their young and defend their territory they become aggressive and attack the “intruder.” The Colorado Division of Wildlife had to remove three baby Swainson’s Hawks from their nest, at a farm site in Weld County. The adults were attacking the family, including a small child. It was a sad day when the five-day-old chicks arrived. We raised the babies in close proximity of an injured female hawk, who had been struck by a truck. As she slowly recovered from bruises and a head injury her interest in the youngsters increased. Eventually, she adopted them and began to feed them. It was an astonishing and gratifying moment to observe.
The whole family was released together in the middle of September to begin their journey to Argentina.
Sigrid Noll-Ueblacker and Heidi Bucknam
Comments are closed.