Update on redtail

Today I received the following information on the elderly Red-tailed hawk who had been found with severe injuries after being shot. He was banded on February 19, 1995 in Berthoud, CO by the Colorado Bird Observatory, now called the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory. He was hatched in 1994, probably in that area which is near Denver.

That means when he was shot down with a shotgun he had made it to 20 years old. Altho hawks are routinely of that age in captivity, it is very rare for them to achieve it in the wild due to all the threats to them. First they have to make it through their first winter and 80% of them don't manage that. Then it's a day to day struggle to find a meal and survive predators.

This awesome hawk proves that where there's a will there's a way and I am so saddened by what happened to him. Hopefully someone will come forward and we'll find out who cut his life short. Probably not. My heart will take a while to recover from his loss.