Roughies released after rescues

Posted 2/22/18

Three rough-legged hawks, all brought in bad shape to Ironside Bird Rescue in Cody were released into the foothills of the McCullough Peaks. Susan Ahalt, who has run the facility for the past 30 years, names all birds that come to her for treatment. …

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Roughies released after rescues

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The release is the sweetest moment in the heartbreaking work of rehabilitating wildlife. Friday was three times as sweet as usual for Park County’s only bird rescue.

Three rough-legged hawks, all brought in bad shape to Ironside Bird Rescue in Cody were released into the foothills of the McCullough Peaks. Susan Ahalt, who has run the facility for the past 30 years, names all birds that come to her for treatment. The three roughies were named Warrior, Spark and Bill.

Bill was nicknamed in honor of Bill Robertson, Greybull game warden for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. He rescued the injured mature hawk after it was hit by a car while feeding on some roadkill west of town.

“I rushed out to get it. It was easy to catch in the snow. Then I moved the coyote [carcass] off the road so other birds wouldn’t get hit,” Robertson said.

The raptor, the largest in North America to be able to hover while hunting, suffered a breast injury and was pretty shook up. Robertson took it to Ahalt, then it was taken to a local veterinarian to be stitched up and begin rehab.

“This year has been especially tough due to the high number of roughies. They get hit often while looking for snacks and roadkill along the highway,” Robertson said.

The game warden has always been proactive in attempting to save raptors — often driving the birds to Ahalt for treatment. But he was surprised to have the hawk named after him.

“Bill is the best of the best,” Ahalt said. Robertson has saved many injured raptors and has always been a great help to the Ironside facility, she said. “He’s one of my staunchest supporters.”

Robertson couldn’t make it for the release, but Dan Smith, Cody region wildlife supervisor for Game and Fish, and Dillon Herman, Lovell game warden, were invited to assist in the release, along with Nathan Horton, lab manager and golden eagle research assistant at the Draper Natural History Museum. The trio stood side by side on a windy day to release all three hawks, one by one, in about three seconds.

Smith was just a little nervous. Running through his mind at the moment of the release was a prayer the wind didn’t blow Warrior in the wrong direction, he said. For all the hard work to bring the birds back to the health required to survive in the wild, this is the payoff — just a few flaps of wings and then a dot on the horizon.

“It’s wonderful Susan [Ahalt] did such a good job with them to get them back in the wild. She does an amazing job and has done so much for this community,” Herman said.

After the release, Ahalt was all smiles and led her visitors on a tour of the facilities. January and February have been hard months at the facility. Ahalt has lost a bald eagle, suffering from lead poisoning, and a golden eagle that was hit by a car. In 2017, half the birds brought in for help eventually succumbed to their injuries.

But days like this, when she can participate in a release, she’s happy.

“The best sight in the world is the tail feathers of a bird flying away free,” Ahalt said.

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