She came to me with a wing broken in two places, the primary flight feathers broken and her tiercels (tail feathers) shattered from being grounded for many days. She was very weak from starvation and dehydration when I first put my hands on her. After clearing her crop of the pebbles and dried grass that she had consumed in her desperate attempts to catch insects, I kept her on an oral gavage- tube solution for 48 hours before she was even strong enough to go to see the veterinarian. He didn't hold out much hope for her wing because the breaks were compounded (open), dirty, and several days old.
Never underestimate the desire to survive that resides in the heart of a young wilding. Four months later, after a lot of Reiki and "hard conditioning" for her healed wing, every feather a picture of perfection, she was prayerfully released back to to the skies where every wild bird should live out their destiny. I have no doubt in my mind that this mighty hawk lives on today, having earned the red tail of adulthood, passing her superlative genes on to generations of her own children who will be survivors like their mother.
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