Raptor rehab

ST. MARIES — After spotting prey such as a pigeon or duck, a peregrine falcon often spirals upward, possibly a mile into the sky. It then dives at speeds of up to 230 mph, striking its prey in midair.

“Its tagline is it’s the fastest animal in the world,” said Jane Fink, a raptor biologist based in St. Maries.

If the shock of the initial, high-speed strike itself doesn’t kill its prey, the peregrine falcon has a special notch to its beak to execute a final blow upon the cervical vertebrae of the prey.

While being blazing fast with a wicked beak, it also has specialized nostrils, eyes and large feet.

“It needs to have all that functioning before it can be returned to the wild and be expected to be a successful hunter,” Fink said.

While its speed puts it into a league of its own, and its acrobatics make it a lethal machine, the peregrine falcon still gets tripped up by man.

Motor vehicles and power lines, among other new additions (in evolutionary terms) to the bird’s environment, have led to injury and death.

Fink, through her nonprofit Birds of Prey Northwest, helps injured falcons, eagles, osprey, owls and others. The nonprofit relies on private donations to care for the birds.

A rare tundra peregrine falcon — one of the world’s longest-distance migrants — was found injured in southern Idaho late this fall.

Under Fink’s care it is getting the rehabilitation and treatment necessary to return to the wild.

The falcon, which has been given the name Wiley, had a broken wrist, a critical joint where all the primary feathers of flight attach.

Fink, in addition to her biology studies, has a degree in nursing.

She was on her way to medical school when she volunteered on a peregrine falcon re-introduction project. She said she was “captured” by birds of prey and decided to use her medical training to help them.

“Why is (Wiley) here in the middle of Idaho?” said Fink.

She said it was likely migrating from the arctic north to Central or South America, and Idaho was on its flight path. She’s not sure whether Wiley is a male or female.

The peregrine falcon is rare, she said. In the dozen years of rehabilitating injured birds of prey from throughout the state, Wiley is only the third peregrine falcon Fink has taken on. During that same period, she’s cared for hundreds each of hawks and owls, and dozens more each of osprey and eagles.

After Wiley was found near the College of Southern Idaho campus in Twin Falls, his wrist was immobilized.

Fink provided regular physical therapy of wing stretching, moving it carefully through its normal range of motion.

“You can’t just leave a bird’s wing wrapped up,” she said. “It must have this special rehabilitation or the wing will freeze to the body, unable to be used.”

The falcon, wearing a hood to keep it calm, trembled under Don Veltkamp’s hands as Fink stretched the wing out multiple times. Veltkamp and Fink are married.

Wiley had been kept in a small, intensive-care box so it wouldn’t thrash around and do more harm. The 10-month-old has been eating about $2-$3 per day in quail, Fink said as she gave a tour of the bird sanctuary she operates with Veltkamp.

On Friday, after a final physical therapy session, Wiley was released into a “flight aviary” where it could make short flights to multiple perches. This is a more independent stage of the rehab.

“Now he’ll have time to really exercise his wings,” she said. “She’s not just going to fly gloriously up to a perch. These birds are very cautious. She’s in a totally new situation.”

Approximately 70 percent of peregrine falcons don’t see their first birthday, she said. A long life in the wild would be 10 years.

Wiley stayed on the floor of the flight aviary at first. Fink expected the bird to soon move from the various perches, which are at different heights.

“This bird will use the low one and work its way up to the high perch,” Fink said. “It takes a good bit of effort to jump, with two healthy wings, from that low perch to even that middle perch. He is probably going to fail a few times until he builds up his strength.”

The falcon’s pectoral muscles are atrophied, she said.

Currently, the falcon shares the flight aviary with another peregrine falcon, found in Post Falls. It also is on the mend. The Post Falls peregrine was most likely injured by a vehicle, she said.

“A lot of birds will have to pass on that genetic skill of avoiding traffic and wind turbines if they’re going to survive,” Fink said. “These are new challenges in their modern-day world.”

The birds have seen a lot of change in the past 100 years because of man, she said.

The next step for Wiley will be to go out and practice flying while on a tether, which it will do in a couple of months. That will prepare the bird for release into the wild, in southern Idaho.

A bird with this kind of injury needs about six months to a year of help before it’s released, she said.

Birds of Prey Northwest’s website is www.birdsofpreynorthwest.org. Fink and Veltkamp can be reached at (208) 245-1367.

From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 7 and 8, the Wings Over Water event featuring live bald eagles and other birds of prey will be conducted to raise funds for Birds of Prey Northwest.

The event is at the Coeur d’Alene Resort. Fundraiser tickets will be sold at the door, costing $10 for individuals and $25 for families.

Information: (208) 666-4003.