*Updated - The most famous Red-tailed Hawk is eating fish on the ground just like a Bald Eagle!

Update - There are plans in the works to make a documentary film on this young Red-tailed Hawk who thinks he's an Eagle. You can read the latest news about that on CBC HERE.

Watch this incredible footage of the little Red-tailed Hawk who grew up in a family of three Eaglets and 2 Bald Eagle Parents. He is imprinted now on Bald Eagles. He looks and acts just like one, as you can see here in the video below. He is standing over a large salmon carcass, just like a Bald Eagle would and he's eating the decaying flesh. Red-tailed Hawks like to eat voles and rabbits etc. not fish! Imprinting is usually irreversible according to raptor expert David Bird. However, I hope it's reversible so that he doesn't attempt to mate with a Bald Eagle, as the Eagle would kill him because it would view him as a Hawk.


Eagle expert David Hancock said that the bird will likely starve and get killed by an eagle. He said this possibly can be prevented if someone grabs it and takes it to OWL.
At the rehab facility he could then be retrained to hunt prey that Red-tailed Hawks would normally eat. He would also only associate with Red-tailed Hawks there, until he can
be released back into the wild. This is a very controversial idea and would actually only be legally done if the Hawk was sick or injured. It would be wrong otherwise to capture him.

Let's give him a chance and hope he figures things out quickly. I mean he's already got fish and eating it and looks healthy and so does his feathers. He can keep eating all the fish he wants, as far as I'm concerned. However, he just needs to get with his species because Bald Eagles who aren't in his family won't recognize him and could really maim him. This would especially be true if he showed no fear and perches beside them or walked right up to them and even worse if he tries to mate with them. Time will tell how it all unfolds. I respect David Hancock and David Bird's opinions but I sure hope he doesn't die as they predicted in their latest interview that I posted a few days ago. The interview is well worth a watch because many answers are given to questions we all have. Like "How could a Eagle carry a Red-tailed Hawk to a nest and not kill it with its talons?" The mystery of how the 2 Hawks got into the nest may be solved; if you agree with the experts.

See the full interview below:



People have locally named him "Stephen Hawkins" and others call him "Spunky". There is a group of people who believe it's actually a female due to the larger size and aggression and assertiveness. However David Hancock and David Bird say it's a male and explain why in the video above.

I do agree with David Bird and David Hancock that the bird should be banded so that people can follow this bird's full life cycle. However, the public outcry may shut that down. I really want to know what his outcome will be.

This story is truly fascinating, as it continues to unfold.

Comments

  1. AnonymousAugust 20, 2022 at 3:51 PM

    I just saw one try to catch a fish twice but it couldn't hold onto it.

    ReplyDelete

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