![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
denThe alley behind the Post Office was dark, lit only by yellow light spilling around the edges of a truck backed into an open roller-door. He was waiting for me. I stopped the car and wound down the window as he took a last puff on his cigarette.
"You from WIRES?" he growled as he threw the butt to the ground and crushed it.
"Yes." Cold air spilled into the car. I shivered slightly. "Do you have -- the bird?"
"Yeah."
As I stepped from the car he reached into the cabin of the truck and pulled out a large box. Something moved around inside. I took the box from him and looked inside. "Excellent," I said.
Staring up at me was a young falcon, his feathers the colour of dark malt. I could tell from the light brown fringes on each feather that the bird was still a juvenile. "Where did you find him?"
"Sittin' in the middle of the road at Googooga. I couldn't let him get run over." He looked into the box. "So what is it?"
"I think it's a gosshawk, or prbably a black kite. Or a whistling kite. I'll have to get the experts to check it out." I placed the box on the back seat of the car and headed home. I didn't like the way the bird huddled down in one corner.
Back home and in the warmth I opened the box. The raptor hadn't moved, and seemed more hunched up. H. said the bloke had got it to take food so I thought I'd give it a go. I didn't have the proper feed but I did have some lean steak. I chopped some into 4 x 1" squares and held a piece near the bird. He lept to his feet, made a "tuk-tuk-tuk-tuk!" noise and snatched the meat from my hand. It went down in a couple of gulps. The other three pieces followed suit.
Tomorrow I hand the bird over to H, who is a trained raptor rehabber. She thinks the bird is too old to become imprinted, but not so old that it'll be horribly wild and hard to care for.
Photos to come soon.
(the bit about the alley is true.)
"You from WIRES?" he growled as he threw the butt to the ground and crushed it.
"Yes." Cold air spilled into the car. I shivered slightly. "Do you have -- the bird?"
"Yeah."
As I stepped from the car he reached into the cabin of the truck and pulled out a large box. Something moved around inside. I took the box from him and looked inside. "Excellent," I said.
Staring up at me was a young falcon, his feathers the colour of dark malt. I could tell from the light brown fringes on each feather that the bird was still a juvenile. "Where did you find him?"
"Sittin' in the middle of the road at Googooga. I couldn't let him get run over." He looked into the box. "So what is it?"
"I think it's a gosshawk, or prbably a black kite. Or a whistling kite. I'll have to get the experts to check it out." I placed the box on the back seat of the car and headed home. I didn't like the way the bird huddled down in one corner.
Back home and in the warmth I opened the box. The raptor hadn't moved, and seemed more hunched up. H. said the bloke had got it to take food so I thought I'd give it a go. I didn't have the proper feed but I did have some lean steak. I chopped some into 4 x 1" squares and held a piece near the bird. He lept to his feet, made a "tuk-tuk-tuk-tuk!" noise and snatched the meat from my hand. It went down in a couple of gulps. The other three pieces followed suit.
Tomorrow I hand the bird over to H, who is a trained raptor rehabber. She thinks the bird is too old to become imprinted, but not so old that it'll be horribly wild and hard to care for.
Photos to come soon.
(the bit about the alley is true.)
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 19 Jul 2004 04:58 (UTC)Another friend who does raptor rehab says that the juveniles are some of their best success stories for just that reason. They're easy to give medical care to but they won't imprint.
no subject
Date: 19 Jul 2004 05:17 (UTC)Go Raptor, Terror of the Skies!
Sounds like it was very hungry and suffering from exposure. Otherwise it probably would have done some ripping, or shown some interest in getting out of the box.
no subject
Date: 20 Jul 2004 06:13 (UTC)no subject
Date: 19 Jul 2004 06:47 (UTC)very dramatic
hope the bird is ok
no subject
Date: 19 Jul 2004 12:31 (UTC)no subject
Date: 19 Jul 2004 12:58 (UTC)no subject
Date: 19 Jul 2004 13:05 (UTC)no subject
Date: 19 Jul 2004 13:09 (UTC)no subject
Date: 19 Jul 2004 13:10 (UTC)no subject
Date: 19 Jul 2004 13:24 (UTC)no subject
Date: 20 Jul 2004 19:15 (UTC)no subject
Date: 20 Jul 2004 20:32 (UTC)no subject
Date: 20 Jul 2004 13:05 (UTC)no subject
Date: 20 Jul 2004 13:25 (UTC)no subject
Date: 20 Jul 2004 16:37 (UTC)no subject
Date: 19 Jul 2004 16:25 (UTC)They're found EVERYWHERE, all pretty much the same species but with local subspecies.
no subject
Date: 19 Jul 2004 16:32 (UTC)no subject
Date: 20 Jul 2004 19:32 (UTC)no subject
Date: 20 Jul 2004 20:35 (UTC)no subject
Date: 19 Jul 2004 16:32 (UTC)http://www.livejournal.com/users/dewhitton/141048.html
http://www.livejournal.com/users/dewhitton/164251.html
no subject
Date: 19 Jul 2004 12:51 (UTC)no subject
Date: 19 Jul 2004 13:01 (UTC)A gosshawk is actually a falcon?
Date: 19 Jul 2004 18:17 (UTC)[1] Did the Coastwalk, Bundeena to Otford. Apart from the falcon, there were also a herd of deer (yes, I know they're feral, but they still look cool) and a bunch of humpback whales.
Re: A gosshawk is actually a falcon?
Date: 19 Jul 2004 20:04 (UTC)Re: A gosshawk is actually a falcon?
Date: 19 Jul 2004 22:06 (UTC)Re: A gosshawk is actually a falcon?
Date: 19 Jul 2004 22:37 (UTC)Re: A gosshawk is actually a falcon?
Date: 20 Jul 2004 13:32 (UTC)Re: A gosshawk is actually a falcon?
Date: 20 Jul 2004 13:28 (UTC)no subject
Date: 20 Jul 2004 05:37 (UTC)no subject
Date: 20 Jul 2004 20:51 (UTC)