Q&A: Burned bird that survived wildfire to be released back into the wild after rehabilitation

August 21, 2024 Canuck

After surviving a wildfire that tore through B.C.’s Shuswap region last summer, a kestrel falcon is about to be released back into the wild thanks to a wildlife rehabilitation centre northwest of Calgary.

The bird of prey has spent nearly a year in care, building up its flight muscles before being returned to the B.C. wilderness.

Scottie Potter is the communications co-ordinator with the Alberta Institute for Wildlife Conservation in Madden, Alta. She spoke with CBC Radio’s Loren McGinnis on the Calgary Eyeopener to share the small falcon’s big story.

The following has been edited for length and clarity.

CBC: How’s this kestrel falcon doing?

Scottie Potter: She’s doing wonderfully. She looks so much better than when she first came in. She’s so ready to get out of here.

Can you describe what the scenario was when she was brought to you last summer?

SP: Some concerned citizens, as they were fleeing the fires and coming eastward, came across her on the ground with singed flight feathers. Those are those big prominent feathers on the wings and on the tail of birds that allow them to fly.

Those injuries were pretty significant. The feathers were singed to the point where all that was left was the shaft. The best way I can describe it is almost skeletal-looking wings. It’s a very strange look on a bird that you really only see after they have been burned in some way.

LISTEN | How Good Samaritans saved a small falcon from a wildfire:

Calgary Eyeopener7:26Falcon rehabilitation

After a year of rehabilitation north of Calgary, an injured falcon will be heading back into the wild.

She didn’t really have any flesh wounds, which is extraordinarily lucky. When we have birds — or any other animal — come into our clinic with burns from wildfires, typically they don’t make it.

We got special permission from the B.C. government in order to take care of her.

If she had not been brought in, what do you think her chances of survival would have been?

SP: Pretty much zero. Kestrels rely entirely on flight in order to find food. She came in during August, right before her migration south, and so she wouldn’t have been able to migrate. She would have been spending the winter on the ground without any access to food, so she would not have survived at all.

What has her rehabilitation journey been like?

SP: We have been waiting for her to moult those burnt feathers. So that meant we had to wait all the way until May before we started seeing her shed those flight feathers and new ones come in. Most birds of prey have an annual moult. Sometimes it comes in two phases. It wasn’t until this month that she had fully shed all of her feathers.

a bird of prey stands on a thick branch and looks directly at the camera. — Pictured here before moulting, this bird of prey’s most critical feathers — those needed to take flight, along its wings and tail — were badly burned after a 2023 wildfire. (Denise Cresswell)

She actually broke some of her talons as well. Thankfully, our team was able to keep things light on her feet and give her some treatments, some vitamin supplements on her nails. It kind of looks like painting her nails. It’s kind of a funny process.

Now, her talons look absolutely gorgeous, her feathers look gorgeous and she is ready to go. She’s fully flighted, and when she’s back in the wild, she’ll be able to hunt, survive and migrate just like any other healthy kestrel.

How do you go through all that and keep her from becoming dependent on people?

SP: The nice thing with an adult bird is they come in with an inherent fear of people. Being in care and being around people is not something that an adult bird is going to habituate to easily. This is typically more of a problem with young birds that don’t have any idea of what living in the wild is like.

She has maintained a fear of people throughout her stay. It doesn’t help that people are constantly handling her to give her those pedicures.

Last time I was with her, she let me know that she did not want me there. She is quite the vocal bird, and falcons — kestrels in particular — have a very shrill, repetitive screeching sound when they want you to go away. She lets us know when she wants us out of there. Thankfully, that’s a good sign that she hasn’t become habituated.

When and how is her release going to go, given that she’s raring for it?

SP: We are currently just waiting on permits from the B.C. government to take her over the border. The moving of wildlife from one province to another is always a complex process.

On top of that, we’re waiting on a staff member or volunteer who is ready at that time to go and drive her out there. It’s all about timing at the moment, because it is a bit of a long haul out to the Shuswap.

It will be us driving her out there, and whether or not the B.C. government wants to take part is totally up to them. Then, we will be releasing her right back into the wild where she belongs.

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