Rescuing King James or Handling Hamilton Hawk

Hawks aren’t a particularly rare sight around here. Thankfully. (Not as rare as Bald Eagles or Falcons anyway.)

Saw a Red Tailed Hawk a few weeks back atop a lamp post by the Linc. Snapped a shot as I approached, but it flew off before I could get any closer.

Well yesterday I had the chance to see one very up close.

I was walking along King Street and as I approached James I saw a knot of people, and it was obvious there was some sort of commotion. As I got closer I could see over everyone’s head and there on the sidewalk sat a hawk.

A bus was stopped and the driver was talking to what I could gather, Animal Control.

A man walked up behind the hawk and very gently encircled its sides with his hands and picked it up.

The mans name was Mike, and on the right you can see the bus driver on the phone with Animal Control.

It was absolutely frigid out yesterday. If he had them, Mike had neglected to put any gloves on before picking the hawk up. Animal Control was on the way, but when? 

Wow is it ever beautiful. You can see some blood by its beak. I’m told that it’s the cere, which is delicate skin around the beak similar the cuticle around our finger nail and not a big deal. 

“Why is this creature holding me? Want to fly. Want to kill. Let me go.”

Check out those talons! Mike certainly showed some guts picking it up. I can’t say I’ve given much thought to how much of a range of motion a hawk has with its talons. I’d hate to think how much pain and destruction it could cause if it was able to get them into his hands.

Wow. Two guys came down out of the office tower seen behind him and said that they had seen it collide with another bird. Up till this point no one was really sure what had happened. Had it hit a vehicle, did it hit glass? No one was really sure if it even had a broken wing, if it had just been stunned by a collision.

Hawks are so inscrutable it’s tough to say what this bird was feeling. Are hawks even capable of fear? Fly at top speed, kill, eat, reproduce, and look awesome while doing all those things. I’m not sure fear enters into any of that.

Mike had been holding the hawk for over half an hour and his hands were freezing. He had been standing in a bus shelter, but it only provided so much protection. I suppose in the excitement of the moment he hadn’t thought to put gloves on, and once he had the bird in his hands it was too late. In addition to that it was starting to squirm one of its wings loose. I had offered to stay with him until Animal Control arrived. I figured standing there with your hands taken up with holding a bird can be a bit awkward. I asked if I could help.

“Yes. Could you go into Grand & Toy and ask if they have a box.”

I happen to know the folks there really well, so that was no problem. I showed them a picture on my camera and they were happy to help out.

It stayed very calm in the box. We were afraid that it might flutter around, but he stayed quite still. Mike could finally warm his hands up a bit, although the wait for Animal Control proved to last for quite a while yet. I gave Mike my card. “Email me and I will send you the photos I took. I figure it’s not every day that someone takes photos of you holding a hawk.”

At long last Animal Control showed up. 

It was a bit shocking how he picked up the bird. It seemed a bit indelicate, but I guess they know what they’re doing. I hope?

And off he went.

I chatted with Mike for a bit and parted ways.

I plan on trying to follow up and see what happened. Maybe I’m a bit of a sentimental dreamer, but I sure hope that the hawk can be mended and continue to fly. They’re not that rare, not like the peregrine falcons that actually happen to nest and hunt from the office towers we were standing in front of. Despite that, I really hope this beauty can be rehabilitated and continue to soar the skies.

I figured this hawk needed a name. Since he was found at King and James, and looked so damn regal, I figure King James is an appropriate name.

I went to the library straight away to determine what it was. Best I could figure out is that it is a Red Tailed Hawk. There are other hawks that look somewhat similar, but their ranges don’t really correspond. I never did manage to see its tail in any detail, but the other clues I had seem to indicate that that is what it is.