A few weeks ago, my daughter, Katie, rescued a young, male American Kestrel from the deadly claws of a cat. (Original post here:
Injured American Kestrel) She thought it might have a broken wing - and it was obviously quite traumatized and unable to fly. She asked for my help in getting it to a place that would be able to care for it and
Hawk Creek came to mind immediately.
The good folks there did a wonderful job treating the little guy and, a short while later, when another young kestrel was brought to their clinic, the two were treated together and they began to flourish from the company of one another.
Today was the scheduled release of the two kestrels and Tanya, from
Hawk Creek, kindly included me in the event. As a matter of fact, I was allowed to do the actual release of our little fellow.
The young males were obviously scared at being handled but did well when given a little "lift" to the open skies. Once airborne, they each sought a nearby tree, with varying degrees of success. Apparently, they weren't used to the way leaves and branches behave when landed upon! I'm sure they'll get the hang of it quickly, though.
What a wonderful event and highlight to my life!