Rescue
This juvenile sparrow hawk was rescued after becoming grounded from an obvious wing injury. With a clear open fracture, the first port of call was to stabilise the hawk before any major intervention could be considered. Given fluids, and of course pain relief, the only chance this youngster had to ever fly again was surgery.
Rehabilitation
The following day, an X-ray revealed both the radius and ulna in the hawks right wing were fractured. Our vet team set to work by introducing a surgical pin to align the ulna, the larger bone of the two. With the radius a stable fracture, the securing of the wing, after surgery, enabled both bones to begin the healing process.
After 10 days, the hawk was X-rayed again to check how both bones were calcifying. Happily, both bones had aligned and had a strong enough callus that the pin was able to be removed.
Release
With a further 10 days of physio, we are delighted to see, just 28 days after arriving, this young bird is ready for release. Working with two licensed BTO ringers, the sparrow hawk has been ringed in order to help provide further data on how birds with these particular injuries fair, after release.
See his release, below
