This unusually colored raptor is FIONN, a leucistic adult female Red-tailed Hawk. The only color on her is contained in about four partially red tail feathers, one dark wing feather and a few single feathers on her head and chest. In the 25 years I've been rehabbing birds this is only the second white redtail I've seen and the first to come to IBR.
She had been hit by a car near Pavillion, WY and was lucky enough to be spotted within minutes of the trauma so was gathered up and the next morning taken to Drs. Gunda and Glen Gamble in Riverton. They immediately called me so I could start the almost three hour drive down to pick her up.
She has had surgery to repair her broken right humerus and the post surgical xrays look great. Now it will take time to see if she'll be able to fly well enough for release after the pin is removed in about six weeks.
This amazing bird appears to be very old, possibly into her mid teens. She is also a very chubby bird weighing in at 42 ounces. Obviously she's very good at hunting. FIONN had been seen in the area where she was hit since Christmas, 2011, and is a favorite of all the people on that road. They are all anxious about how she's doing so will follow her progress with great interest.
Susan - I so enjoyed speaking to you about "our white hawk" the day you retrived her from Riverton. I learned a great deal in that short time from you! My daughter and I have had several people inquire about 'Fionn' and we have passed on the name of your blog site. We will be glued to this site to check on Fionn's progress and healing. Thank you, Susan for all you do.
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