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Medina Raptor Center offers assistance after young hawks plunge from nest
By Jim Carney
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Tuesday, Jun 09, 2009
The hawk appeared suddenly.
I first noticed it last summer as it swooped down into my backyard in Northwest Akron, about 20 feet off the ground.
As quickly as it flew by, it was gone. The speed, wingspan and stealth nature of the bird caught my attention.
I was hooked.
From that day, I kept my eyes on alert for the hawk.
I kept my bird books, binoculars and camera close at hand.
Over the course of the summer, it seemed to show up every several days.
At first, we thought it might be a northern harrier. With fall's arrival, the hawk disappeared.
When March arrived, I noticed two hawks in the big oak trees on my street.
The hawks zoomed through the sky, perched on leafless trees and were easy to spot.
Soon they began building a nest in my neighbor's tree, about 35 feet off the ground on Malvern Road.
Often, while walking my miniature schnauzer, Stanley, I would see one of the hawks close up on a low-hanging tree limb. I'd rush back home to get my camera, only to find the hawk gone by time I got back.
As the weather improved and neighbors spent more time outside, it became clear that everybody in the neighborhood was watching these hawks.
Neighbors told me where they saw one of the hawks and what species they thought it was.
As the leaves filled in, the hawks became harder to see.
Last week, I saw one of the hawks in the street with a critter in its mouth. I got a pretty good look at it before it flew away.
On Sunday, the neighborhood got an up-close hawk encounter.
Neighbor Elaine Emerson Holland found a young hawk in the front garden.
The hawk was sitting among some plants and flowers. It was unable to fly.
Neighbors came outside to take a look at the bird that had so captivated them.
The Hollands called the Medina Raptor Center to tell them about the hawk because it appeared the bird was injured.
The Hollands sprayed a bit of water on the hawk to hydrate it and to keep flies away. Neighbor Mary Jane Finnell even brought the hawk a dead mouse that she found run over on the road in hopes that the bird could eat while waiting for the raptor center to arrive.
While this drama unfolded on the ground, in the sky above, one of the adult hawks, perhaps the mother, circled, making lots of noise, seemingly very upset.
I got my camera and began snapping pictures.
Medina Raptor Center volunteer Roger Judson, 60, of Richfield Township, showed up and made a quick determination that the bird wasn't seriously injured. He said it appeared to be a Cooper's hawk.
He put it in a cage in his car and promised the neighbors that it would be brought back and released when it is able to fly.
Judson said Monday that based on the bird's call, he had changed his mind. It is a red-shouldered hawk.
It is the same kind of hawk that made news in May when people were being dive-bombed at Keith Avenue and Tremont Road.
Judson said the bird's wings were not damaged. He said it is 2 or 3 months old and probably is the youngest in the nest.
He said his theory of what happened, based on peck marks on the hawk's chest, is the older babies attacked it and pushed it out of the nest.
''It is not uncommon for the last born to be kicked out of the nest because it is the youngest and most immature,'' he said.
The hawk was also severely dehydrated. After receiving fluids at the center, Judson said, the bird has improved.
The hawk, which will ultimately have a wingspan of more than 3 feet, will be able to fly at 5 or 6 months of age, Judson said.
It is too early to tell whether the bird is a male or a female, he said.
Elaine Holland said she was thrilled that the hawk is expected to live and will be reunited with the neighborhood as a young flying hawk later this summer or in early fall.
Late Monday afternoon, a second hawk fell from the nest and Steve Pavelka of Bath Township, another volunteer with the Medina Raptor Center, was called. He planned to check out the hawk and get it to the center near Sharon Center.
''This will be my seventh red-shouldered hawk I've rescued [recently],'' he said.
The second hawk is healthy except for a peck wound to its head, probably caused by another sibling still in the nest, Pavelka said.
For information about the nonprofit raptor center, call 330-667-2386 or go to http://www.medinaraptorcenter.org.
Jim Carney can be reached at 330-996-3576 or jcarney@thebeaconjournal.com.
The hawk appeared suddenly.
Get the full article here.
Comments
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Akron, OH
Posted 08:56 AM, 06/09/2009
Don't like your brothers or sisters? Push them out of the nest!
Akron, OH
Posted 09:16 AM, 06/09/2009
Wonderful photos! Very nice
Posted 10:14 AM, 06/09/2009
What a beautiful bird.
stow, oh
Posted 12:18 PM, 06/09/2009
I am always so thrilled to see the hawks, eagles and owls make a huge comeback in this area-that speaks volumes about how our environment has improved. I even saw 2 Bald Eagles standing on the ice of Silver Lake last winter! God bless the hard working and caring people who take time to help these beautiful creatures!
Canton, OH
Posted 06:49 PM, 06/09/2009
YAWN. . .
Posted 12:38 AM, 06/10/2009
Now if the city can adhere rancid pieces of meat to criminals faces and let the Raptors have at em, that would be funny.
akron, oh
Posted 07:09 AM, 06/10/2009
I saw a hawk fighting an owl at Chippewa Golf Course. It was amazing. My friend and I watched for about ten minutes. No doubt, they are predetors. I never found out who won, but the hawk looked like he had the advantage.
