A Sudden Trap Along The Fence Line
The young bird’s left wing flapped frantically against the wet wooden post as a thin strand of baling twine pinned its leg tightly in place.
A few inches directly above the struggling fledgling, two mature red-tailed hawks gripped the top rail of the pasture fence.
Their yellow talons dug into the aged timber, heads tilting downward with every beat of the young bird’s wings.
Through the thick morning mist, a person dressed in dark waterproof gear stepped forward across the muddy ruts of the track.
The boots pressed into the soft earth, slowing to a quiet, deliberate pace as the distance between rescuer and raptor closed.
The adult birds shifted their weight on the top rail, wings slightly fanned, yet neither took flight into the foggy grey sky.
Careful Hands And A Thin Blade
The rescuer reached into a dark jacket pocket and pulled out a small pair of utility scissors.
Squatting low into the damp soil, the rescuer placed one bare palm gently near the fledgling’s chest to calm its rapid thrashing.
The young hawk turned its head, wide dark eyes tracking the silver metal blades slipping behind the taut strand.
With a clean snip, the tension released from the cord wrapped around the bird’s lower leg.
The fledgling dropped down onto the damp clay beneath the bottom rail, shaking out its ruffled chest feathers.
It stretched both legs forward into the mud, testing its grip before expanding its broad patterned wings.
A second later, powerful wingbeats pushed against the cold air, lifting the young bird up and away into the fog bank.
The two adults pushed off the wooden rail in unison, banking across the pasture grass to trail behind the young bird’s flight path.
Another Struggling Fledgling Found In The Wire
Further along the boundary line of open grassland, another small bird dangled helplessly within the squares of a livestock fence.
Its downy body remained wedged between horizontal steel wires, legs caught completely in the narrow metal grid.
Out in the low grass behind the wire, a parent bird swept in low, wings spread wide across the sodden ground.
The parent hovered mere feet away, wings fluttering continuously against the open breeze as another rescuer knelt down into the mud.
The rescuer worked both bare hands around the soft plumage, gently guiding the trapped legs free from the tight wire junction.
Finger by finger, the bent steel strands parted just enough for the bird’s fluffy torso to slip down onto the soft turf.
Reunion On The Open Ground
The small fledgling stood unsteady for a brief second, shaking mud droplets from its light brown wing tips.
It took two wobbly steps across the bare wet patch beneath the fence wire toward the open field.
The waiting parent bounded forward through the short vegetation, spreading its wings low along the ground.
The young bird hurried forward to meet the larger bird’s side, and both trotted off together into the tall yellow grass.
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