We realize that most of our readers are probably wondering about the fate of the Swainson's hawk. We didn't allow it to self-release this time around, rather we ended up stressing it out so much that it quit eating. Before Dallin's birth, we took it to some fields a couple of times for flight practice. We attached jesses to the legs and a longer string to the jesses so that it couldn't get away from us. The following is a short clip showing part of a practice session:
After the two flight practices, the hawk stopped eating well for us for a few days. We called the vet to tell her, and she asked us to bring it in for a medical evaluation. Everything checked out o.k. (we were relieved we hadn't accidentally injured it), and once it resumed eating they left the mew door open and allowed it to leave when it was ready. It stayed around for a couple of days and then flew off. So once again we didn't have the gratifying experience of watching a hawk release into the wild. Maybe next year? For now, the hawks are migrating south for the winter.
Meanwhile...our mouse breeding population needs to recover to meet the demands of all our customers.
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