Bad news for Buzz, but in good care

Monday morning April 29 about 9:30 a.m., Nancy Given was walking up Alewife from Fresh Pond when she found an adult Red-tailed Hawk sitting on the ground on the southeast corner of the Alewife T property facing Route 16, just west of the sidewalk and facing a tree about a foot west of the sidewalk. She thought it might have prey and fly shortly; then that it might have been dazed and would take off. When it just stood there, moving its head but not its body, she called me at 9:47. She thought it might be Buzz but could not be sure because his legs were hidden, so no band was visible. I rushed over and recognized Buzz's face immediately. He was erect, alert (watching both an angry Robin announcing the hawk's presence and the air traffic overhead), but both wings, especially his left wing, were hanging below the tail; not where they normally rest. Amy and I had not seen Buzz anytime that morning from 5:45 to 7:30. Ruby had been quite alert after about 6:30, looking to and fro presumably for Buzz. She had some food in the larder and briefly fed one or two of the kids, but neither Amy nor I had seen Buzz anywhere on our way out.

I called Cambridge Animal Control but got only a tape. I then called the Animal Rescue League of Boston, which responded immediately. Within about fifteen minutes Danielle Genter, Senior Rescue Technician arrived. She very quickly and professionally netted Buzz and boxed him. He attempted to flee her, but by weakly run/hopping. He could not fly. We heard no calls or screaming. She placed him in a box, got some background on him, and called Tufts Clinic in Grafton to see if she could bring him in there. Danielle had been en route to picking up a possum in Charlestown, which enabled her to respond quickly to our call, and after picking up the possum she would head for Grafton. We didn't expect to hear anything on Buzz's condition that day.

In general, Buzz was alert. I did not see any obvious signs of concussion. There were no obviously missing feathers, no feathers strewn on the ground, no load of whitewash anywhere. But he obviously was very reluctant to move his body at all. He was standing erect the entire time, facing, in effect hiding behind - a tree. From his drooping wings, especially the left one, I expect he had a collision with the garage, a tree, or possibly a vehicle. We don't know how long he had been there, but while Nancy was there she did not him hear calling at all.

After Buzz was taken off, we saw a Redtail, almost certainly Ruby, flying behind Archstone and wheeling out over Cambridgepark Drive, but not apparently calling. We knew she was looking for her mate. That morning, while sitting in the nest, she had been very alert all the time, her eyes darting everywhere on the horizon. We presumed she had been looking for Buzz to arrive and make a food delivery, and give her a bathroom break. We had been there Sunday evening as well for 3 hours and had not seen Buzz at all. It is not unusual for him to be off out of sight, but no one had seen him since Sunday morning. Had Ruby?

We asked Danielle about Ruby and the chicks. She thought that since the chicks were 2-3 weeks old, it would be possible for one adult to feed them and herself adequately. Susan asked the same question to the Tufts clinic personnel. I had called Susan Moses to alert her with her connections to the Tufts Clinic. She called Tufts to alert them that it was Buzz coming in, giving them his band number and an indication that this is one important Red-tailed Hawk of concern to at least several hundred people. Danielle was already alert to the fact that this was one of the famous Alewife Redtails.

Nancy, Susan and I were in shock. When Buzz was "boxed off," it was by no means clear exactly what the nature of his injury was. Was it so damaging that he would have to be put down? Was it possible he could recover fully, and if so, how long would it take? And then there was Ruby. She was obviously frantic, looking for her mate. Her partner, the source of protection and especially food for the three young chicks and for herself while she was feeding and nurturing the future in her nest.

There had been mornings when he had not shown up as early as she had expected, and she apparently let him know of her disappointment, her frustration. Subsequently, he had contritely brought food to her in the nest, and the next several days he had been there shortly after dawn, checking in to see if she needed a break from incubation. She had usually declined. But it was important that he came by to ask . . . . Several times before he had arrived she took quick bathroom breaks darting out from the nest down Wheeler and returning in less than a minute. But she was not ready for Buzz to not show up at all.

We worried for her and the kids. How would she respond to Buzz's absence? How would she cope? Could she cope? Could she defend and feed three chicks growing incredibly quickly?

What could we do? What should we do?

We had done everything we could for Buzz. His life and future were undoubtedly out of our hands. We could only hope and pray that his injuries would prove minor and that he could recover and be released in a few weeks.

But the future of Ruby and three young chicks still lay partly in our hands. Could she feed three growing chicks for four to five weeks? We have witnessed the toll its takes on Buzz to provide adequate food in good years, and this is not a good year for prey. We could notify an agency that might decide to remove the three chicks from the nest and attempt to foster them in another Redtail's nest, giving all perhaps a better chance for survival. But what would that do to Ruby, to lose her mate and chicks within days? We remembered how intensely she had defended her chicks from that beautiful intruder at 185 two years ago, crashing into the tinted glass time and again to chase that hawk away from her kids. She would need that tenacity, that relentlessness, to have a chance to keep three chicks alive to fledging AND AFTER, when they need even more food. Could she do it? Was it better to have her attempt it and possibly lose one, maybe two, chicks, in the process? Ones that might be loss in any nest transfer and adoption process? Danielle thought that with 2-3-week-old chicks, she would be able to do a better job than anyone else parenting successfully. Tufts Veterinary Clinic agreed. The course was set.

Danielle called back with a preliminary diagnosis. Broken clavicle. That meant it was something that could be healed with time. Subsequently we learned that the broken clavicle was Buzz's old injury (which we had known about), but which had healed well. There was no other obvious damage except hemorrhaging in his left eye. His pupils had not been dilated as is common in a concussion. He had apparently crashed into something with his head, something that dazed and had possibly concussed him. Whatever, there was too much fluid in his eye to diagnose what if any damage had been done to his vision. And there was the news that with Red-tailed Hawks (as opposed to some other species), survival in the wild was possible with damaged vision in one eye. As of last night, the clinic was waiting to see how Buzz responds over the next several days. Will he start eating? Will he indicate a desire and an ability to begin flying? Can he see normally? Is the swelling down? In other words, we don't know his long-term prognosis. We know it could have been worse, much worse, where there were no options, no choice but to . . . . Right now the situation offers considerable hope. I ask that no one attempt to contact the clinic to inquire as to Buzz's status. We have one person who is our sole interface with the clinic and talks to knowledgeable staff there. As soon as we have any definitive word on Buzz, I will send it out to the list.

The key question in our minds has been how will Ruby respond? Monday evening she was searching everywhere for her mate. She landed on the southwest HVAC at Archstone on Cambridgepark Drive. She went to the southwest corner of Rindge 3, the heart of the Peregrine's territory. She flew west to the security lamp on the southwest corner of 150 Cambridgepark Drive. She soared over the B&M tracks. We saw this constant searching, scanning the horizons for the familiar shape, for the familiar eye contact. The kids were essentially lying low in the nest. No food deliveries were seen. We did not know how long it had been since Buzz had delivered food. We had not seen him since Sunday morning. Was there food in the larder to support the kids for several days, or did Ruby have to begin hunting NOW? A lot of questions. No good answers.

Tuesday morning Ruby was out of the nest early, at 5:37 shortly before sunrise. She flew west down Fawcett towards Iggy's, and perching high, looking for Buzz. She flew back towards 87 Fawcett and perched on a utility pole, where an angry Mockingbird harassed her, striking her once. She was like dancing on a hot plate, flying from vantage point to vantage point, looking for Buzz. At 5:49 am, we spotted an adult Peregrine Falcon on the northwest corner of Rindge 1, the first I have seen there in months. Likely the female who had spent much of the previous twelve months there, taking a break from her incubation duties. We believe she is the female sitting on four eggs less than two miles from Fresh Pond, coming back to see how the neighborhood is doing and perhaps grab a bite to eat. The bird is large, so we assume it is the female. It is not the male . . . .

But there is no interaction. At 5:59 am Ruby flies into the nest and picks up a piece of prey that she starts feeding to kids, but she is done within two minutes. That is not a meal. Is there enough food for a decent feeding in the nest? We have no idea . . . . She flies to the feeding pole where Buzz often brought food for her. Nothing. At 6:14, she flies northwest, towards Mooney Street, one of her favorite hunting grounds for rodents and pigeons. As she left the kids were up and active. Are they hungry? Are they vocalizing their hunger? We have no idea. However, in two hours of coverage since dawn, there have been no food deliveries to the nest. Everything is in play. In doubt. Everything . . . .

The events with the Boston Marathon bombing demonstrated to many again the feeling of utter powerlessness. Some people on the scene responded in incredible ways, reinforcing those who believe in the essential goodness of people . . . at least most people. Millions more away from the scene seemed virtually powerless to act one way or another, which strengthened the push for One Fund and Boston Strong. But for many the primary response was probably the feeling of utter powerlessness.

Tuesday was the day. How would Ruby respond to the continuing absence of her mate? Her provider? Her defender? Her partner in every sense of the word? Would she continue to look for him? Or would her focus be on finding food for the three black beaks that hid surprisingly large, demanding gapes? Hungry gapes that needed sustenance to continue the virtually geometric growth of three young hawks?

Tuesday evening Ruby was on the security lamp at 150 Cambridgepark Drive, overlooking the territory she and Buzz had shared for almost four years, looking for him. The kids were down and up. Two of the chicks have gone from snow white to glaucous – a grayish white that marks the age. More surprising to me was that I could now see the ear holes on the two glaucous birds. They were now big enough and the down so limited that each bird had a large hole behind each coal black eye. The third, youngest bird, is still refrigerator white, without visible ears (though they are certainly there.) They look so much older than they did on Sunday. The oldest sat up with some stability and flapped his wings, which look twice as long as two days earlier. At 6:14, Ruby left the security of the lamp and glided down to the nest, where she very briefly fed at least two of the kids. The good news is that there was no contention between the chicks, no aggressiveness, each seeking food at the expense of another. That suggested they had been fed adequately earlier. With what? I have no idea. Ruby must have brought back food to the nest during the day. At 6:37 she began gently preening the heads of the puff balls. Then she started preening herself. She seemed more accepting tonight, and the kids seemed better off than I had feared. There was hope. That evening, however, a security guard reported that over the weekend he had seen a hawk soaring high over the woodlot. Suddenly one hawk exploded upward from the woodlot and went after the soaring bird. Then a second hawk came out of the woodlot and went up, where the hawks were "diving at each other," and he described an aerial dogfight. I asked if he had heard any hawk screaming like "kee, kee, kee," and he said "yes, exactly." Then one hawk had flown off to the east and the other two hawks and eventually dropped back into the woodlot. To me it sounded as though Buzz and Ruby had gone aloft to defend their nesting territory against a Peregrine, likely their antagonist from the winter.

On Wednesday morning, in what was the most critical day in the life of the three kids and perhaps their mother, Ruby was already out of the nest at 5:18 am, perched on one of the feeding poles. There was work to be done. At 5:22, she flew off towards Mooney Street, one of her preferred hunting grounds.

At 5:36 I spotted Ruby coming from behind us, from the northwest down Fawcett St, low. I called "incoming" to Susan. Suddenly I saw another hawk above me on my right, also streaming from Mooney. TWO HAWKS! The immediate feeling was Buzz and Ruby, but that was not possible. They streamed towards the woodlot. I thought the second bird was much larger than the first. If the latter had been Ruby, which I had only assumed, the second bird was much larger, possibly the very large female from Huron Towers who had been tolerated in Buzz's territory in years past. But was it? I did not see the color of the tail, but I did notice the bird was not in wing molt. I followed the second, larger bird, who disappeared into the woodlot. Then I saw the bird I presumed to be Ruby fly to a pine tree on the northern perimeter, at which point the intruder flew south down Wheeler Street. Immediately I received a text from Amy Kipp that Ruby was perched on Social Security, but I responded "NOT RUBY!" We then saw Ruby fly down Wheeler St. Amy picked up on everything quickly and saw Ruby fly towards the intruder on Social Security. That bird flew to 545 Reservoir Place, followed by Ruby, who then turned around and flew to one her favorite perches in the Green Tree. The intruder followed, landing above and behind Ruby in a very tall tree. Ruby then disappeared down Concord Avenue. The intruder followed. A block away I saw a hawk shooting low through the woods, towards Neville Manor, That was apparently the intruder, as Amy & Susan found and confirmed Ruby on the roof of Raytheon. After a minute or two, she took off towards Mooney again.

Amy, Susan and I gathered to make sense of what we had just seen. I've written before about "floaters," unmated adults who keep floating from area to area looking for a potential mate. That is how hawks frequently find mates, not through Match.com. Most settled males should be on territory, so females go looking for males who have lost a mate, or who might be willing to "upgrade" to them and forsake their current mate. Unsettled males may be looking for females on territory where the male has died, or where they might challenge the "sitting male" for nest and mate. It is a dark dating scene, but it works. We've seen well documented stories about how quickly Pale Male could replace a lost mate, and the extent to which he could choose between females competing for his bond. Last year an eagle nest in Virginia that was on web cam revealed at least three females contending for the attention of the territorial male who had lost his mate, to the point of two of them "duking" it out in the nest!

But none of us had seen any real aggression or animosity between these two Redtails. "Quiet tolerance" was the key phrase. Not acceptance. Not confrontation. But Ruby was not allowing the intruder close to the nest. (Yet she flew off to Mooney, two blocks from the nest, shortly after this incident.) It is possible that that the intruder was an unmated female, who may have been under review as a possible "au pair" to help Ruby hunt for food for the kids, but who might not be tolerated too close to the nest itself. It might have been the female from Huron, who is huge, with some sort of hawk communication about Buzz being missing. Had she seen him? (She clearly knows Buzz and Ruby well.) When Ruby had gone to Raytheon, that is a key boundary marker for her and her mate. The Huron bird owns the golf course. Ruby had gone to her "property marker," perhaps to make a quiet point, and the intruder moved on. Your guess is as good as mine. None of us had aged the intruder, and some did not think the bird was as large as I thought.

Ruby then returned to hang out on 200 and 150 Cambridgepark Drive. Very visible to wherever Buzz must be. (But not from Grafton.) At 7:15 Ruby flew back to the northern perimeter of her woodlot, about 20 yards from the nest. Heavy equipment and exhaust fumes blocked our view of the woodlot, and I left. With all this activity, we had not seen any successful hunting and feeding this morning. The lives of three young hawks were still up in the air. Would they all survive the day? I was asked if the youngest died, would its siblings eat it or would Ruby remove it from the nest? Someone said they could envision two chicks starving so that at least one would make it to fledging. We had lots of questions. No conclusive answers on the fate of Buzz, Ruby, or the three kids.

We were feeling waves of anxiety with the unknown. We knew Ruby was not just beautiful, but strong and courageous. We had seen how she risked life and limb against the aggravated Peregrine to help Buzz defend their territory. Wednesday afternoon, Amy Kipp arrived at the nest and got a report from a construction worker that Ruby had delivered a rabbit to the nest around 10:00 a.m., coming from Discovery Park. That is the equivalent of a side of beef to those young kids. They could dine all day or more on a moderately sized rabbit. Around 5:00 pm, Ruby flew into the nest with prey, a young gosling, quite possibly from the pair of Canada Geese nesting on the Abt property. Jane Myers excellent photographs confirmed the prey was indeed a gosling. Nancy Barceló reported that Ruby spent about 45 minutes feeding all three chicks fairly large chunks of food. Two good-sized meals, morning and afternoon. Great! Lynda Niedringhaus reported that at 6:50 they saw Ruby in the nest with more food, but that she was eating, not feeding the kids. At 7:45 p.m., Ruby nestled in with the kids for the night.

This morning she was out of the nest a few minutes after dawn broke, and down Wheeler. At 5:51, she flew from the Mooney Street area to the feeding post at 87 Fawcett, where she was harassed by a mockingbird and a blue jay. She flew to the nest tree, and a minute later dropped into the nest where she picked up a mouse and started to tear it up and feed the kids, who were waiting patiently, all lined up facing her as she literally disemboweled the little rodent. You have no idea how long the large intestine of a white-footed mouse is until you eat it like spaghetti. By 6 a.m. the feeding has stopped and she flew north to a pole on the B&M tracks. One of the larger chicks kept yawning, looking as though it might be ready to cough up its first good-sized pellet. A chick stood up fully on the edge of the bowl of the nest, exposing its entire body.

Eventually, Ruby moved to a position in the nest tree, above and north of the nest. She was not obvious to any passers by. This was no declaration of ownership. This was guard duty. At 6:08, she flew over to the willow tree south of the nest, broke off a branch several feet long and flew back to the nest with it in her beak, where she immediately arranged it in the nest. One observer thought she was camouflaging the kids with it. More likely she was freshening the nest and perhaps covering the prey remains therein.

FLASH! Susan reported at 6:47 that one of the chicks had stood up on the lip of the nest, turned, and voided into space! A milestone we have not seen or reported so far this year! These kids ARE growing up. (Remember the wall of whitewash splatter on the bricks on the back of the nest at 185?) Ruby returned to sentry duty and we left.

Wednesday was a day of enormous progress. The first day where pangs of hope were fed and fears were a little less powerful. A day when all the chicks and Ruby appeared to be well fed. A day of growing up. There are no conclusive answers yet. Buzz is doing as well as can be expected, but it may be several days before we have a reliable diagnosis and prognosis. There will certainly be tough days ahead for Ruby and the kids, but they had successfully bridged one of the most threatening days of their lives. Hope lives. All five hawks still have a chance . . . .

Best,

Paul

NOTE: 1). Please do NOT call the Tufts clinic for info on Buzz. They can't afford to invest the time responding to multiple calls on one bird. I promise to notify the list as soon as we have any firm word. 2). Please consider making a contribution to the Animal Rescue League of Boston, which was so wonderfully responsive and caring. Without them, Buzz might not be alive today. Get the info from their web site. I am sending in a check in Buzz's name as an indication of appreciation and support, and have written the head of Animal Rescue for the ARL. 3). Consider making a contribution to the Tufts Veterinary Clinic, which does all this work gratis. I will provide more info on supporting the clinic later.

Paul M. Roberts
Medford, MA
phawk254@comcast.net