![]() Medicine, food and other items can cost hundreds of dollars. Recovery can last months, depending on the condition. Surgery and treatment can take place at the office but for some cases, Smyth has flight pens set up at his home in Plymouth Township and a creance, or tethering cord, so he can help patients regain their flying strength. Over the years, working with the DNR and caring locals, the Michigan State University graduate has tended to wayward kestrels, baby owls who have plunged from trees hawks with broken wings, gunshot wounds or concussions and eagles showing signs of lead poisoning. Smyth, who works at Morrison Animal Hospital in Garden City, had long been a veterinarian and once focused on thoroughbred race horses before deciding on raptors - captivated by their wing spans, curved beaks, distinctive talons and piercing eyes. Training and work with a veterinarian or permitted rehabilitator typically is needed before approval. ![]() The Michigan Department of Natural Resources lists some 130 licensed wildlife rehabilitators across the state.įewer than 10 are designated as specializing in raptors, and the rehabbers require state and federal permits, said permit specialist Casey Reitz. “If we can get them back in the wild properly, that’s a plus for them and us,” said Dave Hogan, a Monroe County-based rehabber who doubles as a falconer, a person who trains birds of prey. That’s where raptor rehabbers come in - helping eagles, osprey, falcons and others recuperate and return to their habitat. “In fall, when young hawks have fledged, a lot do end up getting hit by cars. “There are a lot of the young raptors and they don’t know how to hunt very well, they don’t know how cars work,” said Ava Landgraf, a research associate with the Detroit Audubon. Autumn is when many of the creatures typically head south for the winter along the region’s traditional bird migratory routes, where they risk bruising encounters that can leave them grounded.īlame nature and the environment, experts say. The rare work is gaining more attention as residents spot feathered predators this season in southeast Michigan, considered one of the top fall migration sites on the continent. The work is intense, costly and emotional for those who try to cure the creatures - key reasons why so few in Michigan choose a path funded largely through donations. “He was so grateful that I would meet him, and I was the same way: ‘Thank you for being so interested in helping this animal out,’ ” said Smyth of the person who turned in the bird. He's among a handful of people across Michigan known as raptor rehabilitators - animal enthusiasts trained to aid birds of prey that are sick, injured, or unable to fly. The request might have annoyed other professionals who were off the clock and asked to take on what could be a lengthy process of treating an animal free of charge.īut Smyth didn't pause. ![]() When Kevin Smyth fielded a harried call on a recent Sunday to treat an ailing red-tailed hawk, the Wayne County veterinarian rushed to the rescue.
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