My soul soars.

When there’s a little joy to be had, grab it. When it includes doing something good for another living thing, hold on gently.

Figuratively speaking, that’s what I did a few days ago when the dogs and I came across a wounded hawk on our daily walk.

Pool little guy. I saw him hop across the sidewalk ahead of us a few houses down. When we came up close he hopped further into the grass and his wings came out a little. I didn’t know he was injured yet, so I thought he was going to fly away. But he didn’t. Instead he stopped, stock still, as we came close. He was white with brown splotches all over his body, and his beak curved in a sharp hook shape at the end. My first thought was that he was that maybe he was an adolescent Peregrine Falcon.

The dogs pulled at their leashes with all their might, trying to get at the hawk, but I kept us moving along. I kept looking back, but the hawk didn’t move.

I thought about the masthead on my Facebook account:

Callapalooza

As we continued down the block I took out my phone and started making calls.

Although we were in Moorhead, Minn., my first thought was the North Dakota State University Extension Service across the river in Fargo, N.D. Nope, they don’t rescue animals of any kind.

Next I called the closest Audubon Society. No again. Try local dispatch.

Dispatch – Nosir.

Then the state fish and wildlife agency. Uh-uh.

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service? Sorry….

By that time I’d been looking up numbers and calling agencies and organizations for just about the rest of the walk. Somewhere along the line someone had mentioned the University of Minnesota Raptor Center in St. Paul so I decided to call them when I got home.

The answering service at the Center informed me that no one was there to take my call, but if I’d leave a message someone would return my call first thing the next morning. Next morning? Odds of my wee hawk staying alive that long were not good.

Left a message, anyway.

About 45 minutes later I received a message from Cindy, a volunteer with the Center who asked for details on where I’d seen the hawk. An hour after that I received a text message from Cindy that included a picture of her and the young hawk. “I found him,” she said simply.

She said he was a Merlin Hawk, a.k.a., Chocolate Falcon, and since there were no parents around he had probably been abandoned. She also let me know he’d be transported from Fargo-Moorhead to the Center the next day, along with another Merlin “…and hopefully a juvenile eagle that I’m trying for today.”

My heart leapt. Awesome!

(I’m a firm believer in celebrating life’s small victories.)

U of M Raptor Center

Before that day I had no idea the U of M Raptor Center even existed. I dove in further.

First I called and spoke to a volunteer to ask what would happen to Merlin next.

“Ideally if the bird can be rehabilitated, our clinic staff will do surgery if they need to, and then it gets rehabilitated,” she explained. “Then they need to regain strength, so we have a crew that flies birds and exercises them. That can take, depending on the injury or what the surgery was, a few weeks to a few months. Once the raptor passes all exercise tests, then we try to release it as near to the area where the bird was found as possible as long as it’s a safe space.”

How cool is that?

After speaking with her, I went deeper into the Center’s website.

It’s part of the College of Veterinary Medicine and has been around since 1974 on the U of M’s St. Paul campus. In addition to catching injured raptors, rehabilitating them and releasing them back into the wild, the Center’s scientists, professionals and students conduct research, offer public and professional training, summer programs, special events, internships and residencies for veterinarians learning raptor medicine and surgery techniques. It even puts out a magazine dedicated to raptors.

As its website states, “…the magic of raptors makes it possible for The Raptor Center’s educational programs to inspire thousands of people annually, while our clinic treats nearly 1,000 raptors each year and trains future avian experts.”

The U of M Raptor Center is funded through donations. Please click here to donate.

Raptor Heroes

Turns out Cindy is one of dozens of volunteers who go out and find injured birds that citizens report to the Center, and one of three in my local area. Talk about a local heroes!

“I have been working as a dog rescue volunteer for three years now and have been volunteering with the Raptor Center for maybe a year,” Cindy said. “Nothing makes me happier than knowing I can help an animal out.”

I have a sense of what she’s talking about. To know I played a tiny part in Merlin’s life… well, nothing could’ve made me happier that day. In fact, several days later I’m still riding the good vibes!

These kinds of things are good for the soul.

Upon request, the Center will communicate with people who report injured raptors and let them know how things turned out. I look forward to hearing about magic Merlin’s progress soon.

All living things are our brothers and sisters.

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• Source: https://ivwords.com/2024/07/14/merlin-hawk/