By Max Thaysen
An injured Red-Tailed Hawk was recovered and recently released by a local wildlife advocate.
Cortes Currents reached Autumn Barrett-Morgan at home, by zoom, for the story.
Photos of Red-tailed Hawk courtesy Tamara McPhail, via Autumn Barret-Morgan
Red-tailed Hawk is found
On January first, 2021, Autumn's neighbours found the red-tailed hawk by Gunflint Lake, on Cortes Island and they called the Mountainaire Avian Rescue Society (MARS), in Merville BC, for advice. MARS told them to get in touch with their Cortes contact for support – Autumn Barrett-Morgan – who happened to live right across the street.
When Autumn got to the hawk, it was wet and muddy and hungry – Autumn says one can assess the latter by body language.
They brought the hawk inside, keeping her safe in a dog crate. Autumn got in touch with MARS for furthur advice. The bird would need to come in to the rescue centre for an evaluation.
As luck would have it, due to stormy weather the ferries weren't running, so Autumn had to care for her overnight. She says the hawk seemed to enjoy drying herself out by the fire.
The next day, when Autumn got the bird to the MARS recovery centre, the experts there gave her an assessment. She might have needed a bath, but the MARS experts erred on the side of less intervention – and the hawk was able to clean herself just fine after a solid meal. The bird seemed to just need rest and food.
Photos of Red-tailed Hawk courtesy Tamara McPhail, via Autumn Barret-Morgan
The Red-tailed Hawk is released
Two weeks later MARS said the bird was ready to be released. Autumn brought her back at the end of a weekend of volunteering at MARS, and said that the hawk looked like a brand-new bird. Autumn released the bird in the same spot where it was found. She said, “it was a really, really beautiful experience to see that full circle.”
She's not too sure what happened to the hawk -- they are a smaller bird, so they can be bullied by larger birds-of-prey, but also a large truck had recently driven by, and the hawk could have gotten struck or tumbled in the air turbulence.
Northern Pygmy Owl
Autumn has been building a relationship with MARS ever since she found a northern pygmy owl, with a broken wing – a species at risk.
It was difficult to get the bird over to MARS – it was summer, so ferries were overloaded. Autumn helped the owl hitchhike to the centre in Merville. Through the experience, Autumn identified a need for someone to have some skills more locally to fill the gap in emergency care and transportation – a non-human ambulance service. The transportation is such a stressor for animals – it really needs to be done by someone with a bit of education and experience and the right temperament.
MARS had the owl for over three months, but decided that the bird could not be rehabilitated. And it was killed. Unfortunately, MARS does not have the resources to care for animals indefinitely, so animals that cannot eventually care for themselves and be returned to the wild, have to be euthanized.
MARS
Autumn has just recently began volunteering for MARS at their rescue centre.
Autumn would like to take the opportunity to encourage folks to learn more about MARS, and participate in their fundraisers – they'll take your cash, your time, and other stuff too! Autumn is in the process of finding other ways that Cortesians can support MARS.
Do not use Bird feeders
Autumn would like the public to know something she learned on her weekend of volunteering. While bird feeders bring many joys to people, they can be problematic for birds – they can become contaminated if not cleaned properly and regularly, and become breeding grounds for salmonella.
Bird feeders can also be bear-feeders – becoming an attractant that can get bears and people in trouble (it is against the law to provide food to a bear).
Autumn recommends that people don't have bird feeders. It is better to learn what plants support birds through the winter and consider planting some of those.
Autumn would like the public to know that if you find a distressed or orphaned animal – leave it, watch it, and call her or MARS.
Contact info:
Autumn Barrett-Morgan
