Cooper's Hawk Chick Rescue!

I had no idea of the adventure that awaited me today when I arrived at the park. I'd arrived quite early in the morning just before 8am to beat the heat as much as possible. In only the first few minutes I'd seen or photographed Yellow Warblers, Common Yellowthroats, Baltimore Orioles, Cardinals and lots of Goldfinches. But my mood was soon struck down when I noticed something white and fuzzy laying right on the paved trail. It was a young Hawk Chick and was unfortunately dead though it seemed to not have happened all that long ago. I wondered how it came to be laying on the trail and then I realized to look upwards. Straight up above me was a large nest in tatters with an adult Cooper's Hawk perched nearby. I thought what a bummer that this chick had apparently fallen right out of the nest and likely hit the pavement below. I started taking some photos of the adult Hawk who flew off moments later. As I looked at the nest -or what was left of it, I noticed one more fuzzy white body moving around in there somewhere. At least one was left but man, that nest was precarious as could be. I went to take another look at the dead chick on the trail and felt how sharp it's talons were -nearly like the tip of a needle. As I was looking I just barely noticed another white clump of downy feathers only a few feet away and further into the weeds. Oh no I thought -another one had fallen out! Then I noticed it breathing. I quickly used my phone to dial another member of Friends of Palmer Lake Park who happens to have quite a bit of experience with bird rehabilitation. While I waited for him to arrive with gloves and towels, I called the Raptor Center of Minnesota and was surprised to have a real person answer the phone! We exchanged information and called back after a while once we had the chick safely in the box with towels. Over the phone they helped us assess the situation, the bird's condition and even the condition of the nest it apparently fell from. For a number of reasons, the Raptor Center decided the best course of action was to track down a tree climber who could come out to the park, restore the nest and then return the chicks to it. With my inexperience in this area, that really seemed like a long shot to me. The nest was a good 60 if not 70 feet up in a Boxelder Tree that wasn't all that big around. On top of that it was Sunday morning and the likelihood of finding a climber within a short time seemed slim. Nevertheless, I went along with the plan to take the chick home to my house and wait until being contacted by a climber. It was a bit nerve-wracking, driving it all the way home trying not to jar it around too much in my truck that rides like a brick on wheels. Our resident bird rehab specialist who'd come out to help explained that sometimes it takes 4-5 hours or even a whole day to track down a climber who is available and in the area. So I had no idea how long I was going to have this bird in a box but worried that the longer we waited the less chance it had. Then in a stroke of luck less than an hour later, I received a call from a tree climber named Jim who was not only close but available to tackle the project in just one more hour. I gave him directions to the nearest place to park and headed back over the park with the boxed up chick to meet him. I pointed out the nest and to my amazement he said it was do-able and started gearing up to climb the tree! At this point I was pretty excited that I was gonna get to see this done first hand -not to mention even help out however I could. He leaned a tall extendable ladder up against the base of the tree, got out a whole lot of rope and started making his way up. I went for my camera to take some pictures and was heartbroken when I didn't hear the familiar click. I looked and sure enough, I'd forgotten my camera card at home when I earlier emailed in some photos of the chick to the Raptor Center. Dang!!! I realized I would just have to watch. On his belt, Jim carried up a 2'x2' piece of bendable wire fencing that would be used to provide a completely new base for the nest. With great care and calming words to the one chick still left up there, he scooped it up and put it into his bag which he then lowered down as he proceeded to rebuild the nest. After creating a sturdy and snug base in between the crook of 3 branches, he broke off other twigs from the tree to quickly reinforce it. At the bottom he asked me to collect anything I could find that was soft -like grasses and weeds. I shoved those into the bag and then got the opportunity to transfer the other chick from the box into the bag. Luckily I'd brought along my own heavy gloves just in case. Within mere minutes Jim had quite a new nest lined with the softer material and then transferred both chicks back into it. The whole process took maybe 25 to 30 minutes tops and I could hardly believe it went so smooth. The nest looked better than ever and hopefully will contain the little guys for just another week or so. Jim estimated that they might be flying within one to two weeks so they just have to make it a little longer. What an all around great experience it was to have worked with the Raptor Center and Jim who was able to perform such and amazing feat with speed and finesse. My feet would have never made it past the top rung of the ladder! Make sure to check out their website at www.raptor.cvm.umn.edu After the chicks were safely back in the nest I didn't hang around so as not to draw any more attention to it. We could hear the mother calling from nearby trees but when I left the park she'd not returned yet to the nest. Jim was extremely knowledgeable about raptors and explained that he could have been up there for 2 hours and a Cooper's Hawk will still return afterwards. A few hours later after telling my wife of the whole story, we returned to the park and saw that the mother had indeed returned and even looked to be feeding the chicks as we walked up within viewing distance. This last photo is of the new nest and mom's tail feathers sticking out. A happy ending I think -as long as the chicks don't get to rambunctious and take another dive. A HUGE THANK YOU TO JIM AND THE RAPTOR CENTER OF MN -YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING!!!