Rescuing "Reddy-Redtail!"

Meet "Reddy" the juvenile Red-tail Hawk born this spring.  "Reddy" was spotted while my husband and I were gone but up until today we haven't been able to locate her.  "Reddy" doesn't fly.

While moving the haying equipment home (YES, home!) today we managed to spot her so we headed back to the field she was in with a bed sheet and leather gloves in hand.  I wasn't sure we would be able to catch her.

"Reddy" definitely could not fly but she was able to climb up our hay bales using her very sharp talons!!!  However, once on the ground, I was able to get close enough to get the sheet over her and scooped her up, putting her into an animal carrier.

I have to say, the boys thought I was a pretty cool Mom for capturing a HAWK!  I was just impressed with the sheer beauty of this incredible raptor and the fact that I was able to catch her!  From the field we actually headed home and made a phone call to the Medicine River Wildlife Centre, the same place we took "Olive the Owl".  After giving them the heads-up that we were on our way, we drove the 2 hours to deliver her.  "Reddy" was very dehydrated and certainly has not been eating like she should, especially considering Fall Migration will soon be upon us.  In fact, "Reddy" only weighed 1/2 a lb.  Most female Red-tail Hawks weigh as much as 3 lbs.  On quick inspection, "Reddy" suffered a broken left wing that has already started to heal.  The wildlife centre is going to see if they can get her weight back up and the veterinarian is going to assess if they can re-break and properly set her wing.  In the meantime, "Reddy" is in good hands and likely will be remaining in Canada for the winter!

Why rescue a hawk???  A family of hawks can consume as many as 500 gophers each summer!!!  That's not calculating in the mice or voles!