Red Tail Hawk Update

Photo: Diane Edwardson, June 14, 2005

Brenda with the Ojai Raptor Center reports, after an examination by a veterinarian, the hawk we rescued was shot through the wing with either a small caliber bullet or bb-gun, a week or more before he crash landed on Corralitas. The wing was broken and infected, plus the hawk was severely dehydrated and thin.

After several days of treating the infection, they anesthetized the hawk to further assess the broken wing. Since it had been so long since the bird was shot, the bone was dried out and inoperable. Since the wild hawk was in such poor condition, and would not be releasable with an amputated wing, the veterinarian decided to euthanize the bird. If we had been able to rescue the bird a week earlier, it may have made a difference.

Our 2005 hawk rescue was much more successful. A not-fully-fledged hawk fell 80’ to the street below from his nest atop a eucalyptus tree, next to the log cabins. His leg was broken. I called the Wildlife Officer at North Central Animal Shelter, who referred me to Brenda with Ojai Raptor Center. Neighbors blocked off the street & sidewalk with “caution” tape and barricades, while we awaited Animal Control. The officer had to climb 15-20’ up the steep slope to reach the hawk who was attempting to get back to his tree. Throughout this drama, the hawk’s parents kept a threatening eye on us, while screeching the whole time. They were not pleased, but they would not have been able to get the baby back into the nest. The baby would likely have fallen prey to a coyote if we left it on the ground.

Photo: Edwardson, 2005. Angry red tail parent.

The hawk was transferred to the Ojai Raptor Center where they repaired his broken leg. During fledging season, the Raptor Center is overwhelmed with rescues. They even have an unreleasable surrogate mother hawk who helps feed the babies. Our hawk was later released in an area where there are a lot of red tails he could learn from.

The sibling of the one we rescued used to hang out on the decks of the log cabins. He frequented my neighbor who took some great photos of him. I once saw one of the hawk’s parents bring him a rat. The parent sat in the tree with the rat screeching until he flew the 20 feet from my deck to the tree. He seemed to prefer my deck to tree for a dining perch. His parent would have nothing of it, insisting he use the tree.

Why should we care about the hawks?

They are a vital link in the hillside food web. They help keep rats and gophers under control. So don’t use rat poison. The poison doesn’t immediately kill the rat, so the rat acts erratically once the poison begins to take effect. The rat falls easy prey to predators, like hawks and pet cats, which are then poisoned and die from eating the rat.

Red Tail Hawks and other raptors like to hunt on the big open spaces like the Red Car Property and the Semi-Tropic Spiritualists’ Tract. Many mornings you can see hawks sitting atop the telephone poles, then swooping down to catch some vermin. The steep topography of the Red Car and Semi-Tropic neighborhoods combined with the heat island of the adjacent freeways create ideal updrafts on which the hawks like to soar. It’s like Wild Kingdom in your own backyard, 5 minutes from Downtown Los Angeles.

Donate to Ojai Raptor Center: http://www.ojairaptorcenter.org/
More info on living with wildlife: http://www.laanimalservices.com/Wildlife.htm

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Red Tail Hawk Rescue 2007

Photo: Gary Vlahakis, January 14, 2007

Corralitas Drive seems to be the place where red tails hawks come for help. A few weeks ago, I got a call from a neighbor who watched a red tail crash into the hillside next to his home. The hawk was hopping around a totally inaccessible spot on the hillside holding his wing away from his body. Plus, it was late in the day and getting dark.

The hawk went into hiding in the hillside brush the following day. I put word out on the Corralitas email list. Shortly thereafter, another neighbor called the first neighbor to say the hawk was hanging out in the first neighbor’s driveway – a good 100’ uphill climb from where he’d been the night before. Perhaps this was the sibling of the hawk we rescued less than two years ago, who used to hang out on the first neighbor’s deck (photo below).

Photo: Gary Vlahakis, June 24, 2005

The first neighbor called Animal Regulation, who did not seem anxious to come out. The hawk followed the neighbor around the street, trying to fly. The neighbor was able to snap a few photos before the hawk hopped back down the hillside (photo: top of page).

Three of us searched below the log cabins for the hawk. He camouflaged so well, it was no easy task to find him. We finally cornered the hawk with bath towels on a VERY steep portion of the hillside between the log cabins and the Corralitas Staircase. It was hard to tell if we even had the hawk in the towel because he was so lightweight. He didn’t put up a fight, although he did not want to let go of the towel after we carefully placed him in a box.

We took the hawk to animal control on Lacy St. and also called Brenda with Ojai Raptor Center, so they could pick up the injured hawk. (The City of Los Angeles sends their wildlife rescues to them since there seems to be no raptor rescuers in the City because of zoning rules.) You should always talk to Animal Control and a wildlife rescuer before you attempt rescuing wildlife.

Donate to Ojai Raptor Center: http://www.ojairaptorcenter.org/
More info on living with wildlife: http://www.laanimalservices.com/Wildlife.htm

Rescue Update

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Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract: First Red Tail Hawk Fledgling Flew The Coop

Video: Gary Vlahakis, June 4, 2012.  A day after a perilous journey from the nest, the largest of the 4 Red Tailed Hawk babies (also known as eyases) took off.  (Best viewed in full screen HD, Blogger resets the video on this page to lowest resolution.)

Gary's been combing through hours of footage and watching through binoculars, to see if the hawk came back to the nest.  So far we've not seen it.  Nor have we seen it in the surrounding tree branches.  This morning, the remaining 3 babies were still in the nest, although the second one is "branching," hopping around on the adjacent branches, flapping its wings, gaining strength to fly. 

Red Tails will hang around the nest for months, being fed and learning to hunt, once they learn to fly.  Last year they put on quite a show through July.  It will be interesting to see if all 4 babies make it.

If you find a hawk on the ground, it may not be injured.  If it is not in the roadway, leave it it on the ground and observe it until you can verify whether it is actually injured.  We had to rescue a fledgling in 2005; his leg was broken.  If the hawk makes it to a nearby branch, the parents will be keeping an eye on it and will continue to care for it.

If a hawk is injured contact LA Animal Services who will likely refer you to the Ojai Raptor Center (805) 667-4727.  The Ojai Raptor Center rehabbed & released the hawk we rescued in 2005.  An expert will guide you through what needs to be done.  The Audubon Center at Debs Park is another resource for information.

For an even better view of nest activity, check out the live Cornell University Red Tail Hawk Cam. Their 3 Red Tails Hawks are fledging too.

Click here for all our Red Tailed Hawk nest videos.