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An initial exam by our avian veterinarian:

This immature female American Kestrel was very feisty on presentation.  We know it is immature because she still had some down feathers left and her tail feathers were not all the way in.  Since she was found in the middle of the road, she was probably hit by a car. Overall she was in excellent condition. Radiographs revealed a fractured right radius and ulna.  She will need to have a pin put in each bone to stabilize it while it heals.  Unfortunately her prognosis for return to the wild is poor.  With the radius and ulna broken in the same place, the bones often fuse together in the healing process which would leave her unable to extend her wing.  To help prevent this, we will begin three-time weekly physical therapy under anesthesia.  We need to do it under anesthesia because if she were awake she could easily pull the wing away from us and damage the wing further.

UPDATE: 07/25/2018 - This bird was recovering well from… more

This immature Cooper's Hawk was found running on the ground.  It is not old enough to fly, but is what we call a brancher.  Its wing and tail feathers are half-way in.  At this time it would venture out of the nest, sit on a branch and practice flapping its wings.  It probably fell off the branch as it exercised.  We always prefer parents to raise the young.  But no parents could be found, so we kept the baby.  He will be raised with as little human contact as possible to keep him from being acclimated to humans (he is too old to be actually imprinted on humans).  Thanks to Jacob, a Conservation Officer who took the time to pick up this baby and bring it to us!

Initial exam by our avian veterinarian:  This immature Cooper's Hawk (still had some down and wing and tail feathers were half way in) was alert and feisty.  Exam did not reveal any abnormalities and he was a good weight.  Radiographs were within normal limits.  

Intake Number : #07022018COHA

Story via Volunteer Mary Koher:

I received a call this afternoon from our rescue coordinator indicating that the Fort Wayne Animal Care and Control had picked up a falcon. When I arrived they indeed had a falcon, the littlest one, a male American kestrel. It was alert but quiet and I had no problem in removing it from their cage and placing it into my rescue box. A concerned citizen had brought the youngster to the officer’s home and left it with them. Communication was difficult; however, as they were a non English speaking individual so we don’t exactly know where the bird came from. I headed up north to the Pine Valley Veterinary Clinic and Dr. Funnell was soon assessing this little one. The wings, legs and talons all appeared normal. However, when looking at its eyes she could tell it was dehydrated and after feeling the keel also realized that it was emaciated as well. It is a fledgling but still too young to be on its own. He quickly became lethargic and was… more

Story via Volunteer Lisa Yates :

Hi everyone!! My name is “FRITZ” and I am a Barred Owl. I had a little accident I would like to tell you about. I live on Till Road in a very wooded area. Several of my family live around me as well. I went for a little grocery shopping on Sunday and unfortunately I went after a frog and this truck hit me as I went to grab the frog. WOW!! What a ride I took. I do not remember much except for the landing in the weeds. They were soft but very wet from the rain.

Next thing I remember was waking up and hearing cars and trucks zooming by me on Fritz Road. I could see my woods but was unable to fly home. I waited and waited and was almost ready to give up when this human came along. They drove past me and then turned around. The lady thought I was a hawk at first. I don’t even look a little bit like a hawk!! When she got to close I started to “clack” at her. I think she was nervous. They are named Phil and Trish. Another man stopped… more

On a beautiful sunny day at Eagle Marsh in front of an enthusiastic crowd of well-wishers, this eagle soared out of his crate after spending 110 days with us.  As you can tell from the video he was more than ready and happy to be back at home!

It is with a heavy heart that we announce that Phoebe, 66Y, born this year and banded on May 22nd has passed away.  She was found on the sidewalk by the parking garage on Calhoun St close to Jefferson Blvd. on Saturday, June 9th at approximately 7:30 p.m.  A concerned citizen found her and called Fort Wayne Animal Care and Control who in turn reached out to Soarin’ Hawk.  Phoebe came in to our facility on Friday June 8th as she was found sitting on the roof of a car on the east side of the Indiana Michigan Power Building.  At that time she was very alert and she was immediately seen by Dr. Funnell who did radiographs and a physical assessment.  Nothing was broken and she was physically fine.  She was returned to the roof of the Indiana Michigan building by a Soarin’ Hawk volunteer and was greeted by both parents and she immediately ran towards the nest box.  This is the third year in a row that a Peregrine chick has ended up on the ground around the building and been returned back… more

Story via Volunteer Ruth Guerin :

On Monday, June 6, my husband and I took George, the grey phase eastern screech owl to Louisville zoo.  George is blind in his left eye, and I had been working with him since January 1, in my home. We met the people in the avian department that would be taking care of him during his 30 day isolation period, and also, the women in the Metazoo, which is their education center. George will live in a nicely painted, glass walled enclosure with lots of perching areas and boxes. He will also have a red phased roomie named Phoenix. George will be on the glove for education programs in the metazoo. Everyone was so excited to have him, and I think he will have a good life there! They are even keeping his name!

Story via Volunteer Mary Koher :

We received a call early this afternoon from the folks at Indiana Michigan Power stating that they have, what they believe to be, one of the peregrine falcon chicks sitting on the hood of a car in their neighboring parking area.  I arrived to indeed find the youngster sitting on the hood.  I thought she was rather large and when I was able to get closer, sure enough it was the female, 66Y, Phoebe!  She was very alert but quiet.  I was able to slowly walk up and lower my net over her.  I was then able to reach under the net to grab her legs at which time she stretched those beautiful wings which made me happy knowing that those appeared to be working just fine.  With the help of a couple of employees, I was able to quickly get her in the rescue box and we headed for cover as a thunderstorm had just started.  While waiting out the storm under the building in the plaza area, a bolt of lightning struck the building.  As I found out later after… more

Story via Volunteer Louie Lee :

This morning the Soarin' Hawk call taker informed Lana and I of a juvenile hawk, being harassed by song birds and on the ground. Upon our arrival at 923 Cardinal Ct. in Auburn, we were taken to a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk in a spruce tree about two feet off the ground. The bird was aware of it's surroundings and appeared alert. After an observation period the hawk was captured easily. During the initial exam we found the keel to be very narrow (1). Possible fly eggs were noted in the mouth. No other health issues were discovered. The bird was taken to Dr. Funnel at the Pine Valley Vet Clinic and released to her.

Intake Number : #06072018RTHA

Story via Volunteer Pam Whitacre:

On May 30th, 2018, Soarin' Hawk got a call about an owl in an airplane hangar at the Ft. Wayne airport.  The caller said it could not fly, and they had it contained in a bathroom.  I took my Kevlar gloves, expecting an owl, and when I opened the bathroom door, it was a Kestrel!

We could hear birds chirping up in the rafters of the hangar, and we saw pellets on the floor, but could not determine where exactly the nest was, so we brought the young female to ICU.  There was a little blood on her tongue, possibly from falling from the nest, but otherwise she was healthy.  We put her in a cage with another young Kestrel, and she will be transferred to the pens for fostering from our two educational Kestrels until she is old enough to be released.

Story via Volunteer Pam Whitacre:

On May 30th, 2018, Soarin' Hawk got a call about a Great Horned owl from a man who saw it on the ground outside of his office window on State Street in Ft. Wayne.  When we got there, the owl was laying in some leaves, very well camouflaged!  I picked him up, and could not see anything wrong with him, and thought he was a young owl that just fledged from the nest.  I put him in a clearing away from the trees to see if he would fly.  He hopped a few feet and flew about three feet off the ground and landed.  I noticed that his right wing drooped a little when he flew.  I approached him again, and he took off for the trees and landed on a high branch, too high for us to reach him.

We decided to wait him out to see if he would fly again.  He still had a slight right wing droop when he flew into the tree.

After waiting for about a half hour, he somehow ended upside down, hanging from the branch with one foot.  Again, we waited… more

On March 24, 2018, Soarin Hawk received a call about red-tailed hawk found by Bicentennial Park off Schoaff Road. The woman who rescued this bird said she found him by the side of the road, he wouldn't fly and she thought he was acting abnormally. He was brought to ICU where he was examined by Kat. Kat found this bird to be dehydrated with feather lice and a bruised right elbow, and she didn't feel any broken bones. This bird received fluids, ivermectin for the external parasites, and meloxicam for any pain the bird may be feeling due to the bruised elbow.

Upon weeks of rehabilitation, the feather lice were gone and his bruised elbow had healed.

On Thursday, May 30, 2018, after our presentation at Our Lady of Good Hope School, we took the Red-Tail to the backyard of their campus. At approximately 11:10am we released the Red Tail from his carrier, he took off soaring, so far we couldn't see him anymore in the distance. It was a beautiful release.

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Story via Volunteer Mary Koher:

We received a call to the rescue line from a homeowner that was concerned about a red tail hawk on their property that appeared to be injured.  They described that the left foot appeared to dangle and the left wing didn’t seem to function well.  They observed the hawk throughout the day in different areas of their property.  It’s as if it was purposely trying to get their attention as if to say “help me”.

I arrived at their house around 7:30pm and was escorted to the wooded area at the rear of the property.  They last saw the hawk setting on a brush pile.  When we got there, the hawk was no longer on the brush pile so we started going deep into the brambles, weaving and ducking our way through.  The homeowner, Steve, saw him part way up in a small tree.  By the time I made my way over to the tree it moved to another tree and a bit higher up!  This went on for probably 20 minutes, finding it, losing it and finding it again.  Thankfully,… more

Story via Volunteer Mary Koher:

We received a call to our rescue line from Animal Care and Control.  They picked up an owl at the side of the road in northern Allen County.  I arrived at their facility to find a barred owl resting quietly in a cage.  I placed him in a rescue box, gathered some additional information from them and headed off to deliver the owl to Dr Funnell at the Pine Valley Veterinarian Clinic.  When I got there she was in surgery with another owl so I did a quick examination that showed some blood on the cere and both feet had abrasions.  The keel score was 2.5 to 3 and the wings appeared to be ok.  The owl was alert but quiet.  Since it was found on the side of the road, we are assuming a possible car strike. Dr Funnell will do a full assessment once she is out of surgery.

Intake Number : #05072018BDOW

This is a video demonstrating a common technique we utilize called creance flying. This allows us to condition our birds back to full strength (or close to it), so they can be released back into the wild as healthy strong birds! Here we are creance flying our adult bald eagle that had been admitted with a broken right humerus. In order to be releasable this bird must fly a decent amount of flights, take the full line, all while not getting tired. Enjoy!

To view the video CLICK HERE, (or the little thumbnail to the left of the text).

To view the bird's profile CLICK HERE.

Rescue story via Volunteer Beau Krafft:

At 1:47 pm I received a call from the Soarin’ Hawk rescue hotline that a large bird was in the backyard of a residence, located west of Wallen Road in Allen County, Indiana. The bird appearing to be hurt. I called the gentleman who reported the injured bird and he thought it looked like the bird's wing was hurt. 

Approx. 2:20pm I arrived at the location of said bird. The GHOW was hopping from tree stump to fence then fence to tree stump.

I did a brief visual assessment of him, his right wing was drooping and since he was hopping it appeared he had sore feet. I grabbed a large white sheet from the bird carrier and slowly placed the sheet across its back; so as not to disturb his wings in case there were to be anything problematic. The resident assisted me in holding open the carrier. The GHOW was calm. At 2:40 pm I left the residence and headed to the pens where I was instructed to leave the bird in the main safety… more

Rescue story via Volunteer Mary Koher:

We received a call from Conservation Officer Jacob Rutschilling from Adams County, IN stating that he had picked up an injured barred owl and could meet part way to deliver the owl to us.  I met Jacob at the Wal-Mart on US 27 south of Fort Wayne.  He brought the tote over to my vehicle and announced that he didn’t think it was a barred owl after all.  When I lifted the lid it certainly was not a barred but a beautiful short eared owl.  A concerned citizen had noticed the owl in a ditch next to a farm field and contacted the DNR office.  Apparently it had been down in the ditch for at least two days.  Jacob was able to get close to the owl and it put its wings out as if to fly away but it could only hop away.  He noted that the left wing appeared not to function as well as the right.  I gathered some additional information from him and then transferred the owl to my rescue box and headed back to our ICU facility.

The initial… more

Via Volunteer Sandy Moore : "A day like today makes everything we do for these raptors the sweetest part of the job. To be able to release a bird back into the wild is the ultimate achievement. It is a personal honor for me to release this bird today as I do this in memory of my big brother Carl, who passed away in February. I owe my love and passion for animals to my brother. My entire life has been dedicated to them. I guess you can say "he was the wind beneath my wings". So without further adieu, let's release this red tailed hawk to fly free..."

Original Story :

On 11/8/2017 Soarin' Hawk received a call from a gentleman in New Haven. He noticed a bird lying in a ditch near his home. As he moved closer to check him out, he realized it was unable to fly away as he approached him.

Rather than ignore the bird and go about his business, he took the time to contact Soarin' Hawk to report the injury and asked… more

Sometimes it’s difficult for humans and wildlife to coexist without causing inconvenience or harm to the other party.  Such was the case for this red-tailed hawk nest that sat in the line of fire of a construction project in Muncie, IN.  Luckily, the construction crew had the heart to call Soarin’ Hawk to help them relocate the nest, and was supervised by volunteer Pam who detailed the process:

On Thursday, April 12, 2018, I got a call from the Indiana Michigan Power Co. in Muncie, IN regarding a nest that had to be taken down because of construction.  They had an eighty foot pole with a nest on top filled with what he told me were osprey eggs.  The crew there did not want to disturb or destroy the nest or eggs, and they wanted Soarin' Hawk to be involved in removing the eggs.  After calls to Dr. Funnell, to ask what the best procedure was to take the eggs, keep them warm, and take care of them, I got a call back, telling me they were two red-tailed hawk eggs.  

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