Family's Pet Parrot Survives Encounter With Hawk

[linda040899]

Don't ever think that it can't happen to your fid!

http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/Headlines/frtHEAD04080907.htm


Family's pet parrot survives encounter with hawk
By ANNE GEGGIS
Staff Writer

ORMOND BEACH -- African grey parrot Bogart can talk, but he hasn't yet said a word about an incident most of his kind never live to contemplate.

What happened between the time a hawk ripped him from a screened-in porch and when his human -- the one he calls "Mom" -- Elise Ewaniuk found him lying under a tree in the thick woods probably went beyond words.

On Bogart's seventh visit to the veterinarian in a row Wednesday, the prognosis for survival was good -- even if he might always carry the scars. His veterinarian, Dr. Mark Andersen, isn't sure whether Bogart's neck will ever straighten.

And Ewaniuk hasn't quite recovered herself.

"Four days have been like four months," she said.

It all started in the early afternoon Aug. 2 when Bogart was sitting on a perch on the Ewaniuk family's screened pool deck of their home in north Ormond Beach. Then, Ewaniuk heard screaming -- but she didn't know it was her beloved "little man."

"It sounded like something scared, something being attacked," Ewaniuk said of what brought her from her home office to investigate. "I came walking out because we have a bunch of baby (wild) turkeys back there."

What she saw, though, was beyond her imagination -- and something she still sees when she closes her eyes: her pet in the talons of a hawk.

"He was just heading from the screen into the sky," Ewaniuk said. "I thought, 'He's gone. He's got him.' "

The hawk, it appears, had been able to burst through a small tear about the size of a softball in the screen and grabbed the bird known among the Ewaniuk family's friends for asking, "You talking to me?"

Ewaniuk said she ran back in the house for her shoes, ready to run into the forest behind her house.

"I guess I was going in there to see if I could find him eating him," she said.

She ran 20 feet and saw her feathered child lying under a tree.

"I couldn't believe it. I don't even know what made me run in that direction," she said, explaining that she had seen the bird fly in the opposite direction.

Bogart was rushed to Ravenwood Veterinary Clinic in Port Orange. There, he received oxygen, antibiotics and painkillers. He spent a few nights in an incubator.

"He certainly is lucky," said veterinarian Andersen. "Most attacks like that . . . I've seen birds with the wings torn off, their legs torn off.

"The bird (hawk) was probably startled by screaming and yelling," Andersen said.

He advised people not to leave their exotic birds on a porch or outside unattended.

"If they see a bird in a cage, they will reach right into the cage," Andersen said.

For now, when Bogart's not resting on her chest, Ewaniuk keeps the feathered patient in a makeshift structure formed of blankets and pillows on the sofa. She can't wait until he's back to his old tricks: chasing people out of the kitchen while laughing, attacking her husband even as he mimics Bogart's voice and insisting that Ewaniuk take a shower.

Tuesday she knew he was back on the road to recovery when he took the first sip of his favorite liquid treat: hot coffee with cream and sugar. Hope that he would be back to his old self blossomed moments after Ewaniuk brought Bogart home.

"I put him down and he said, "C'mere."

[LauraO]

What a crazy story. Thanks for sharing that one....I think:( ......It's a great reminder and a story we can share when others don't believe us when we share the risks of taking a tiny lovebird outside. I think the best part is the vet's shared experiences with birds and hawks and how a bird in a cage outside unattended is not even safe.

[chromasnake]

Wow, thanks for sharing. I am glad it turned out all right for Bogart.

[Susan27]

Thanks for sharing! We don't have hawks around here, but there are many free roaming cats...so I am VERY careful whenever any of my lovies are outside, caged with me.

What a little trooper. Was that tube feeding the vet made look so easy?

[eeyoresdad]

What a story! Not to break the mood but isn't coffee bad for birds? Anyway I'm sharing the story as I type.

[linda040899]

Was that tube feeding the vet made look so easy?
Yes, that's tube feeding. However, while he made it look easy, it takes a lot of experience to be able to do it properly. It's more than just inserting a tube down the bird's throat. It's knowing where to aim it and knowing when you've gotten to the crop. If you don't go far enough, you can easily fill the lungs with food and that's instant aspiration. I can do it but prefer not to unless I have no other options.

Tube feeding is really for short term use to ensure the bird gets nourishment so that it will survive. Some handfeeders use this method simply because it's faster. The downside is that you are feeding a bird but it never gets to taste what it's swallowing. Tube fed babies tend to have eating problems once they are weaned. Many have trouble weaning because they don't know what food tastes like and they are not used to swallowing!

[mjm8321]

What a story! Not to break the mood but isn't coffee bad for birds? Anyway I'm sharing the story as I type.

Not worse than being attacked by a hawk! :lol A sip of coffee once in a while isn't harmful. My vet actually told me of a bird they had at her clinic who would do absolutely anything for a tiny bite of chocolate. So when they really needed the bird to do something, a tiny piece of chocolate was offered.

[Kirby]

Holy cow... That is amazing... I wonder what kind of hawk it was? I don't think the hawk realised what he was getting himself into going after an african grey. I can just imagine the screaming that came out of that poor grey.

I didn't have time to watch the whole video, mainly because I'm at work and we have no sound. But what happened to his neck? did it get broken?


And as far as the coffee and chocolate thing, it doesnt beat when my boyfriend's sister tells me that a woman comes in once a week to buy chicken nuggets for her Parrot (A grey I think)

[carrier]

And as far as the coffee and chocolate thing, it doesnt beat when my boyfriend's sister tells me that a woman comes in once a week to buy chicken nuggets for her Parrot (A grey I think)

I know I've read that it's OK to give lovebirds well-cooked chicken, but it seems too much like birdie cannibalism to me....:x

Fenway will be sticking with her Avi-cakes, seeds, and pellets-thank you very much!

( and broccoli, carrots, peas, popcorn, and all that other good stuff ;) )

[eeyoresdad]

Wow, we learn something everyday!

[Cooper]

I haven't seen any hawks near our house, but there are crows. And I would worry as much about them as I would a hawk. I once tried to rescue a pigeon that I found in the work parking lot, but the poor thing was pecked too much, probably by a crow according to the guy at the wildlife rescue.

And really, do we want to even venture and test even a little bit of caffeine on a lovebird, mine doesn't need any :P

[Sweetpeaches]

as i shared in a previous thread...we do have red tailed hawks in our area. i've seen them swoop down at our "wild birdie friends" and chase them through trees. i would never leave my lovie alone on the porch...or even on my shoulder in my yard as i'm sure a well keened hawk would be able to spot her a mile a way! so glad bogart is okay...that was a miracle!

[Screamer]

Lucky he survived,it is unbelievable that they will reach into the cage to grab your bird.

[LoveBug12]

That almost made me cry. Yes, I am very sensitive when it comes to animals being attacked. I watched my kitten get attacked by 3 pitbulls mauling him. I woke up to screaming and thought cats where fighting.. He only lived a few more days...he was my best friend =[. I was only in 2nd grade and I was on the front cover of the local newspaper with my kitten.

[5bird7]

Astounding survival for that bird. Hope he recovers well from the ordeal.

We live in a rural area but Patty's kept inside. We have a hawk that's been frequenting our yard lately and just yesterday swooped in and landed on the wheel barrow about 10 feet from our patio door. Not sure if it was intent on getting our little bird or not or just checking out the bird feeding facilities by the patio, but Patty was sure letting us know that something she didn't like was outside. She even screams when she sees him land on the fence about 40 yards away.

[bookworm0550]

ohmigosh, that is scary. So glad that her parrot survived. poor guy. what a miracle that she ran in the opposite way of where the hawk was flying and found her parrot. I think I would have ran following the hawk.

[bookworm0550]

oh lovebug, that kitten story is so sad...

[bookworm0550]

i've seen other birds kill other birds before and i live in the city. I felt so guilty cuz I could have done something. I was walking home and was about 15 feet from my apt when this little chickadee flew out and landed on the sidewalk right by me, no less than 1 feet away. I stood there looking at it, debating what i should do. It looked like it couldn't walk and it looked so scared. My hands were full w/ shopping bags and i stood there for like 8 minutes, deciding what to do w/ this poor bird on the sidewalk. I decided to run to my apt and grab a shoe box and come back out. So I walked 2 feet when i heard birds arguing and turned around to see 3 chickadees chase these two black big birds out of the tree and the bird on the ground was getting attacked by the black birds. I seriously ran home and grabbed the shoebox, but i was too late. When I got back there, the poor bird was dead. He had blood all over his chest. I felt so bad.

[pent565]

you would think that that beak African greys are packing would make short work of a hawk... The muscles that close that maw are ridiculous! Perhaps thats why the hawk dropped it, maybe the grey got a beak-full of the predator. How brazen though, it makes me think of a time a hawk almost took my ferret right off his leash. It swooped low over the street, right down at him. Our subdivision is pretty much in a forest, so its overrun with wildlife. We have this owl that loves to sit on a telephone wire and watch nighttime cars and people pass under it. I never thought of them getting through screen though, its a good thing to know. Perhaps thats what happened to my quail...

[piousm]

My little Kiki had a close call at the weekend. She was outside with my wife and I and I turned my back for no more than 30 seconds checking on a guinea pig, then she was gone. It ended up she had flown (somehow, she's not a good flier at all) across the yard, over the 6 foot high fence, and then about another 15 metres or so onto the road. She was chirping when we called her, but I didnt find her for about 3 - 4 minutes after she had gone, because I didnt believe she could have gone without us seeing her. Any way, when I got her it was obvious she had been attacked by a bird - she wasnt bleeding but was missing feathers on one side of her face and was a little dishevelled and it looked like she had been pecked on her head. I think the magpie that hangs around where she was must have got her as she flew. Strangely though, she didnt seem disturbed by it at all, she was happy enough, though not as nippy as usual (except when I cut her wings later that day), and she is recovering her looks very quickly. Quite a potentially nasty episode though, and one that has resulted in more restrictions on bird activities.

[jk1944]

Ethel, my lovie, was chirping away and looking out of the patio doors to our garden last month. Suddenly I heard a enormous "BANG" and saw a Coopers Hawk hit the doors, land on the patio then fly away fast! I don't know who was more startled, Ethel or myself! There's a lot of bird feeders around here and the hawks patrol them for prey.

[Chickobee]

We now have a broken window in our house that we need to have replaced. It has concentric circles and the broken area is about 9-10 inches wide. We are guessing that a hawk or an eagle hit the window one day when we were at work. Yikes! At least it's a double pane window and the inner one is intact!

When we first got lovebirds I thought it might be neat to take them in their cages outside in the fresh air and sunshine but I never did it because of feral cats.

There is no way any of our birds are going outside, even in a cage!

[AiSell]

Thanks for sharing with us, helpful:)

[jacksonliam341]

The vet made it look so easy.

Yes, that's tube feeding.

However, while he made it look easy, it takes a lot of experience to be able to do it properly.

It's more than just inserting a tube down the bird's throat.

It's knowing where to aim it and knowing when you've gotten to the crop.

If you don't go far enough, you can easily fill the lungs with food and that's instant aspiration.

I can do it but prefer not to unless I have no other options.

Tube feeding is really for short term use to ensure the bird gets nourishment so that it will survive.

Some handfeeders use this method simply because it's faster.

The downside is that you are feeding a bird but it never gets to taste what it's swallowing.

Tube fed babies tend to have eating problems once they are weaned.

Many have trouble weaning because they don't know what food tastes like and they are not used to swallowing!