Rescuing a Sparrowhawk

Today is Feathered Friday and what better than a story about the hawk we rescued.

Let me start from the beginning. On Monday I was sitting in the office overloaded with tasks when I got a message with a photo from one of the warehouse workers. The photo was blured, but he said it was a hawk. I dropped everything and rushed in the warehouse. Bugger, I thought, I got no camera. Anyways, I looked everywhere, didn't see anything.

On the next day, first thing to do was to enter the warehouse and to look for the bird. Of course I did not forget my camera. And I saw it. High above the racks there are lamps, pipes, metal bars and there the bird was. Just perching. From time to time flying close to the ceiling. That was definitely a hawk, a sparrowhawk.

How the bird entered inside I don't know. The doors of the ramps stay wide open even when there are no vehicles. This is where the hawk might have entered and where can leave. The trouble was the hawk could not see them from where it was. Flying in circles, but still above the racks.

I hoped it can find its way out soon and went in the office.

I was checking the bird during the day, still there. One of the workers made an improvised net and jumped into a busket that was attached on the forks of the reach truck. He was lifted high and managed to catch the hawk.

Quickly he crossed the office to go out and release it.

The hawk was fast, so fast I could not make a click when the bird was free. For a second it was in the sky, back where it belongs.

Now looking closely at the photos, I reckon it was a female bird, smaller than I thought in the beginning, But it was first time seeing a hawk so close.

And that was the rescue mission. I was glad we managed to let the sparrowhawk fly away. A happy ending.

Wishing you great weekend and happy birding!

Thank you for viewing my post.