State of emergency in NJ....bird of prey rescued etc. nice pics

I went out to get new wiper blades. stopped at the ATM to get some cash and there was a wounded bird near the money machine(female red tail hawk...I think) correct me if I'm wrong.

Fortunately I live in a blue state, and my township has a Democratic mayor. I called my sister and asked her to call animal control(Our animal control is staffed by animal lovers) and lo and behold they were on duty in the blizzard. No problem, they recovered the bird and placed it with a local bird of prey person. they called and said the bird was OK, no broken wing and would go to the county animal care in the morning or as soon as possible.

It's great to be a democrat......if you don't believe me just go ask/see that bird.

some pics from the day:

it looks more like a kestrel to me. but i can't tell how big it is.

I think it flew into the mirrored wall you can see behind it

and the tail is too long. looks like a kestrel.
good job, tho.

and they change plumage by the seasons.....I knew IT was a hawk by the talons......and knew I wasn't going to pick it up without the proper gloves.

They taught us this at a vet clinic where I used to work. Put a coat, blanket, or towel over the bird to secure its wings, and work your hands underneath so you've got its talons (still wrapped in the cloth). I have small hands but doing it this way, could get a secure hold on even full-grown redtails and great horned owls. (Needed two hands for the bald eagle though!)

Anyway, you done good! It sounds like the bird was stunned, or had bruised its wing enough to ground it temporarily. (Or, if it was a juvenile, it might have been weak due to not being able to find enough food in the recent snow and cold, and just sought shelter in that location.)

and other relatives in North Jersey...I'm curious about the locale in the pictures!

I had a rather sad involvment with a red-tailed hawks a few years ago. This hawk sat in a tree near Route 295, near Trenton. I'd see him in the area nearly every day I went to work. One Saturday, I had to go in to work. That day, on a quiet road, I saw very clearly the carcass of the hawk...he had been hit by a car. Well, I was so upset, that I wrote a letter to the editor of the Trenton Times, eulogizing this beautiful bird. They actually printed the letter....Luckly, your bird seems to be having a happier fate.

sorry about your beautiful bird. Mercer has an animal refuge and hospital at the county workhouse(low level prisioners caring for wildlife injured in the county. I have taken many animals there and they receive excellent care.

right off 295 on the way down to the Arena Drive exit....Mine was definitely a red-tail...it was a HUGE bird....

I lived in South Brunswick and then Hopewell Twp just before coming to New Mexico....

Good old Hamilton Twp! My cousin now lives directly across from Mercer Community College...(not on Old Trenton Road, the street coming off Quakerbridge, entrance near the county school...)

I had a young red-tail crash into my patio door a few years back (it was chasing one of the little chickadees I used to feed-personally I think the chickadee and his friends set him up)
Anyway I thought his neck was broken (he hit hard enough to knock the door from its tracks) so I put on 2 pairs of gloves and checked him out-he managed to claw my arm through the gloves-so I put him in my cat-carrier to keep an eye on him. I was worried he would need medical attention and it was Thanksgiving. He finally came to an hour later and I let him go. I had never been that close to a wild hawk. He was beautiful. I also think he gave up chasing my chickadees after the ordeal.
NJ animals are lucky.

and people.....i'm not a doctor and don't even play one on tv.......so I do what I can for the animals.

My office, which is on a New Jersey "secondary road," instructed us to call in after 7AM Monday to find out if they would be open. If not, I'm in danger of coming down with a case of "skier-itis." The suspense is killing me...

:headbang:
rocknation

? why not. eyes in the sky and all that. I wanted to ski too. All that powder and perfect temps. Just scream bonzai first and go for it.

Two things. I don't think that is a red tail but it is difficult to tell. We have tons of them around here and this does not look like one to me, I could be very mistaken. Second thing, being in a blue state is nice but here in red state land we have many, many animal rehab facilities and they also stay open in bad weather and on holidays etc. Just sayin. Blue states don't have a monopoly on animal awareness or kindness.

I know that.....we are just fellin somewhat unrecognized and uncounted and unwanted. I have many friends in red states. And I count you as one of my friends. You rock muserider

I was not offended. Why are you feeling uncounted and unwanted? Damn, we out here in Republican land depend on you all to keep is in the game at least while we keep working away in our seemingly fruitless task. It does tend to make us a little touchy.

without boundries

I hear people bitching about the taxes all the time but if you ask me Gilmore and the rest of Hamilton Twp. does a good job!

the ecological facility is a model for many others throuhout the country. Coming to the meetup next sat?

If so I will have to be there and make sure nobody gets hurt...which they never do, and in that case I'll end up bored out of my mind and try to strike up a conversation with the water cooler. So I hope they aren't practicing

on the Somerset County end of the Great Swamp?

http://www.theraptortrust.org/

One of the oldest and biggest bird "hospitals" in the area. The place is really amazing. They release the ones they can, and the rest are set up for life in their "zoo." Eagles, hawks, owls... hundreds of birds in the place.

My personal favorites are the snowy owls. They've had a breedng pair there, maybe still do, and the owlets were tiny things looking like Hostess Snowballs with huge yellow cat's eyes and beaks.

I can't remember the name of it......but it I learned a great deal about Owls, Hawks and other indigenous birds of prey.....which is why I am concerned about them 40 years later.

many times. the folks there held large birds on their hands and let them fly off.....they would later return. I have loved birds ever since.