In Which I Try To Help Save a Life

It was morning, and I was driving along route 550 on my way to work, when I swerved to avoid a small figure in the road. I looked back in my rear-view mirror and realized it was a bird, looking very bedraggled. Then I saw it move, and with a sigh, I turned the car around and went back to see what could be done. A few weeks ago, my husband and I rescued a small robin from the road, and I thought that perhaps that was what would be needed in this situation.

I stopped the car not far from the bird and put the flashers on, grabbed my camera, and approached the bird. And as soon as I did, I saw the lovely orange and brown patterns on its feathers and realized it was not a robin, but a small raptor of some kind. I put the camera back in the car and walked slowly toward the bird, intending simply to pick it up and move it off the road to safety, when I saw the bird take one small step, wobble, and fall over. It didn't look good.

So I grabbed a soft cloth from the back seat of the car, gently picked up the bird, wrapped the bird in the cloth, and placed it in the front passenger seat of my car next to my camera bag. Two things surprised me: one, that it didn't struggle at all, and two, that the creature was surprisingly lightweight. Such a small life form beside me, a quiet beating heart.

From there, I returned home, where I called Centre Wildlife Care, a local wildlife rehabilitation facility with a wonderful reputation. Much to my relief, the phone was answered on the very first ring! I explained to the woman who runs the place, Robyn, that I had found a small raptor that appeared to have been hit by a car, and could I bring it by? She said yes, and explained where they were located: just a short drive of maybe 10 minutes from my home. I prayed that the little bird would live until I could get it some help.

I checked on the bird and found it was still breathing, and took off for the rescue facility (a drive I made in record time), where I was met by Robyn herself. She told me that the bird was a kestrel, our smallest hawk, and asked me to fill out a form describing where I found it. Then she took the bird to another room.

By the time I finished filling out the form, she was back, and she told me that the bird was an adult female kestrel, and the prognosis did not look good. The bird was cold and wet and so the first thing she had done was to place it in an incubator to warm up. I thanked her for her help and got in my car to go to work. I admit I cried the whole way, thinking of the lovely little lady hawk and worrying that she wouldn't make it in spite of our efforts.

It was a phone call I dreaded making later in the day, but I had to find out how the little bird was doing. So I called and got Robyn again, on the first ring. She said the bird was "holding her own." The bird had received head injuries, most likely from being hit by a vehicle, and was receiving pain medication and intravenous feeding, as she could not eat on her own. Robyn was still not optimistic about the bird's prognosis, but promised to do all she could for it, that we wouldn't give up on her, and I felt confident she would do everything she could.

I do not know how this little one's story will end, but as far as I know, as of the posting of this Blip, she is still alive. If you see this picture, would you please offer up a prayer or warm thoughts for this little lady hawk? I do not know about the appropriateness of giving names to wild creatures, as it seems somehow like trying to tame them, and I do not think this little lady can be tamed. But I have come to think of her as Isabeau, the name of the character played by Michelle Pfeiffer in the film Ladyhawke, a woman by night but a hawk by day.

It is my tradition to pick a song to accompany each photo I post here, and I have selected this one for you, my little lady hawk. The song is Peter Gabriel's Don't Give Up.