Rehabilitation

On May 3rd, 2017, Soarin' Hawk lost our beloved Peregrine Falcon, Nancy.  She died peacefully in her pen.

Nancy came to Soarin' Hawk Dec. 1st, 2012, from another rehabber, and was added to our permit in 2014.  She was non-releasable due to a broken wing that could not be repaired.

Nancy was a very nervous bird when she first came to us.  She would shake and run from anyone who entered her pen.  She became less nervous over the years, by animal caretakers being very patient with her when they entered her pen, and by slowly training her to step up on a glove for food. She had to maintain her control over us, however, by always having her own routine.  She would not let anyone perch her or feed her unless she was on just the right place on her perch. She would run back and forth on her perch, and then stop at the end of her perch where she was willing to step up on the glove and accept food.  Everyone knew her routine eventually, and she became more comfortable with people entering her pen.  She would take food from almost anyone, but she gained trust with two handlers by allowing them to remain in her pen while she ate.  By the end of her life, she was allowing her two handlers to pet her chest and touch her feet.  She even allowed one of her handlers to get her to lift her feet, so the bottoms of her feet could be checked.

After about a year of training, Nancy did very well on the glove at presentations, and she was an audience favorite.  The information that audiences loved about Nancy was the fact that she successfully fledged fifteen chicks! She was still laying eggs the day before she died.  The audience would also gasp when we told them that we band all baby Peregrine Falcons, and one of Nancy's off springs was found in Costa Rica! They were also fascinated by how Peregrine Falcon's kill their prey (it's different than other raptors), and they loved to hear how fast they fly in a dive (over two hundred miles an hour)!

Nancy had become so comfortable in her pen and at presentations that we were planning on introducing more handlers for her.  I regret that more people weren't able to form a bond with her. She was a special bird, and she will be sorely missed by everyone in Soarin' Hawk.

Pam Whitacre