Bye bye, Coop!

I've said it before, but releases are the BEST!
I don't know the story behind this Cooper's Hawk, like its injury or where it was found.
So let's not dwell on my boring lack of details and focus instead on the happiness of the occasion.

The Coop was released by a new volunteer, and the woman let the bird go with joy and awe, a huge smile on her face. I think the bird was happy, too.


It happened so fast, in half a second it had cleared the barn....


...and sliced in between the mew gate and a parked car (and right by Dee, standing in the barn doorway!).


Another bird who needed help and received it. RAPTOR....it's just what we do.
:)

Releases are the BEST!

I wasn't present for this one, but I know the feeling of letting a bird of prey free.
A true sense of accomplishment...our rehabbers work unbelievably hard to turn these battered birds back into fierce angels of the sky.

This female peregrine was found in downtown Cincinnati in mid-July, with a wing injury. This was one of the PEFA hatched on the PNC Bank building this year.

After a few months of tender loving care, free meals and rest, she was released back to the wide open sky above Cincinnati.

Is it me, or does that toe crossed over the others make her look nervous?

Off she goes, back where she belongs...

American Kestrel release at the new RAPTOR facility

This male kestrel was ready to go as one of our volunteers released him during our annual picnic, September 29. You can see the "Red Barn" in the background.

Red-tailed hawk release in New Richmond

This red-tailed hawk was found tangled in a fence, and after some R&R at RAPTOR, he was ready to go home:

One......



Two....





Three!!!!!