It’s time to look back on 2021! Check our blog between Christmas and New Year’s for a variety of stories and memories of 2021 from the staff and volunteers of the Wildlife Center of Virginia.
2021 was definitely a year for my record book. Not only did I get hired for my dream job as a wildlife rehabilitator, but I also had the privilege to have that position be here at the Wildlife Center of Virginia. I started in mid-November, so I have not had much time to collect stories. However, I did have a few moments that were quite memorable.
I have worked with raptors in a training and rehabilitating setting before, but the first one I handled here at the Center was Red-shouldered Hawk #21-3641. This patient had been admitted to the clinic for suspected window collision just a few days before I had my first day. The hawk had a swollen left wing, but no fractures or open wounds. After a few days, I remember hearing the bird’s patient ID in passing and that she was moved outside to one of our flight enclosures. Out there, she was not a very reliable eater. After giving the hawk some time, we offered live prey to see if she preferred catching her own live food. Thankfully, that was all it took for her to start back on the right track. As we approached Thanksgiving Day, the hawk had recuperated from her mishap, and we needed someone to release her. I was offered the opportunity to release her, and I jumped on it.
My fiancé David, who I’ve been with for nearly five years now, has never gotten to participate in a release before. I got to surprise him with the good news when I got to work on Thanksgiving Day. It was such a fun experience to get to see the release process from his perspective. He was over the moon excited to get to see a hawk up close and get to see it fly off. He wanted to take a video of it going off into the sunset, so I set up the travel carrier on the ground to release the bird. It did not go quite as smoothly or gracefully as David was expecting. When I opened the top of the carrier, the Red-Shouldered Hawk flew right at him. Thankfully, no humans or birds were harmed in the making of this 2021 recap. The hawk took a quick turn and flew off back where it came from.
That Thanksgiving will always be super special to us. Not only as the first Thanksgiving that we spent in our new home but also because David had the chance to see the pay-off of such an amazing recovery process.
— Liz Noderer, Wildlife Rehabilitator