INTRODUCING OUR WONDERFUL
BIRD AMBASSADORS
BIRD AMBASSADORS
MS. MURPHY, OUR RED TAILED HAWK
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Murphy has a fascinating history. She came into a wildlife rehabilitation group in El Dorado County, CA, unable to fly or stand. Kelli and Carol actually went on her rescue and were in charge of her rehabilitation. She had no broken bones or any identifiable injury. We didn’t know what was wrong with her. She was just – down. After weeks of food and rest, when she seemed to be recovering her strength, she suddenly had a seizure. She came through that with some setbacks, but was alive and alert, and she recovered once more. Then she suffered another seizure, so Kelli and Dr. Carol, HH&H’s vet of record, took her to Dr. Vickie Joseph a well known raptor veterinarian for an assessment. There, a blood test revealed that Murphy was suffering from West Nile Virus. Red-tailed hawks and owls, along with crows and magpies, are very susceptible to this serious disease. Most birds that contract it die – it affects their entire physical and psychological systems.
But Murphy was determined to survive. She was under a year old when she came in and now, years later after care and physical therapy, she has recovered remarkably. She still has balance problems, though she is improving in that area. And she will remain partially blind in both eyes. Kelli, her handler and trainer, flies her, gets her to exercise in other ways, and has helped her come to enjoy entertaining a crowd. But she sees well enough to fly on a creance (a long flexible leash). Kelli has Murphy leashed to her glove so that she can control, to a degree, where and how far Murphy flies. It is good exercise for all concerned! If you click on the video link, you will learn more about Murphy and see her flying for food treats.
MR. BOLT, OUR PEREGRINE FALCON
Bolt came from the Lindsay Wildlife Museum. He had been rescued as a yearling by some town folks who found him on the ground in their garden, unable to fly. On examination, he was found to have an injured wing, probably from hitting something as he was hunting. Peregrine falcons eat birds they catch in flight, and they dive very fast in a hunt. Young ones sometimes tend to lose control and crash on landing.
Despite treatment, Bolt’s wing didn’t recover, but he showed a willingness to work with us clumsy humans. After a couple of setbacks, he is now ready to show once more how beautiful and aerodynamic the falcon’s form really is. When you see his sleek lines and pointed wings, you’ll understand why the Peregrine, who can reach speeds of about 250 mph in a dive, is called the Fighter Pilot of the Bird World.
MS. WHISPER, OUR BARN OWL
Whisper was found as a very young owl that had fallen out of a very tall palm tree in April of 2017. She suffered some head trauma and was deemed non-releasable so we were able to adopt her. She has been such a wonderful treat for all our volunteers to be around and learn from each other as we get her used to representing Barn Owls.
Barn Owls populate every continent in the world except for Antarctica. The Barn Owls in the North America are larger than any of the others. They have acute hearing that gives them the ability to successful capture live prey in a completely dark room. Another fantastic fact about Barn Owls is that they are known to consume 1,000 mice every year! Now how's that for a natural pest killer, no need for Decon if you have Barn Owls around. Whisper is a SUPERSTAR in the making, if you haven't had a chance to meet her do come out to one of our presentations, you will be delighted.
MR. HOOTIE,
OUR GREAT HORNED OWL 
Hootie was brought in to a veterinarian's office mid summer of 2017 after being hit by a car in the early morning hours. Luckily he didn't suffer any broken bones but he did have a traumatic head injury which affects his vision. He was deemed non-releaseable to the wild and we were fortunate enough to be able to adopt him. He is a very sweet guy that has BIG talons and can be intimidating but that's only if you don't know him. Hootie sits well on the glove and is taking good to his training; we think he loves all the free mice he can eat! We are so happy that he's turned into a fantastic Bird Ambassador for us, he's so handsome!
MS. BOBBIE,
OUR WESTERN SCREECH OWL
Bobbie came to Hawks, Honkers & Hoots when she was just a little over a month old. We are unsure of exactly what happened to her but we do know she was brought to California Foundation of Birds of Prey. It was obvious to them that someone unknowingly imprinted her. We can understand why, she's so darn cute, you just want to love on her. We named her Bobbie because she often "bobs" her head. She has taken well to her glove training and already has been to a couple presentations. She has a great personality, she's a BIG ham, can't wait for you to meet her.
MR. CHIP, OUR AMERICAN KESTREL
American Kestrels are the smallest in the Falcon family here in the United States. Another interesting fact about American Kestrels is that they are one of the very few raptors one can identify as either male or female just by the coloration of their feathering. We didn't need to do a DNA test on Chip because we already knew he was a male.
Chip came to us in the late summer of 2019 via California Foundation for Birds of Prey. He was actually found by a falconer under some bushes, most likely hiding because he couldn't fly. Somehow he sustained an injury to his shoulder; actually a "chip" to his shoulder, hence his name. He's a handsome guy, you will love his spunky personality. MS. BENNI,
OUR WHITE-TAILED KITE
Meet Benni who joined HH&H in the fall of 2019. Benni came to us via California Foundation for Birds of Prey. White-tailed Kites are not known to tame down easily, not Benni, she is a charmer and loves the attention that she gets at our presentations. Both of these photos are of Benni; the photo on the left is Benni sporting her juvenile feathering, the photo on the right is Benni in almost full adult plumage. What is significant about this is that we know that she was hatched sometime in the Spring of 2019. We were under the impression that Benni was a boy so he got "his" name, "Benny" to honor Benjamin Franklin, who is known for flying "kites". Then we received the DNA test and learned Benni is actually female but we decided to keep the name.
White-tailed Kites are the beautiful white birds who can face into the wind and "kite" or hover over an open field in an attempt to locate prey. Once located, the White-tailed Kite will drop out of the sky on top of its quarry. Benni has a BIG personality and is vocal, especially when she hears us talk. We look forward to sharing her with you! MR. JOAQUIN,
OUR SWAINSON'S HAWK
We received a phone call in June of 2020 regarding a baby hawk that was found on a farm down in Ripon. The people couldn't get the baby back up to its nest safely, it was up about 40'. We asked if they could get a transport to Galt and I could meet them. We got the baby in to see our Veterinarian who determined the little one was non-releasable. We requested a DNA test to be done to see if the baby was a male or female. While we waited for the DNA test to be returned we decided to add the baby to our organization. While we had Trek who was a Swainson's Hawk, we thought it would be great to be able to show the difference between the sizes in males and females if the baby ended up being a male. Luck was with us, the results came back male! The next would be what color morph would he end up being. Trek is considered a "dark morph" and the chances of him being the same is slim. Swaison's Hawks take three years to get into adult plumage, so by summer of 2022, we will all know what morph he will be.
Our next task was to find a name for him which we always have a bit of fun with. He was found in San Joaquin Valley, "walking around", so that was it, his name was given...Joaquin! |
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MS. LUCY, OUR
CANADA GOOSE
CANADA GOOSE
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We got a call back in September of 2021, asking us if we would consider adding a new Ambassador to HH&H. The funny thing is that not two weeks prior our team talked about how we would love to add a "Honker" back to our lineup of birds. It was nothing short of amazing how things just worked out.
HH&H hasn't had a goose as a part of our Ambassador line up since 2013 and it is quite exciting for us. She is a gosling, hatched in the spring of 2020 and full of personality! She is very smart and has taken well to her clicker training. She loves to eat dandelion greens, dried mealworms and corn as a part of her training. We can't wait to share her with you, we are certain that you will love her as much as we do.
HH&H hasn't had a goose as a part of our Ambassador line up since 2013 and it is quite exciting for us. She is a gosling, hatched in the spring of 2020 and full of personality! She is very smart and has taken well to her clicker training. She loves to eat dandelion greens, dried mealworms and corn as a part of her training. We can't wait to share her with you, we are certain that you will love her as much as we do.
MS. DIEGA, OUR
BURROWING OWL
BURROWING OWL
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The day of our "Owl-O-Ween" Fundraiser we made USFWS and CAFWS know that we were looking for another Burrowing Owl. We had a wonderful experience with our little lady Digger for a few years that when she passed away, we wanted to look for another that needed a home. Of course it took a number of years for us to be ready but the timing was just right, we received a call in early December of 2021 letting us know a Burrowing Owl was in need of placement, we were so excited. This little lady was found injured down in the San Diego area, hence her name...Diega. She was brought into the San Diego Humane Society with loss of vision in her left eye due to possibly being hit by a car. It took some planning and on January 12th we flew to Irvine to meet Erin who is a volunteer for the San Diego Humane Society graciously drove Diega up to Irvine to meet us. The airlines would not allow us to bring Diega into the cabin of the airplane so we rented a car and drove from Irvine back to Sacramento with her. She has been in training with Jeanette ever since. She is taking to her training very well, we cannot wait for you to meet her!
MS. RIVER, OUR
RED-SHOULDERED HAWK
RED-SHOULDERED HAWK
We welcomed River who came from the San Diego Humane Society. She is a "hatch year bird", which means that she was hatched in the Spring of this year (2022). She was rescued because he had a broken leg which was surgically repaired but during his rehabilitation, she imprinted on people. Being an imprint, she became "non-releasable" and that gave us an opportunity to adopt her. Red-shouldered Hawks are prevalent here in the Sacramento Valley so she will fit right in with the others. She is doing well in her training and out to meet the public soon. She is in her juvenile plumage that will change over the next couple years. Red-shouldered Hawks are very vocal and she sure does let us know that she's joined HH&H.
Quick update on River, she made her debut at our Annual Fundraiser on October 15, 2022! She did amazing and will only get better in time.
Quick update on River, she made her debut at our Annual Fundraiser on October 15, 2022! She did amazing and will only get better in time.