A compassionate woman named Mona from Sacramento, California, recently encountered a rather unusual guest in her yard.
Believe it or not, one ordinary day, her neighbor called to alert her about a hawk that had fallen off a tree and landed in her yard. According to him, the poor bird appeared wounded, unable to fly off.
Shocked and intrigued, Mona quickly went outside to investigate, ready to help the bird if it was indeed injured.
As she approached the spot where the hawk had landed, Mona noticed it was quite young, seemingly alone without a parent in sight, clutching a mouse in its talons.
The young hawk appeared confused and disoriented but remained calm around Mona. She gently scooped it up and moved it to a safer location a few yards away.
Thankfully, Mona’s house came with an old cat patio that was currently unused. Deciding it would make a perfect temporary shelter, she set the hawk on one of the shelves, softly scratching its chest to build trust and comfort.
Mona spoke gently with the young hawk, as though she was speaking to a child; all she hoped for was its quick recovery and safe return to the wild.
Believing strongly in the importance of keeping wild animals free, she left the cat patio’s doors open, so the hawk could come and go as it pleased.
As Mona cared for her new guest, she noticed that the feathers on its right wing were still unfurling, unlike those on the left wing, which were fully unfurled.
This observation indicated that the young hawk’s feathers weren’t fully developed yet, meaning it wasn’t ready to fly independently.
This realization was a relief to Mona because it meant that her neighbor was wrong: The hawk wasn’t injured but was simply too young to fly.
A few hours after the rescue, the young hawk’s parents appeared, looking for their offspring.
As she wrote on her Instagram, upon seeing its parents, the young hawk made its way out of the cat patio, following his mom by foot to another location – still within Mona’s yard.
She talked about the entire rescue mission in an Instagram video she shared; if you’re interested, check it out here:
After a couple of days, in the comment section of this video, Mona wrote an update about the whole situation for all her curious followers. She said:
“Just for anyone’s who’s wanting an update, parent hawk has dropped off food several times and caring for the hawk, so happy to see it, and is in full care by parent. It has remained in the area I moved it going in and out of the large cat cage (door is left open) and roaming in the field. All is well. We hope to see it take flight soon!”
It’s heartwarming to know that there are people like Mona, who are always ready to step in and help an animal in need.
If you’re interested in following more of Mona’s wildlife adventures in the heart of California, consider following her on Instagram.