Small World

The photo that sits on my bookcase at home

~Meet Dakota (formerly known as Casey) the Red tailed Hawk~
My post today is a bit irregular. I try really hard to keep this blog as a wildlife blog, but over the past couple days something quite special was brought to my attention by a fellow blogger. She had no idea when she made her post how much it would mean to me, a virtual stranger living so many miles away.
As you may already know if you read my profile, In addition to the things that I do every day, I am also a licensed falconer, that means that I fly birds of prey (Hawks, falcons, etc) I grew up with a deep love, respect and infatuation with wildlife. Over time this infatuation has evolved into a wonderful relationship with the woman that runs Ironside Bird Rescue in Cody, Wyoming. Susan was kind enough to help me become a sub-permittee on her rehabilitation license, and I have been blessed to work with a few of the hawks that have come through Ironside Bird Rescue.
Casey aka Dakota's personality in a nutshell

Today’s post is about one bird in particular that I was honored to work with. Susan called this bird Casey and I quickly fell madly in love with this fantastic creature. I worked with Casey trying to get him to the point where he could be released back into the wild, but due to circumstances out of our control, this bird was unable to feed himself, therefore he would not survive if released. We had two choices, find someplace that is licensed as an education facility that would be willing to take Casey, get permission from the state and the feds, or put him down. Not much of a choice is it? Anyhow to make a long story shorter, Susan was able to find a place for him, and get all of the permits needed and Casey went on his way to his new home.

Winter of 2006-2007

Casey strengthening his flight muscles and trying to learn to hunt

Well two nights ago I was reading through the blogs that I have subscribed to, when I stopped by Jayne’s “Journey Through Grace” and saw a post she had written about going to see a program put on by S.O.A.R. ~The name rang a bell, but it was late, so I didn’t put things together. I commented about the eagle on her post and went to bed. The next night, I was anxious to see what photos Jayne had to share from her visit to the program. When I logged on to her page I was dumbfounded and amazed. There on her page sat my dear Casey, How did I know you may ask… I can’t really answer that question, I have seen may posts since starting this blog from others who have photographed and attended raptor programs, but when I saw this bird. I just knew this was Casey. They have changed his name to Dakota since they already had a bird named Casey at their facility, but with out a doubt this is beautiful Casey. It really touched me and did my heart good to see him looking so healthy and to know that he is helping to teach people about raptors. I just felt the need to write this post today and share with you all just how small a world it is that we live in. Thanks Susan for allowing me the honor or working with you and these fabulous birds. Thanks to the people at S.O.A.R for giving Dakota aka Casey and the other birds a place to live and for teaching people about raptors and the impact that we as people have on them, thank you Jayne for showing me these beautiful pictures, and thank you to those that read this blog everyday for putting up with my mushy side( wink) XOXO ~Stacey

Casey coming to my fist while out flying on a beautiful winter day

2006-2007

Before he got his adult tail feathers that he now wears so beautifully and I got to see in the pictures that Jayne took..