I Would Like You To Meet Micky

     Since I no longer have a life. I have to rely on the little things to excite me. One of those little things happened on Friday evening. I was letting Morty out to do his business, when I saw a large object make a sudden movement from the small trees at the border of my fence. It quickly went in a downward motion straight to the ground, where Morty tore after it. I immediately saw what it was and hollered for Morty to stop. He did, but as is the nature of a dog, he couldn't help himself and kept trying to stick his nose into an ill advised area.

     It was a juvenile Red Shouldered Hawk, and don't let the term juvenile fool you. It was still a good foot to foot and a half tall with a wingspan of two and a half feet. It was laying on it's back and directing it's talon's in the direction of Morty's face. I quickly ran over before anything could happen and grabbed Morty's collar, and lead him away and back into the house.

     After I got Morty inside I went back out to check on the young raptor and see if I could tell what was wrong with it. It stayed on it's back for a good ten minutes or so, while I started making calls to all kinds of rescue services, to get someone out to the house to help this bird out. I finally had two different services on their way, but neither of them could give me an estimated time, so I watched over the hawk, checking in to see if it was still alive and kicking.

     It didn't look injured as far as I could see, so that left the potential for illness or dying on the table. After a little while I finally went in the house and put Morty on his leash so that I could actually let him do his business which was the original plan. As we came out of the house, the raptor had risen. It looked our way and then tried to fly off. It didn't get very far. I took care of Morty, got him back in the house, and then searched for Micky. Oh, did I not tell you that I named the bird Micky? Micky was resting under some bushes in the back corner of the yard. He wasn't folding his right wing in, so injury was back in the mix, and thankfully. Injury can be overcome, illness could have lead to death. I didn't want this beautiful bird to die. not at an early age. I wanted him to grow and dominate the skies like his parents once did.

      I stayed out in the yard listening for any movement, and when I heard it, I went and checked in on Micky. He had managed to hop up onto the fence.

     You can see that wing sticking out. He moved around a little more and went on the other side of the fence which would make it rather difficult to get to, but I was willing to hop the fence and help out in any way I could.

     Wildlife services showed up first, so they got the honor of being the actual saviors for this mighty raptor. The woman was a firm "no" on hopping any fence, so I told her I would do it if necessary. We went into the backyard and began a new search for Micky, since he had moved from the spot on the other side of the fence. I began searching for him, and was making my way through some bushes when I decided to look up to see where I was, and lo and behold, Micky was right there within claws reach of me. I quickly but calmly backed out and apologized for my intrusion into his space. The officer was laughing.

     After locating Micky again, the officer went to retrieve her net. After that it was rather simple. She guided the net back to Micky, rested the edge of it under his belly, and he simply hopped onto the net. She then gently pulled the net out of the bushes and guided Micky into the net. Then it was just a matter of getting him in the truck and getting him to let go of the net. He told me to call the other service, which I had planned on doing anyway, and then told me that she was taking Micky to Florida Wildlife Hospital. The take care of large birds of prey, and would take good care of Micky.

    I called Wild Florida Rescue who had been inundated with calls all day about birds, and told the woman I had spoken to that Micky was ok and on his way to the hospital. She was very thankful because she was in the middle of another rescue herself, and was wondering just how she was going to get to my house before sunset. I thanked both of them for what they do, in helping these animals, and they thanked me in return fro caring enough to sit with Micky and making sure he got the help he needed. It was a love fest all around.

     It was a pretty amazing experience to be that close to one of the great raptors in this area. A bird that could tear your face of if you got to close to it, but in the end, I think Micky realized that we were trying to help him, and he gave in and let it happen. I have always seen Red Shouldered Hawks in this area, but have never been that close to one. I hope you never have the chance, only because it means you have a hurt or sick bird on your hands, but if you do, take it for the remarkable moment that it truly is. Peace in and goodnight.