Thank you for visiting HawkTalk.Org
Call us at 1-770-720-1847 to discuss hawk rescue. We care for raptors (birds of prey) that cannot be released back to the wild.
We also rehabilitate hawks, owls, eagles, kites, falcons and ospreys.
We need Mouse Money!
We are a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization located in North Georgia providing hawk rescue and care for other raptors (birds of prey) including owls, eagles, falcons and osprey.
We operate our facility based on donations from caring people who, for one reason or another, aren’t in the position to be rehabbers themselves, but are interested in and dedicated to the preservation and protection of raptors.
We also do off site programs for schools, nature centers, scouts, birthday parties, public displays, etc. This is done on a fee basis. Please call for details!
Hacking for hawk rescue or owl rehabilitation.
Hacking is an old falconry technique that is literally, thousands of years old. Hacking (AKA soft release) is how we re-introduced the Golden Eagle back to the Cumberland Plateau in northwest Georgia, the American Bald eagle to the Lake Allatoona area north of Atlanta and the Peregrine Falcon in downtown Atlanta. We can help you with this procedure or provide it as a service.
For more information, see our blog post on Hacking Orphaned Hawks and Owls.
Here’s what we have going at Facebook
Thank you, Cousin!
I received a call one day, probably 10 years ago, from a friend of a mom who had lost her son in a one car rollover crash. He was a good kid; smart, very popular and drove a Volvo, but had over corrected when one of his tires went off the pavement and the car's roof had been crushed by a tree, killing him instantly.
The school was having a Lacrosse memorial game for him that Saturday evening and this friend asked if I could bring a hawk to fly around the stadium. The young man had always told his mom that he went before she did, he would come back to visit her as a Red tailed hawk, his favorite bird.
I offered the various reasons why this wouldn't be possible (it takes a LOT of training to get used to birds flying around stadiums - they don't fly at night - I didn't fly my imprint because of her aggressive nature, etc.,etc.,etc)
Anyway I offered my apologies and ask where the young man was buried and it turned out to be a very small plot established in 1800 not 10 minutes from my house on Farmerville Rd in Milton.
This lady told me that on several occasions when her friend had visited her son's grave, a Red-tailed hawk would be perched near the cemetery and how excited she was that he was sending her a sign.
We finally said our goodbyes. I hung up and had a good cry.
I went in to Mina's molted feather collection and picked out a beautiful tail feather that she had recently shed, then drove it over to the cemetery and found his grave, which was easy to spot, because it had a bench and a mailbox where his school friends left messages for him. There were all sorts of toys and other memories left for him which made me tear up all over again.
I didn't want to be too obvious about where I placed the feather, like on the bench or in the mailbox, so I just closed my eyes and let go of it near his grave so I know she would find it.
I've done this a handful of times throughout the years, offering a peaceful reassurance that her son's spirit does indeed fly on the wings of a Red-tailed hawk, his favorite bird...
As I have said many times before you are truly one of a kind. Bless you❤️
Tell her she might try Georgia Southern. They have birds that will fly or you might send her to Jim Elliot at the center for birds of prey. His folks were taught by Jimi,a Perry Jones. She is the best in the business. Either might do it.
What a great person you are it probably gives her peace everytime she finds the feathers.. thanks cuz for what you do...❤️
How touching, Monteen. Having lost two of my sons, I can really appreciate your thoughtfulness and loyalty to this young man.
Bless your heart my friend xxx
Tearing up bless u
Such a thoughtful act of kindness ❤️
Tears streaming down my face!
💜
Generous, beautiful and incredibly thoughtful.
I love this
💟🦋🦉
You’re one in a million, Monteen. ❤️🦅🦉
Hoo Hoo Hoooooo...
And no, I don't really beat him...it's just baby talk (which drives a LOT of people crazy, but I can't help myself)youtube.com
Circa 1988 - for 3 years, I was working for the DNR as main hack site attendant for these baby Golden Eagles up on Pigeon Mountain. Making a whopping 7 USD a day, I've never learned so much in my life! What a majical experience!
Raptor eggs are laid asynchronically and so there can be as much as 10 days between the first and last egg laid. The last one, being the youngest and smallest doesn't have much of a chance of fledging. (Cain and Abel syndrome) The last ones are mainly considered 'insurance'. Basically whoever is the strongest and feistiest is the babe that gets the meal - typifying 'survival of the fittest'... This is how we brought youngsters here to raise to hopefully, bring BACK Goldens to the Cumberland Plateau. A crew of pilots would keep checking these nests out (mostly) in Wyoming and when the time was right, Ted would go into the nest and take the YOUNGEST, which had a very low chance of surviving. But the timing had to be perfect because the babe had to be able to thermoregulate AND feed himself once they were ensconced in the hacking towers. My job was to feed, observe, track post-release, but not intervene. We were a well oiled machine!
Speaking of eagles, there’s a bald eagle hanging out at our lake! Beautiful sight!
Released the Screech last week, but neither of the clips that were filmed were usable... *sigh*
Releases usually happen FAST, esp. with these little guys. It's not uncommon for the person trying to film it is caught flat-footed. 🙂
Such a sweet little one!
Do you have someone helping you with photos/video?
Reba Atkinson
Aww, good for him! And thank YOU for another life saved!
So glad the release was successful!
Our first renest of the year! A young Great horned owl that looks like he could be close to branching, but might also have been blown out a little early from the storm that came thru Marietta last evening. These guys are late this year, probably due to all the rain - not sure, just a guess.
Sometimes, renesting isn't possible due to various conditions, so that's when I take over and raise the youngsters via operant conditioning so that when I open the door, they don't just up and fly away to starve to death. They are trained to come to a hack board for food while they are toodling around here learning to owl and/or hawk. Since they don't have their parents, my job is to provide food for the young until they figure out what to do. The last of the youngsters are usually dispersed by the end of summer.
There is no better trainer than the parents, so when they don't have their parents to complete the process, ghost feeding/operant conditioning followed by hacking is a very successful technique that has been used by falconers for thousands of years.
This home owner has agreed to check on the baby to make sure the parents are coming in to feed. They will be looking for remains of the prey, castings and mutes (pee and poop).
If you would like to make a contribution of Mouse Money, click on the 'donate' button or mail a check to:
HawkTalk
P.O. Box 130
Holly Springs, GA
30142
Our 501c3 # 58-2099672
Thank you!
