SAULT STE. MARIE - A hawk hit by a train near Parry Sound could be getting a second chance at life in the Sault thanks to the work of volunteers.
Graydon May was running a freight train between Barrie and Sudbury when he noticed a bird on the tracks ahead.
“I was blowing the horn and wondering why he wasn’t flying away,” said May.
Unable to stop the train, May checked for the bird further down the line in Sudbury.
“I’m going to look and see if he’s in the cow catcher. What do you know, he’s right in the knuckle,” he said.
Unfortunately it wasn’t the first time May has seen the train hit wildlife.
He has a dog that he picked up off the tracks as a puppy when the mother and a sibling were killed.
“I have her right now. It’s a nice husky dog,” said May.
May put the broad-winged hawk in a box and handed it off to a friend, who found Wild at Heart Wildlife Refuge Centre in Lively, just outside of Sudbury.
“We take an animal in with the intention of releasing them back to the wild. We’re not a sanctuary, we don’t keep them,” said Gloria Morissette, animal care manager at the centre.
The hawk was taken to Walden Animal Hospital for X-rays, which were forwarded to Dr. Scott Craig, of Northland Animal Hospital in Sault Ste. Marie, who specializes in fixing broken bird wings.
“He has one break that they think may be fixable,” said Morissette.
Wild at Heart put out a call for a volunteer to transport the bird to the Sault.
Bearskin Airlines stepped up to transport the injured bird on their next scheduled flight from Sudbury to Sault Ste. Marie, which was scheduled to land Thursday afternoon.
“When there is something like this we love to help out these non-profit organizations,” said Ilka Ethier, a representative from the airline.
Bearskin completed a similar journey last year when an injured hummingbird was transported from Kapuskasing to Wild at Heart in Lively.
“The hummingbird was in a clear-plastic candy container and could not fly,” said Ethier.
She said Wild at Heart will not be billed for the ticket.
“We’re a non-profit, so these community partners are so important,” said Morissette.
Ethier said the bird will be shipped back to Sudbury after the surgery and, if all goes well, will be returned to the area he was found.
May remembers the mile marker where the bird was initially found and wants to be the one to return it to the wild.
"I hope it does okay. Its wing was pretty broken."
Morissette hopes for the best.
“We don’t know if the hawk will make it or not, but I thought it was a wonderful story that so many people in the community are getting together to give this little hawk a chance.”
(PHOTO: Broad-winged hawk photo by Julie Waters via Wikipedia under creative commons license)
