As you may have heard, Portland’s famous Great Black Hawk has been taken to a rehabilitation facility after being found on the ground in Deering Oaks Park during this weekend’s cold snap and snowstorm. The bird is receiving excellent care at Avian Haven in Freedom, though there is still much uncertainty about the hawk’s injuries and possibility of recovery.
Avian Haven has confirmed that the bird has frostbite. It would make sense: the long, bare legs of Great Black Hawks are ideal for chasing prey on foot, but are not made to protect the bird from bitter cold. Temperatures in Portland dipped to the low single digits this weekend, and even lower with the wind chill. If the bird indeed has frostbite, it’s possible that it may result in permanent injuries to its legs and feet.
Time will tell the full extent of the Black Hawk’s recovery. In the meantime, we should consider what happens next.
There are four likely outcomes for this bird now that it has entered human care. If the hawk makes a full recovery, it could be released in Maine. Or, it could be released somewhere in its native range. It could also be kept under human care, at an educational facility or zoo. Finally, if the bird has untreatable injuries it could be euthanized and sent to a museum to help understand what could have made it fly so far from home.
Let’s consider each possibility.
Release in Maine
The Great Black Hawk flew to Maine all on its own. Releasing the recovered bird back in Maine is likely the way to minimize the amount of human intervention and get this bird back into the wild as quickly as possible.
Of course, there are drawbacks to this approach. It’s astonishing that the Great Black Hawk has survived for so long, because it is simply not designed for living here. Many observers believed that it was just a matter of time before something befell this bird, whether cold or starvation. Releasing the bird back in Maine would not solve the fundamental problem that it is not meant to be here, and it would be unlikely to survive for long.
Release in its native range
However, the bird is supposed to be somewhere. Ornithologists have determined that this individual belongs to the northern population, ranging on the east and west coasts of Mexico and down into Central America. If it is determined the bird is able to survive on its own, it could be returned to its native range, where it has a better chance at long-term survival. Avian Haven has a history of returning Maine vagrant birds to their home range, including an Ash-throated Flycatcher to Texas and a Sooty Tern to the Florida coast.
It’s not as easy as it sounds, however. The bird faces an uphill battle for survival even if released in its native range. Great Black Hawks are territorial, and the bird would have to defend itself against native hawks in the release area. Identifying an appropriate release site, and the related issues, including stress to the bird and financial costs, of transporting the bird across international lines, would need to be dealt with as well.
Keep for education
If the bird does not fully recover, it could be used for education. Many injured birds serve as educational ambassadors, used to give the public a close look at birds they might otherwise never see. There are several places in Maine or around the country that could possibly use this bird as an educational tool.
The downsides of this approach are that we don’t know how the hawk might respond to becoming a captive ambassador, or where exactly the bird might end up. Some facilities in the northeast prefer to use native species for their education, and so the educational benefits of a tropical hawk might be limited. Still, options are limited if the bird does not recover enough so that it can be released.
Donate to science
If this bird does not survive, its body will be kept for scientific study. It’s possible that scientists could find something in this bird that could shed light into the reasons it came to Maine in the first place. Exactly where the bird could go is still undetermined. Euthanizing the bird to save it from suffering is also an option.
There is no clear and easy answer, here, so it’s important to understand all the factors at play. Given this, what do you think is the best choice?
Please stay tuned for more updates as the Great Black Hawk’s recovery progresses. We here at Maine Audubon wish full health for this incredible bird, and give our thanks to Avian Haven and the quick-thinking Portland citizens who recovered it.
If you’re interested in this story and what happens to wildlife after they are rescued, make plans to attend our event on wildlife and conservation medicine on Thursday, January 24, at 7pm, featuring Center for Wildlife Executive Director Kristen Lamb. Bring your questions about the Great Black Hawk!
I believe the answer as to ‘what to do’ with the bird is not a simple one either !
Wait and see how the recovery goes and go from there !
Personally I’d like to see it released back in Maine !
Good luck caring for this great bird ! And thank you for all you do also !
hf
You said that it could not take the cold winters in Maine. Then why was that an option ? I feel if it may get killed after all that you have done for it then maybe education as a wildlife ambassador. I had a very similar thing years ago happen to me. Turned out the ring neck dove kept hanging around by the feeders. Then I saw she was really week and could no longer fly. I picked her up kept her. What ever happens it sure has been nice having this to take up our minds instead of all the bad in the world. God bless all involved.
The problems outlined in the article clearly state that the hawk would have to compete for territory in its native habitat. If it doesn’t make a full recovery it can’t bode well for its chances of success.
Release in Maine seems to present the same issues for long term survival. Winter clearly a serious threat as it isn’t prepared to deal with the extreme climate differences of its native habitat.
If it doesn’t survive, a donation to a scientific organization seems entirely reasonable.
In my opinion the best option if the bird doesn’t fully recover is to send it to The Maine Wildlife Park in Grey. The wildlife educators there have the greatest exposure and large programs to highlight the bird and its remarkable story to thousands of people.
Has anybody contacted anyone from south america who has experience with these birds?? I think i would trust what they have to say about it…would like to see it released in its home range.. Tagged and gps on it of course to track it.
Another option might be to find an education center in it’s home range to care for it.
I don’t think we can answer the poll until we know what’s going to happen for the bird. Ask us again in a few weeks?
Every creature has to compete for survival. Releasing it back into the wild in Mexico would not be an unusual challenge for this bird (assuming a full recovery). This bird competed effectively against one of our local Red Tails that repeatedly and unsuccessfully tried to run it out of town.
I think releasing it again in Maine is probably a death sentence due to our cold weather. Those long exposed legs are not designed for Maine. It’s the equivalent of a person living outside in Maine in winter in shorts. Interestingly, the people you see wearing shorts in winter in Portland are also teenagers. The difference is they ultimately learn to buy pants. The hawk apparently did not feel any migratory imperative to move south in the fall. Quite the reverse. Screwed up GPS?
David @6 makes some good, common-sense points. Like him, I lean toward releasing the bird in its native territory, if the good folks at Avian Haven are able to restore it to full health. Someone might be interested in volunteering to drive this bird “home” as part of a longer vacation trip to Mexico. Yes it would mean subjecting the bird to the trauma of a long-distance road trip, but I can’t imagine that it would suffer worse on the highway (assuming proper care and feeding during transit) than if it were slowly freezing or starving to death in Deering Park.
If the bird must remain in captivity due to its injuries, I would prefer to see it taken to a Maine-based educational center, purely for logistical reasons. In my opinion, it would not be worth the cost both to the bird and to the Avian Haven volunteers to transport the bird back to Mexico, only to keep it in captivity. The difference between a cage or an aviary in Maine and one in Mexico are not significant, and in fact the bird would likely receive better care in Maine. It would also be a good opportunity to highlight the pressures all tropical birds are facing due to climate change and the rapid, ongoing loss of their native habitat, which may have been among the reasons this bird ventured so far from home. We all need to take whatever actions we can to reduce our individual carbon footprints, and lobby our elected officials to pass meaningful legislation for carbon-reducing and ultimately carbon-free energy policies.
It belongs in its natural habitat. Many species of animals are territorial – indeed it is almost a given. Watching the mallards have at it in my back bog is a spring event. The male who has been there forever has won so far – but quite a few give him a run for his money before they move on. Birds can fly. It may well be chased out of its release point – but it will eventually find uncontested hunting grounds – and the range is huge. Given all the stressers on birds now (loss of habitat, renewed use of pesticides with federal guidelines eased) having a potential breeder is also important. It will die in Maine and a life in captivity, unless absolutely necessary, is inhumane.
Yes, this poll will help describe the public’s general interest, but due to an as yet unknown health outcome, the poll is a bit premature.
Returning to a healthy status: release in its home territory.
Sustaining permanent damage and unable to compete within its species habitat: educational/ambassadorship.
Severe health issues: Scientific studies after euthanization; maybe preserve with taxidermy for educational use.
Might I suggest partnering with Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in Kempton, PA to find the best solution for this marvelous creature.
This poll is premature. I feel that theose caring for the hawk will determine the best course determined by the health of the hawk and the results of researching its origin.
The survey is confusing because we should only keep it for education/science if it doesn’t recover or dies. Releasing it in Maine seems counter intuitive because being in Maine is what harmed it in the first place. The bird should have been captured and moved to its natural range sooner. It’s obvious that a tropical bird would be harmed living in a temperate area in winter. I know birders were excited to see this bird in Maine as they often are with vagrants but what people need to remember about vagrant birds is that while they are interesting they are not fit to survive in certain habitats that they may end up in and in some cases should be removed from them for their protection.
Might the bird be released to a conservation organization in it’s native range?
Hey Nick. In Woodstock Vermont there is a raptor center named VINS (Vermont Institute of Natural Science) I’d think a conversation with them is in order.
https://www.facebook.com/VINS.VT/?ref=br_rs
Maine Audubon, a supposedly scientific organization, is asking the general public what to do with the hawk?!? This is NOT an American Idol call-in vote game.
find someone that is planning on heading south for vacation in the US and have them release it…it will then find its way further south if that is where it would like to head…