Taking wing

Cathy Nowak holds the hawk that was set free Friday. - Submitted photo

The bird, one of many of the breed that take up residence in Union County during the spring and summer, was observed in early May hanging around a field near the airport.

After a while somebody noticed it wasn’t flying and called the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Biologists went and took a look, quickly deducing the bird had grounded itself because it was hurt.

The raptor, a breeding female estimated to be three or four years old, was captured and taken to the ODFW’s La Grande field office for observation.

“She had a wing injury. She just seemed unwilling to use that wing,” said biologist Cathy Nowak. “It became obvious she needed more help than we could give her.”

The bird was transported to Blue Mountain Wildlife in Pendleton, where specialists determined the injury — the origin of which will never be known — was an old one. They prescribed a long period of rest.

“They decided it just needed time,” said Nowak.

After a convalescence of nearly three months, the injured bird was transported back to Union County via the Community Connection shuttle bus. It arrived Friday.

In La Grande, a U.S. States Geological band was placed on the bird’s leg. Banding, said Nowak, helps scientists know more about the lives of migratory birds.

“If she is ever captured or killed and someone finds her and reports it, it will tell a lot about longevity and movements,” Nowak said.

Swainson’s hawks, named for the British naturalist William Swainson, are common throughout the American West. They are monogamous birds remarkable for their migration pattern.

Taking Wing: At the spot where it was originally found, Cathy Nowak lets the injured hawk take flight. The fully recovered raptor likely will make its annual trek to South America this fall. - Submitted photo

“Of all the birds we have around here, they’re the first to leave in the fall and the last to come back in the spring,” Nowak said.

After banding, the bird was taken to the same spot where it had been picked up in hopes that it might return to its original nest. Because she had had a brood patch on her belly, she likely had laid eggs in the spring.

A brood patch, Nowak explained, is a spot where feathers have been removed. The female bird uses the feathers to line the nest, and applies the bare patch to the eggs to warm them.

At the release site, Nowak donned gloves and removed the creature from its cage. There was little hesitation on the part of the bird. It had no trouble taking wing.

Nowak watched as the hawk alighted on a wheel line out in a field. Then something remarkable happened.

“Almost as soon as I let her go, another Swainson’s appeared in the sky above her. She called out to it. For me, it was a really nice, feel-good moment,” Nowak said.