ENRICHING THEIR LIVES
by Gigi Stewart
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Wow! It's been one whole year since we formed the Soarin’ Hawk Enrichment Team! Enrichment items help stimulate and promote natural behaviors in our birds. Each week, the enrichment team places various homemade objects in the birds’ enclosures, including foraging boxes, items to shred, and sticks. Last Thanksgiving, the birds were treated to turkeys made out of paper towel rolls. At Christmas, they were presented with spiral trees made from paper plates. One item that most of the birds seemed to enjoy was a plain paper bag with sticks, newspaper, tissue paper, and feathers poking out of holes in the bag.
Some the birds' reactions have been quite obvious, with an item being completely torn apart. Other interactions were less obvious, with the only visible sign of interaction being tiny holes in the object, or simply that the object was moved. Whether the birds interact or not, enrichment can have positive effects on both the mental and physical well-being of our birds. Even if a bird chooses not to physically interact with an item, they still have made a mental choice.
In addition to crafting an enrichment item each week and documenting any interactions their birds have with an item, the enrichment team also does a visual health check on their bird and records how well their bird is eating each week. It's been a fun project for the enrichment team and also seems to be fun for other volunteers, who get to watch how the birds react to each week's enrichment item. Our enrichment project for this past week was a cardboard birthday cake, using paper towel rolls for candles and filled with feathers, sticks, pinecones and paper, to celebrate Athena’s first birthday Congratulations to the Enrichment Team on our one-year anniversary!
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“What we observe is not nature itself
but nature exposed to our method of questioning.”
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Athena, our great horned owl ambassador, turned 1 year old last week! It seems like only yesterday she was a not-so-little floof of fluffy feathers! Her party was well-attended, by humans and raptors alike. There was much singing and flapping (and a little hissing), and feathered attendees each received an enriching "birthday cake" party favor that they could take back to their condominiums and tear apart. A good time was had by all! |
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A SPECIAL NOTE FROM GIGI,
OUR VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR
Hello everyone!
We are starting up again with small orientations. Please contact me for more info on volunteering with Soarin’ Hawk.
Stay well!
Gigi Stewart, Volunteer Coordinator
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RESCUE OF THE MONTH - 02202021 LEOW - Long-Eared Owl |
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On February 20, the rescue line got a call from Andrews, IN. Two friends had found a "baby owl" along the side of the road. (Most of the time, when someone says they've found a "baby owl," the owl turns out to be a screech owl. People understandably mistake them for babies, because they're so small. However, that was not the case on this day.)
Volunteers Bill Oberg and Sue Hansen traveled to Andrews to pick up the bird, and knew when they saw him that he was not a screech owl. He's a Long-Eared Owl! An exam in our ICU revealed some eye trauma and a broken wing. The eye injury was treated with anti-inflammatory and antibiotic eye drops, and he was given medicine for pain. His eye is looking much better, and he had surgery to repair his wing on February 24. Now we wait to see how he heals. We all are hoping for him!
Please, please remember: If you find an injured bird or animal, you give them the best chance at survival by contacting a DNR-permitted rehabber as soon as possible. By law, you may keep the injured animal or bird for only 24 hours. While you search for a rehab, do not hold or pet the animal, and do not feed or give it water. Just put it in a box in quiet place, away from activity and noise. If you have difficulty finding a licensed rehabber, call the Soarin' Hawk rescue line (260-241-0134) and we will help you try to find someone.
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WHAT HAPPENED TO PRIOR MONTHS' FEATURED RESCUES? |
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01182021 RTHA - Red-Tailed Hawk - This guy is ready for release! We held off releasing him during the extreme cold temperatures, but he should be going back to his home in Geneva, IN any day now!
10062020 Tundra Peregrine Falcon - The Tundra Peregrine is still with us. His keel injury has been slow to heal. However, he is very active and feisty, and is eating well, all of which is very encouraging.
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CELEBRATING YOUR GENEROSITY
Thanks to February Save-a-Raptor donors . . .
M. Highlen, Just Give Great Non-Profits, D. Oneil, J. & J. Stumpf, A. Zepke
. . . and thanks to the donors who give each and every month!
Bob Rohrman Subaru, S. Bowman, P. Davich, L. Dearing, M. & D. Freed, Kroger Community Rewards, S. McInnis, Network for Good, L. Ostergren
Jefferson and the vultures need fish!
If you have fresh fish you'd like to donate, call our rescue line (260-241-0134) to arrange for pickup or delivery. Please be sure to remove all hooks and lead tackle.
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A NEW AND VERY SPECIAL OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU!
Experience Your Very Own Raptor Adventure!
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Owls' eyes appear round like a marble, but in fact they are not round at all! Their eyes are actually longer than they are wide and tubular-shaped. Having long (rather than round) eyes allows more light to enter the eye, resulting in a clearer "picture." This allows owls to see clearly in very low light conditions.
Unfortunately, having large eyes that are more tubular-shaped than round means that owls' eyes have to be secured in the eye socket, so they don't fall out! So, each eye is held in place by a "sclerotic ring," which works like a corset, effectively cinching the eye into place. Because of this, owls have less than 1% rotation in their eyeballs, which is why they need to turn their heads almost all the way around to see!
-Thanks to Santa Fe Raptor Center
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Thanks to people like you, we were able to rescue and rehabilitate this beautiful Red-Tailed Hawk. After a few weeks in our facility, he will be released where he was found, in Geneva, IN. Won't you make a donation, so we can help others like this hawk? No contribution is too small!
Your donation is tax deductible.
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