Our Kamikaze Hawk

At lunchtime today me & my dad went to get Jack from pre-school and when we got back we walked into the front room to find everyone looking out of the big window down at the ground, and I noticed a feather-laden smear, in a circle, followed by a little bit of bird poo. Obviously a bird had slammed into the window AGAIN. Just a few days ago I saw the same markings on another window (same side of the house). The people in the house said it was a huge bang when it happened so I ventured outside to see if the bird was still there.

He was laid on his back, under a couple of Autumn leaves, his wing sticking up in the air. He was a magnificent red-tailed hawk and I saw his speckled chest heaving up and down. Relief! Not dead then. I hunkered down to look under the leaf covering his face to see if his head was okay and looked straight into his bright yellow eyes which made it perfectly clear - "come one more inch and I will put my talons in your eyeballs!" Ahhh, back inside I go then.

We all lined up against the window again, noses pressed against the glass, egging him on to be okay. He took about 30 minutes to shake his head, roll over, then stand up. By this time I had to leave as I had a flight to Tampa but went outside again to see how he was doing, just as Craig pulled up to take me to the airport.

We both agreed the little fella had a broken left wing, hanging wide by his side, while the right one seemed so tight and tucked in. So before I left I called my vet, then Ohio Wildlife, located about 10 miles away. They said bring him in - they obviously can't drive out for every wild animal. But still - bring him in? I was flying in 1 hour and Craig had to go back to work. So I ran to both neighbours, usually so helpful and at home. Guess what? They were both out.

Craig took me to the airport and I contacted friends that I knew loved animals. We texted back and forth and discussed a little bit about the idea of throwing a towel over a big hawk, wrestling it into a box and driving 10 miles with it in your car. Not for the faint-hearted by all means. Imagine it getting out while you're driving!

Still, thankfully my friend Debbie took on the daunting task and went to my house. At this point I got on the plane and had no reception for 2 hours. When I landed in Florida she texted that she got to my house and then got a towel and approached with care. He looked at her. She looked at him and advanced . Then he spread his wings and flew! 3.5 hours after the impact he was okay & hopefully no broken wing. Debbie looked up at Jack at the window and gave him the thumbs-up and he reciprocated. All is well.

So now I have to ask - why twice in a week? Is he fighting himself in the glass, is he not seeing the glass, or is he after Tutz (my cat)? Whatever the reason, let's hope he doesn't do it again.