This is SQUEEK, a baby Swainson's Hawk, about 30 days old and was hatched in a nest at about 8,000 feet near Alcova. He was blown out of his nest, about 100' above the ground two days ago and rescued by Buck Braten in Meeteetse.
Altho this baby bird was fed the wrong diet for two days, he managed to survive until he arrived today. He was barely able to sit on his hocks at 9:30 this morning but by 4:00 this afternoon, after eating six young mice and getting some fluids, he's up on his feet and begging for food. Hence the name, he squeeks after every bite so I don't forget to give him another one.
Swainson's Hawks make a very long migration to South America for the winter which causes a bit of a dilemma for this bird as he won't have an adult to show him the route. He will either have to be trained to hunt and then be released in time or wintered over until they arrive back in the Spring. Until decision time is here it's a good thing I have lots of mice on hand.
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