Larry Kocian – Nature Along the El Camino Real

Wildlife Rescue – The Red-Tailed Hawk

March 31, 2022 Sue Ann (Suna) KendallLeave a comment

by Larry Kocian

It was Wednesday, March 16, 2022, and we were enjoying spring break. My wife was on her way to Bryan, Texas, with her mother, to pick up our niece for a spring break visit. It was about 3:00 pm and past Milano on the south side of highway 79, she saw a hawk just standing there. She thought the hawk must have prey on the ground and is trying to get. The hawk was standing right in the grass and almost on the shoulder of the highway. She continued her way and was in Bryan for several hours. Upon her return home, she noticed the hawk in the same location, when she passed the area. She turned around and pulled over in the grass passed the shoulder to see what was wrong.

My wife, her mom and our niece got out and saw the hawk was standing there looking around, but it was not moving its feet or wings. They were careful not to get too close because they did not want the hawk to fly into the highway. Her mom said the bird looked so pitiful, like it was seeking someone to help it. It was about 7:30 pm by the time they got back in the car and started calling any wildlife rehab center they could find on google. My wife knew there had to be a place to take the hawk, because when we go to the Renaissance Festival, we like to watch a presentation called “Birds of Prey.” In this live show, they explain how they acquired each bird and how it came to be rescued and rehabilitated. The birds in the show were not able to be released back into the wild, so they used them for educating the public. Everyone they called was closed and they could only leave a message. They did not want to leave the hawk there, but they were running out of choices. They did not have a cage or any idea of how to approach a hawk to attempt to detain it.

Then my wife remembered our friend, neighbor, and fellow master naturalist Catherine Johnson. My wife called Catherine’s daughter Rosie Johnson and then Rosie and Catherine got on the phone together. They gave my wife the number to the wildlife rehab called All Things Wild. However, All Things Wild is only an intake center, so they were still in the same boat, no cage, and no knowledge of how to capture the hawk. But thankfully they also gave her the number to another fellow master naturalist, Donna Lewis. My wife called Donna, and Donna was on it. Donna started calling all her contacts for wildlife rehab. Before Donna hung up to start her search for help, she mentioned the Game Warden.

My wife’s mom looked up the Game Warden, Derrik Rennspies, and my wife called and talked to him. He agreed to come and bring his raptor cage and secure the hawk. Before he got there, Donna and her neighbor and friend, Holly Jentsch, showed up. Holly put a white sheet on the shoulder of the highway so approaching vehicles would be cautious. When he arrived, the Game Warden turned on his lights to caution other drivers. He then put the white sheet over the hawk and the raptor cage, then carefully got the hawk inside the cage. When he was putting the hawk in the cage, he saw a dead animal, maybe a mouse or rabbit close to hawk. The hawk was most likely trying to get it.

Now they had the bird secured, but there was still the problem of where to keep it overnight. Donna and Holly agreed to keep the hawk overnight and then my wife and I would transport it to College Station the next day. Game Warden Rennspies put us in contact with a wildlife rehab that would accept the hawk.

The next day, 3/17/22, my wife and I, along with our niece, met Holly in Gause at Coats Grocery to pick up the hawk for transport. Once we secured the raptor cage in the inside of the truck, we took off for the wildlife rehab in College Station.

Once we got there, we met wildlife rehabilitator, Krista Bligh. Krista is a wildlife rehabilitator through Texas Parks and Wildlife with mission of taking in injured or orphaned wildlife and releasing them back into the wild. She is not funded by the state, so she does wildlife rehabilitation out of her own pocket, as well as donations. She currently takes in a wide range of species, and she never knows what she will get. Currently she is feeding a litter of baby opossums as well as nursing other red-tailed hawks. Last year, she got in two orphaned baby bobcats, three orphaned baby foxes, and numerous injured and orphaned opossums, raccoons, squirrels, and the list goes on. She explained that a huge part of wildlife rehabilitation is also educating the public. Not many people are taught about wildlife, so it is common for people to accidentally kidnap a baby from their mom, since they are left in odd spots for a wide range of time. The most common kidnapped wildlife are fawns (baby deer) and baby bunnies. By educating the public, she can save more animals by allowing the animals who are not needing assistance to stay and free up her time for those that do.

Krista is currently a senior Wildlife and Fisheries Zoology major at Texas A&M University. She aspires to attend Vet School with the eventual goal of opening an official wildlife center for the Brazos Valley since it is so incredibly needed.

Once we got the hawk out of the truck, Krista was prepared to pick her up out of the cage. Her first impressions were the hawk had some neurological damage and possible internal injuries. She examined her and said she must have been grounded (not able to fly and hunt for prey) for a while because she was emaciated. Neurological damage can also come from eating poison or poisoned prey. Before we left, she said ask for updates at your own risk because the hawk did not look good. Based on the hawk’s size and weight, Krista believed the hawk was a female hawk.

We contacted Krista the next day, 3/18/22, and the hawk was doing well. She had her on oxygen to give her a boost while she was rehydrating her as well. She was going to start her on semi-solid foods that night. She had no apparent external injuries, but she was not quite stable yet. She wanted to go very slow with her since she suspected she had internal injuries on top of the neurological issues and slight emaciation.

Update a week after finding the female red-tailed hawk 3/23/22: She is doing great. She has been eating like a champ and Krista will be evaluating how well the hawk can fly very soon.

Update as of 3/25/22: She is doing well and will be doing a test flight tomorrow to see how strong she is and how far she can fly.

Update 3/28/22: After a few days of building her strength flying, she flew like a champ and is back into the wild.

What a great ending to this story. After 13 days from being found on the side of the highway, the hawk was rehabilitated and returned to the wild.

Game Warden Derrik Rennspies-254-482-0892

Wildlife Rehabilitator Krista Bligh-979-676-3974

Report from the 2021 Annual Meeting

October 25, 2021 Sue Ann (Suna) KendallLeave a comment

by Carolyn Henderson

Linda Jo Conn received special recognition Saturday night at the annual meeting of Texas Master Naturalists in Dallas/Ft Worth. She has reached a milestone of 4,000 service hours. She was in very tight company. Only one other statewide member qualified.

The award included a dragonfly pin of brushed gold with a ruby in the center and a special pin and certificate from the office of the President of the United States.

In other categories, Eric Neubauer received recognition for reaching 250 service hours. All who received initial certification from the class of 2020 were also recognized (there were many statewide).

Larry Kocian was recognized for “109!” hours of service in the Texas Water Specialist program with TPWD. Kocian and Sandra Dworaczyk were both given recertification this year.

I attended a 3-hour session on this program, and it looks particularly interesting. If we can get a group of three interested, they can take the class and gain certification. I have a connection to it if anyone is interested. If you’d like to find out more information, contact Melissa Felty, conservation education manager for TPWD, at Conservation Edu@tpwd.gov or go to the web site. The class counts as advanced training hours (8) and the service, which can be education, water testing, CoCoRaHs precipitation measuring, and other things, count as service hours for Texas Master Naturalist.

The meeting had some very educational sessions. I went from water conservation, to wildscaping in the shade, to Chronic Wasting Disease, to iNaturalist advanced training, to Tarantula sex with live tarantulas in one day. That last one was particularly amusing to me, Eric, and the rest of the packed class. A few members gave play-by-play commentary. My favorite occurred on Saturday. It was an excellent program given by a fellow iNaturalist from the Blackland Prairie chapter on identifying trees. I now have a brochure to carry with me.

The meeting was educational, entertaining, and a great place to meet other TMNs. I came away with some good ideas for our chapter.

Oh, and by the way, the new TMN pin for recertification in 2022 is the Lightning Whelk.

The Friendly Pine Siskins

February 21, 2021February 21, 2021 Sue Ann (Suna) KendallLeave a comment

by Larry Kocian

With all the snow that has fallen on a wide area of the region, it’s understandable that our wildlife does turn to us for their sustainable needs, like food, shelter, water. The birds are one such animal that look towards our gardens, birdbaths, bird feeders for nourishment and shelter.

One example I am sharing with everyone is one that surprised me and gave me great excitement. I got the family outside to experience this rare act of trust and absolute need between Nature and humans.

Early Monday morning (February 15), around 7 am, I ventured outside to tend to our domestic animals, to make sure food and water were available and to check on their wellbeing. The temperature was 7F and the wind chill of negative 20. Being outside was difficult and dangerous for prolonged periods of time. After caring for the dogs and cats’ needs, it was time to go to the feeders, after a warmup break inside.

As I approached the feeders, there were many species of birds, more than usual. I store my bird seed in a small, metal trash can. I set the can down by the feeders to fill them. Right away I noticed this particular species of bird that did not fly away. I was in aww and I thought what if I hold my hand out with feed so I could get the opportunity to feed a wild bird with my hands. This became a reality. Immediately, the birds flew to my hand, appearing not to fear me. I wondered if they knew me well enough that they trust me or are they that hungry due to the 8.6 inches of snow that fell overnight with blizzard-like conditions. I believe that it is both.

Here come the birds!

Throughout the year, I supply food, water, and shelter for many species of birds, both native and migratory. It is very exciting and fulfilling to be a part of their lives.

Wonder!

I videoed the excitement right away, capturing the moments where these birds came to me for food. At first, I thought these birds were some type of Warbler, as there were Warblers in the mix of the many species present. I learned later that these birds are Pine Siskins. After further research, I learned that every couple of years, Pine Siskins make unpredictable movements into southern and eastern North America.

Friendly bird

I got my kids and wife to go outside and try to feed these birds and the excitement grew. We have been feeding them in this manner for two days now. What a great opportunity to have the chance to let a bird land on you, fearless, and feed out of your hand.

Visiting Birds during the Snow and Cold Event:

Pine Siskins
Sparrows
Cardinals
Warblers
Purple Finches
Silver Waxwings
Robins
Bluejays
Mockingbirds
Grackles
Mourning Doves
White-wing Doves
Woodpeckers
Tufted Titmouse
Chickadees
Carolina Warblers
Starlings
Brown headed Cowbird

Welcome Home, Boss

March 28, 2020 Sue Ann (Suna) Kendall2 Comments

by Larry Kocian

Yesterday, many of us mentioned hearing and seeing hummingbirds in the tree tops, gardens, and at some feeders. Today, just after noontime, this hummingbird posed for the camera. Enjoy the short narrative as to what happened.

I looked out the window and saw a hummingbird at the feeder. I grabbed the big camera and went outside, somewhat hidden, and stayed motionless for 15 minutes or so.

It was still raining off and on, pleasantly mild, thundering, all foliage was wet. The hummingbird sat on a tiny branch on a large Crape Myrtle tree next to the feeder. Did he see me? Most likely! So it was standoff. I stayed motionless and was not going to move, no matter what was itching or biting me. This went on for many minutes; it seemed like forever.

Big raindrops began to fall again. A couple of Carolina Wrens landed in the same tree. The hummingbird was aggravated with them and chased them off. I waited a few more minutes, raindrops more frequent. Then, the hummingbird made his move.

My camera clicked rapidly at the fast-moving target. I wondered, “What type of hummingbird are you, who are you?” I asked repeatedly.

Then, after feeding a couple of times at the left feeder, he came right at me to the camera. I zoomed the lens back, he positioned himself in the upright position, and revealed his identity, proclaiming, “I am back.”

Then he went to the second feeder to feed. Welcome home, Ruby Red-throated Hummer.

Invasive or Inviting: The Wild Morning Glory

September 22, 2019September 22, 2019 Sue Ann (Suna) Kendall2 Comments

By Larry Kocian. Adopted from a Facebook post on Milam County Veggie and Plant Exchange, September 22, 2019.

Free from nature, these vines (also known as tie vine —Impomoea cordatotriloba) make an appearance in late spring, early summer. In mid- to late summer and into autumn, they are showy with their purple/lavender colors.

Tie vine is just as pretty as hybrid morning glories, just with smaller blossoms.

Some people say invasive. I say not, because they are easily controlled by going into the garden and removing/sculpting them. I let mine climb, and they do climb into the mimosa trees. I do control some when they wrap in the wrong place or too much on a particular plant/tree.

My point is that most natural occurring plants that are labeled invasive are not at all. I always encourage everyone who reads this to go outside and get to know your garden. It’s very therapeutic.

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