Sparrowhawk with an open broken wing: amazing rescue by the Gilchinger family
Created: 10/23/2022, 10:05 p.m
By: Volker Ufertinger
It took the female sparrow hawk two months to become fit again for the wild.
© Holzheimer
Jakob and Magdalena Off from the falconry of the same name spent two months nursing an injured sparrow hawk.
Now he is free.
Gauting
- Sparrowhawks are quick hunters, songbirds need to be extremely alert.
But every now and then they crash.
This is probably what happened to a female sparrow hawk that crouched on the Grubmühler Feld in front of the forest after Stockdorf on August 11th.
The diagnosis: open fracture of the right wing.
In this state the animal was a welcome prey for the fox or the marten.
Luckily for him, a walker from Gilching came along - the beginning of an amazing rescue.
Gilching: Surgery on wild animals is risky
The Off family, who run a falconry center in Unterbrunn and also serve as a sanctuary for birds of prey, owls and owls, were involved in the story from the very beginning.
The Gilchingerin asked her way through to Magdalena Off and wanted to know what she should do now.
Her advice: The animal of Dr.
Have Heike Reball checked in Unterhaching to see if an operation makes sense.
"With wild animals, it's always a matter of consideration," says the falconer.
"But the condition of the sparrowhawk was good, eyes and plumage okay." The state association for bird protection shared three-quarters of the costs of the surgery, the rest paid from their own pockets.
(Our Starnberg newsletter keeps you regularly informed about all the important stories from your region. Register here.)
The hawk was stubborn
After that, the sparrow hawk came very quickly to Unterbrunn, where she was nursed for two months.
The animal fought back from the start.
"She didn't understand that we wanted to help her," says Magdalena Off.
"Birds of prey aren't blessed with intelligence, they're more driven by instinct."
The female was not given a name, after all, the children of the offs should not build up too much of a relationship.
"It was clear from the start that she had to be released back into the wild." So it was good that she remained stubborn.
In the first few weeks, the right wing was splinted, with an "external fixator" of the kind used for human bone fractures.
About once a week, the offs brought the animal to Unterhaching, where Dr.
Reball changed federations.
Where the animal has already been under anesthesia, gymnastics was also done right away so that the muscles strengthened again - important for the wild.
also read
CSU criticizes "See and the City" - Mayor: "Embarrassing and provincial"
Blackout preparation: Starnberg district strengthens civil protection – “Have to make plans”
Also read: Kestrel lies dazed on the street
The flight to the feed was good training
Eventually, the soft got better.
His new place: the aviary.
The falconer family used a trick: they put a little bit of food on the ground several times a day.
So the convalescent was forced to keep flying up and down.
The perfect training for a malady bird.
Sparrowhawks fly extremely fast, which is why they are so rarely seen.
But there is a picture of the flight to freedom.
© Off
On October 9th the time had come: The sparrow hawk could be released into the wild.
The scene of the event was again the Grubmühler Feld – his territory.
Magdalena Off's heart rose when she pulled away the white cloth and gave the animal back its freedom.
No one was able to see how the sparrow hawk had fled that quickly - one reason why the animals are so rarely seen.
Will she survive the winter?
The falconer is confident.
"She's washed with all waters.
And she knows the area too.”
You can find more current news from the district of Starnberg at Merkur.de/Starnberg.