The Rusty Beast
Late on a rainy afternoon, we received a call from a San Jose resident who had a large, grounded hawk in her yard. The excitement I felt when I saw a photo of this rare visitor to the Bay Area propelled my two-hour drive in stop-and-go traffic on wet streets. BRR’s first rescue of a Ferruginous [fur-OOH-jin-us] Hawk, North America’s largest hawk species was a thrill.
Ranging through the western states, they usually visit California to overwinter, then return to breeding territories in the Great Basin, Rocky Mountains, the Southwest, and Great Plains states.
This dorsal view shows the rich, multi-colored topside plumage, the long, pointed wings with rusty coverts, and large, light-toned streaky head which are characteristics of a light-morph Ferruginous Hawk.
Tails may be smudgy and whitish like this individual, or pure white, or rusty-toned.,
The large gape (width of the mouth) enables them to swallow ground squirrels whole.
Rusty “chaps” are part of adult plumage. Even with proportionally small toes for such large hawks, their grip is formidable. His talons were able to penetrate the large protective leather gloves worn by those caring for him, requiring the use of kevlar gloves for safety. He quickly exhibited the fierce and aggressive behavior that we love to see in recovering raptors, and was nicknamed “The Beast” by his caregivers. Only highly experienced caregivers were allowed to handle him.
This individual was grounded with neurological issues, probably following a collision while flying. After several days of rest and treatment at WildCare, I drove him from San Rafael to Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue in Petaluma. He had use of their large flight cage to rebuild strength and stamina before release, which occurred in a large county park in Sn Jose, near where he was captured.
The reporting parties (above) were invited to the release, and on his way back into the wild, the Rusty Beast flew by to thank them for reaching out to us for rescue help. Godspeed and long life, big guy.