Each Monday morning I deliver Meals on Wheels to several locations near St. Louis University for Trinity Church’s Food Program. One of the stops on my route is the Council Towers on Grand between Hwy. 40/64 and the Forest Park Blvd. underpass. I have noticed over the past couple of years that if there is the slightest breeze, the winds are gale-force in that area.
As I approached the Tower on Memorial Day, I noticed a hawk circling above, which I thought was a little odd, but since I’ve been learning (and posting) about the presence of predator birds in our immediate neighborhood, I figured they had found hunting grounds further east as well.
As I walked toward the building with my delivery I was aware of commotion on the parking lot as residents watched a large bird in obvious distress. The bird appeared to be injured as it kept getting knocked over by the wind when it tried to take flight.
After I finished my rounds I noticed that the bird had found its way to a trash can beside the entry to the building. (By the way, all I had was my camera phone, which is adequate but not as good as my Canon.) That’s when I decided to call my bird-whisperer friend, Martin Schweig, for advice. He could barely hear me over the whistle of the wind, but asked that I stay put while he grabbed his hawk gloves and headed my way.
Martin identified the bird as a first-year Red Tailed Hawk. His first attempt to coax the hawk onto his glove failed,
and the bird took a short flight into a corner.
Martin was able to catch the hawk and carry it to a nearby patch of green under a tree. He was sure that the young bird wasn’t injured, just grounded by the windy conditions. The hawk could hide there until his parent (circling overhead) could feed it.
With mission accomplished, Martin and I headed our separate ways. What had been a usual Monday morning, albeit Memorial Day, turned into a mini-adventure involving a stranded hawk, a knowledgeable friend, and confirmation that humans and birds of prey can co-exist in the middle of a city.
A truly memorable Memorial Day!