A rainy day at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary means no counting at the lookouts as well as the cancellation of educational programs. I was looking forward to counting from South Lookout today since the broad-winged hawk migration is starting to pick up. I was also eager to inform the public on raptor ID, Hawk Mountain history, and techniques for studying raptors.
However, I got the unexpected opportunity to shadow the raptor care specialist, Riley Davenport, while she prepared the eastern screech owl for the raptors up-close program and fed the great horned owl. These birds are in the care of Hawk Mountain staff because they are unable to survive in the wild. This screech owl has an injured left wing that prevents her from flying more than a short distance. It was awesome to see how Riley prepares their food and keeps a detailed record of their weight, food consumption, and behavior.
Below is a video of Dali the education trainee holding the screech owl for the first time. Dali is from Mexico and works at the River of Raptors hawk watchsite in Veracruz, Mexico. He would like to care for captive raptors in the future, so I was happy to have caught this moment on film. I want to volunteer at the River of Raptors or at least visit at some point in the near future. Hawk Mountain helped establish this watchsite where millions of hawks migrate past each autumn. Dali informed us that over 30,000 Mississippi Kites were counted just yesterday! Here's to a rainy day full of wonder.
