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Barns Owls of Northern Indiana - Rescue & Return Home

Barns Owl Rescued

August 4, 2016

Late Wednesday evening; a Soarin’ Hawk volunteer received a message from the local DNR C.O. informing us of a “problem” with a Barn Owl family in a farmer’s silo. It came as quite the surprise! Barn Owls are very rare in northern Indiana. On average only 10-15 nests are discovered annually; most of which are located in the lower half of the state.

The following morning she drove out to the farm and was immediately greeted by the family. All work came to a complete halt and they trooped through the stock pens and shed to the base of a 45 foot tall silo.

Inside the bottom and huddled against a wall, were three Barn Owl fledglings. They had fallen from their roost at the top of the silo.

A fourth bird, and probably the smallest, had died.  One of our volunteers climbed down into the silo to evaluate their condition. They were all were weak and emaciated. After giving each bird a short drink of water, they were placed… more

Eastern Screen & Barred Owl placed with Cornell University

Soarin' Hawk is always excited when we can place one of our non-releasable raptors at an accredited facility!  Cornell University has a long history of using live raptors in education programs.  We were happy to send two birds, an Eastern Screech Owl and a Barred Owl, to them.  The Barred Owl had an injured elbow which prevented his release back into the wild.  The Screech Owl had some mild neurologic problems which prevented his release, but he will still make a great education bird. 

They flew via Delta Dash to their new home.  Delta Dash is a special program through Delta which provides extra care for live animals that are shipped through them.  They arrived safe and sound...but maybe not too happy as evidenced by the photographs!  The photos were taken in their shipping carriers upon their arrival.

Thanks again, Cornell University, for providing a home for these two magnificent owls!

 

 

 

The Eagles need FISH.

Our eagles need fish! Please contact us if you can supply Jefferson with whole fish (fresh/frozen).

Please make sure that all hooks are removed.

Call: 260-241-0134

Email: Info@SoarinHawk.org

My Dad is a Great Horned Owl, Part 2 Settling In

Update

Latest pictures of Apollo and the aggressive baby GHO. They have both settled in real well.    They are eating well. I placed 2 live quail in the pen with them and now they are gone….the quail that is. 

Original Story

During a windstorm it is not uncommon for immature birds to be blown down from the trees in which they have been living. We recommend putting the displaced birds back in their nests. Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, this cannot always be done.  Thanks to the efforts of a concerned citizen and Fort Wayne Animal Care and Control, this guy was picked up and brought to us. There were no injuries found. As you can see he is quite large for a baby Great Horned Owl!

 

Great Horned owls first attempt to leave the nest at about six weeks. At this stage they have not yet learned to fly. They will climb out onto branches near the nest for a couple of weeks, building up the courage to follow their parents on hunting sorties.  This… more

Soarin’ Hawk has lost a longtime volunteer, Larry Cochren

From the beginning of Soarin’ Hawk, there was Larry. There was no task that he was unwilling to tackle. In the early days, he worked in a hot metal garage in Auburn, constructing cages and rehab boxes.  He would only interrupt his construction efforts to rescue or treat a bird.  He always made time to rescue the birds; in fact, I think he may have left work a little early at times to save a raptor in crisis.

After the move from Auburn to Leo, Larry plunged into educating himself about the care and treatment of injured birds of prey. Further growth of the group and its activities dictated the need to join the information highway, so Larry eagerly took on the task of creating and maintaining the first Soarin’ Hawk website.

After retirement from the phone company, Larry spent endless hours repairing our facilities, rescuing birds and training new volunteers.

Larry always wore a hat. His head was never bare except once that I know of.  Larry had gone to rescue an… more

My Dad is a Great Horned Owl

During a windstorm it is not uncommon for immature birds to be blown down from the trees in which they have been living. We recommend putting the displaced birds back in their nests. Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, this cannot always be done.  Thanks to the efforts of a concerned citizen and Fort Wayne Animal Care and Control, this guy was picked up and brought to us. There were no injuries found. As you can see he is quite large for a baby Great Horned Owl!

 

Great Horned owls first attempt to leave the nest at about six weeks. At this stage they have not yet learned to fly. They will climb out onto branches near the nest for a couple of weeks, building up the courage to follow their parents on hunting sorties.  This might have been what happened to this youngster that we picked up. He could have been out on a branch and was blown down by high winds.  Since the parents continue to feed and train them for several more months, generally until early fall, we… more

Jefferson - has all grown up!

Jefferson, our resident education Bald Eagle, has all grown up.  Check out this video about his life with Soarin' Hawk./

Peregrine falcon pair raising two chicks

By Kevin Kilbane, kkilbane@news-sentinel.com

Thursday, April 28, 2016 5:28 AM

The peregrine falcon nest box atop the Indiana Michigan Power Center in downtown Fort Wayne now is a family home.

Parent birds believed to be Moxie and Jamie now are caring for two chicks, said John Castrale, a retired longtime nongame bird biologist with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Fish and Wildlife who continues to assist with the falcon program around the state.

 

http://www.news-sentinel.com/news/local/Peregrine-falcon-pair-raising-t…

Soarin' Hawk aims high Rehab center looks to expand mission with education

Soarin' Hawk aims high

Rehab center looks to expand mission with education

Jim Mount | For The Journal Gazette

It’s a chilly Friday morning in March when four members of Soarin’ Hawk Raptor Rehabilitation Center gather in the parking lot of Snider High School. School was out that day, which is disappointing because a rare show is about to take place.

click here for the rest of the article and video

 

 

 

 

News-Sentinel - Soarin' Hawk raptor rehab looking for new site so it can expand bird care, public education

By Kevin Kilbane, kkilbane@news-sentinel.com
Thursday, February 25, 2016 12:01 AM

The Soarin’ Hawk raptor rehabilitation program hopes a change of roost will help it care for more birds and also become a destination for raptor education and conservation.
Founded in 1996, Soarin’ Hawk currently operates on a board member’s private property in northern Allen County. That location was supposed to be temporary, but the nonprofit group has been there eight years and has outgrown the site.

The all-volunteer organization now hopes ...

For the rest of the story follow please click on the link below:

http://www.news-sentinel.com/news/local/Soarin--Hawk-raptor-rehab-looki…

To donate land or money to help Soarin’ Hawk raptor rehabilitation move to a new,… more

A young girls tears.

02172016-RTHA

This Red Tail Hawk was found by a woman and her young daughter.  The young girl was in tears and told her mom they needed to find help for the bird.  Unfortunately, the humerus was so badly shattered and there was such a severe infection that the bird needed to be euthanized.  

We as adults all need to to regain the compassion for animals that this young girl has. 

Love is in the Air

Love is in the Air

On a cool, sunny February day my drowsy nap was interrupted by a piercing scream from beyond our picture window. I was recuperating from a coworker shared case of the flu and had settled into the recliner in front of the picture window. The warm sunshine and quiet of the house was just what the doctor or actually Ann ordered.

I looked out to find the source of the screams and found two Red-tailed Hawks circling about 200 feet above the wetlands behind our house. The circling and calling continued until one bird suddenly flew at the other, as if to attack, and at the last moment pulled up sharply and flew around to circle again. The hawk repeated this several times while the other bird continued to circle. But on the next “attack”, the circling bird flipped over on its back and extended its talons. The diving bird grasped the talons and both birds hung there swaying back and forth like a pendulum. With their screams continuing, they slowly descended… more

MacMillan family sponsors Jethro in 2016

We are delighted that the MacMillan family has adopted Jethro, an American Kestrel and one of our Education Ambassadors for 2016.

Everyone needs family!

Which of our charismatic birdsp-of-prey are you going to adopt this year? 

 

Soarin'Hawk on NPR

When you hear the word “raptor,” the first thing that comes to mind might be the vicious dinosaurs from movies like Jurassic Park.

Raptors, by definition, are birds of prey. So, that means hawks, falcons, owls and vultures are all raptors. In Fort Wayne, the Soarin’ Hawk Raptor Rescue has been finding and rehabilitating injured raptors in the wild for the past two decades.

Soarin’ Hawk President Dr. Pat Funnell says they rescue up to 130 birds a year, and the rehab process can be lengthy.

“Typically we’ll do x-rays and blood work, see what’s going on and then make a determination where to go from there," said Funnell. "Whether it’s a fractured wing that’ll need surgery on and do pinning, or whether it’s a bird with West Nile; we get a lot of those, and they need intensive care, too.”

Funnell says Soarin’ Hawk has about a 50 percent success rate when it comes to rehabbing and releasing the birds back into the wild. Sometimes, if the bird is too… more

Walton's Red-Shoulders

The faint twittering of foraging Juncos emanates from the ground beneath the tangle of honeysuckle branches.  While above and to the back, White-throated Sparrows call out to “Old Sam Peabody”.  The red and brown shapes of Cardinals blur in the earlier morning light.  It’s daybreak on “Waltons’ Mountain”.

A half hour later, bundled up against the cold, Ann is carrying coffee cans of seed to the seemingly unending assortment of tray, stump and tube feeders.  The blue jays and crows are finally awake and letting their precocious presence known.  Then, from high in the cottonwood, comes a high piercing cry. The wintering resident Red-shouldered Hawks have arrived and are demanding their breakfast. 

Years ago we set up a raptor feeding station, a simple 3 foot square of marine plywood fastened to the top of a 3 foot post. During the cold winter months, we place a variety of small road kill, chicks or mice on the platform to help the birds during any severe sieges of… more

Record Year for Educational Outreach

Soarin' Hawk had a record year for Educational Programs.  This program at St. Paul's Lutheran School in November was one of the 109 programs we presented to schools, libraries, home schools and community groups.  In attendance were 200 students in grades K thru 8.  In addition to to our energetic live Raptors, we bring preserved wings and feet that the students can handle. This allows them to develop an appreciation for the differences in the wings, feathers and feet of various species. 

Please check out our Education Program offerings at   https://www.soarinhawk.org/programs-learn and make your reservation now.