Houdini

Then there was Houdini. A handsome young red-tailed hawk, I picked him up (meeting the guy in Marysville) on my way home from the Bay Area one Sunday in July 2009. He was fresh out of the nest, almost fully feathered, but not quite well enough for him to fly. He had been found on the ground in a field by a rancher who knew that he wouldn’t make it through the night if he was left on the ground, as there are a lot of coyotes and other predators that roam his ranch after the sun goes down.

He was perfect in every other way, so we fed him and waited for his flight feathers to fully grow in.

One day, I was notified that the bird accidentally escaped. Unfortunately, he still had his tail-guard on (we put plastic “guards” on their tails to keep the feathers from getting torn or broken when they’re in a cage), and we were all very concerned that this might hamper his ability to fly.

The following day, one of the volunteers was feeding the other rehab birds in the outside cages, and put down a couple of trays with food (dead rats) in them, while she was putting another tray inside one of the cages. She noticed a movement out of the corner of her eye and turned just in time to see a red-tailed hawk fly down out of a tree and snatch a rat from one of the trays – it was the red-tailed hawk that had escaped! We normally do not name our rehab birds, but after his escape, he was aptly dubbed “Houdini.” He recognized the trays we use for feeding the birds and seemed to be sticking around, so we began putting plans together to try to capture him.

One of our plans was to set a trap for him, by tying a dead rat down into a tray so that when he tried to fly off with it, the tray would hamper his progress and we would be able to throw a net over him. Nothing worked. Houdini was definitely living up to his name. It was very frustrating, since we could see him in the trees around the clinic, practically thumbing his nose (if he had a thumb and a nose) at us. We felt it a good sign, however, that he was staying around.

Within a couple of days, when someone else was out feeding the outside birds, he came down and grabbed a rat that was too large for him to carry off, so he struggled across the ground with it in one foot, refusing to let go, and was caught just before he made it through to the other side of the fence.

Finally back in custody, we put him in the flight cage to strengthen his wing muscles, and when we were sure he was flying well, and hunting live prey successfully, it was time for me to release him! We are supposed to release the birds within 3 miles of where they were found, unless it would be to their detriment (for instance, if they had been shot or poisoned).

So, one bright, sunny Saturday, a small group of us drove about an hour to the little town of Sutter, back to the ranch he was found on. The family whose ranch it was, all wanted to be there for the release, so in 3 vehicles, we made our way down the dirt roads to the very field he was found in. After letting the kids see him up close, I turned to the field, told him to catch lots of mice, let him look around and get his bearings, and threw him into the air. He flew straight out over the field without looking back, landing on a fence post separating the two fields. He sat there for a few minutes, then launched into the air again. My good friend, Sylvia, videotaped the release. Click here to watch it: Houdini Release

As we began to get in our cars and leave, I looked back to see him soaring over the field, higher and higher, doing what he was made to do – flying free! None of us will ever forget Houdini and his story, and we all wish him a long and healthy life.