RIP little Waterloo

[nabisho]

Remember the little hawk that I found wandering around in the middle of the road a couple of months back. Seems they euthinized him yesterday. Here's the deal, it seems he was a Swainson's hawk. Some of the local indian groups around here will get a pair of them to nest on their land, then they feed them a diet that will get them to lay an extra egg or two (usually Swainson's hawks only have one egg) so then the indians snatch the extra eggs and incubate them and hatch the babies out. Then they raise them up feeding a diet of special herbs & stuff that makes them grow feathers real fast and extra long tail feathers. Then once the bird has the appropriate length tail feathers they pluck them out and release the bird into the wild. The problems are the bird is weak from the diet (kind of like too much Miracle Grow on your flower bed), somewhat tame and not afraid of people, the way they pluck the feathers leaves the folicle wrecked so when it scabs over they will never be able to grow new tail feathers or fly good enough to hunt plus they have never learned to hunt. They usually end up prey for some predetor or they starve to death trying to migrate to South America. The indians don't just kill them outright because they believe if they do then they become responsible for the birds soul or some such tripe. Seems these feathers are coveted and used for arrow flights and various indian apparel and things like headresses etc. Sadly such a tramatized bird can't be kept as a pet because they get much bigger and become very hostile in captivity because they are mifratory birds. So sad, he was such a handsome young felow. I named the litle guy Waterloo posthumously because I found him at the intersection of Waterloo and Centerville Rd. At least he died in the hands of a caring and competant vet, and didn't end up torn apart by cayotes or run over by a car or starved to death on the way south

NAB :-(

He was a handsome young fellow.

[cyro51]

That is very sad, Nab!

Cynthia

[Lady Tarheel]

Nab, as a lover of hawks this really makes me angry. You would think that federal law would/should protect them from "rituals" like this. As I understand it, you need special permits to care for raptors or are the indian groups exempt from that? I realize it is hard to enforce laws governing the care of birds but if this is an ongoing thing, known by locals and vets, surely it could be stopped.

Waterloo was a beautiful bird. I don't like hawks messing with my pigeons but that is nature. For several years we have had a redtailed hawk couple come in at winter, usually late January, early February, and they eat the food I put out for the crows. Oddly, they never bother the aviaries and I have seen squirrels and other birds eat just below them where they roost in the trees. For some reason, they showed up early, just last Thursday and ate the crows' chicken that I had put outside. They will sometimes eat soaked dry dog food and even bread if that is all I have on the menu that day. Now, the smaller hawks are a differnt story - they continually attack the aviaries.

I figure what they eat out of the crows' bowl will save a critter somewhere.

Maggie

[pigeonmama]

How unbelievably sad that this is allowed to happen I am upset that Little Waterloo had to be euthanised, but I'm extremely angry that Native Americans are allowed to get away with this abuse. Aren't there enough raptors killed or die by natural means
Daryl

[nabisho]

She says that they do have to report putting him down to the wildlife service, but there is little the wildlife service can do, because the indians are not subject to the same federal laws when it's on their own reservation land, and it's not like they are taking wild birds, they are raising them from extra eggs. There is a special statute in the law that allows indians to "gather" feathers for their ceremonies. She has been in the bird repair business for about 30 years around here, and she tells me that they get 6-8-10 of these birds a year, and that they try to repair the follicles if they can and teach the bird to hunt so he can be released but sadly little Waterloo's follicle were already scabbed over and couldn't be fixed. She has on numerous occasions gone out to the tribal councils and spoken to indian groups about the practice, and tried to explain to them how they could safely pluck the feathers without causing damage, but they have been doing it their way for thousands of years so it doesn't help much, it still goes on every year. At least he died painlessly in the hands of a competant vet and didn't suffer like many of these birds do.

NAB :-)

[AZWhitefeather]

Hello NAB,
While I was going to take heed of your 'warning' & post my condolences in your general forum thread, I decided to suck up the tears & read your update, thinking I might learn a valuable lesson. Indeed I did.

Couldn't hold back the tears & their was a spark of anger.

I can accept the process of elimination by nature, however, I cannot accept the process of elimination, for personal gain, by mankind.

Thank you for helping this sweet baby who, so desperately, needed a pair of compassionate hands.

God Bless you Waterloo.

Cindy

[Trees Gray]

Nab,

I'm so sorry to read about Waterloo, he was such a beautiful bird.

I used to think Indians had respect for nature and animals, and they only would kill what they needed for survival, and use every part of the buffallo, so nothing went to waste.

This makes me feel really angry as well as shocked, as this is so cruel!

[Lin Hansen]

Nab,

Such a sad story and outcome, especially after you did your best to help.

Linda

[TerriB]

Thank you for posting the warning notice and also for being willing to share information on this cruel practice.

[Pete Jasinski]

Another one of God's creatures used and abused my mankind! The poor thing didn't need to be destroyed, I'm sure Waterloo could have been placed somewhere to live his life out in peace.

[Pigeonpal2002]

Hi Nab,

Sorry to hear that Waterloo had to be put down but thanks for letting us know the whole story. Very sad indeed

[pdpbison]

Ohhhhhh...this is terrible.

I am so sorry -

And yea, so much for these indigene's "respect" for Nature and Animals and the Great Spirit.

Poor little Hawk...

Phil
Las Vegas

[Lady Tarheel]

Nab, I watched "Antiques Roadshow" on our NC PBS channel last night. They were doing the show out of Portland, Oregon and did a segment on the laws forbidding people to buy, sell, own, etc. feathers/feather objects.

They said the only exception to these laws pertained to indians on reservations who were allowed to use feathers for "cultural or religious" ceremonies.

Maggie