Windy Days

For the last few days, the winds have been gusting and the rain falling here on Long Island. The wind has thrown many of the wild migratory birds off track and has certainly exhausted others making the journey South. Here at the center, our own permanent residents are taking refuge from the wind in their shelters. Yesterday morning, we captured this moment of two of our permanent Red tailed hawks, Baby and Lucky Lady, huddled together on their perch.

Baby, the Red tailed Hawk pictured at left, came to our center in 2001. He was a young nestling that had fallen from his nest. He suffered from extreme torticolis (twisted head) and took many months to recover. Unfortunately, due to the time of his recovery and the intensive care needed, he had become imprinted on people. Baby is a male Red-tail and is smaller than his companion Lucky Lady.

Lucky Lady, pictured at right, also came to our center in 2001. She was an immature Red-tail (~2 years) at the time of admission. She was transferred to VfW from a nature center in Westchester. She had been found with a badly damaged eye. Once she arrived at the center, we realized that eye needed to be removed. After the removal of her eye, we tested Lucky Lady to see if she could hunt. She proved although she only had one eye that she was capable of finding live prey. We banded her leg and released her. Unfortunately a month later, Lucky Lady was found down on the ground again. She was weak and emaciated. She was brought to our center and we then learned she was the same bird we previously released. Although Lady was able to find food in captivity, she had difficulty finding enough prey in the wild. Due to her inability to hunt effectively, she is now a permanent resident at our hospital. Both Baby and Lady visit with thousands of school children and adults every year to teach about the importance of wildlife conservation.