This sharp-shinned hawk fractured a coracoid bone. Helmut is a red-tailed hawk that came to us with a traumatic eye injury in 1989, when she was 1 year old. Attempts were made to return her to the wild, however, we felt that her vision was not good enough to enable her to survive and she was eventually placed at the Raptor Center at Cypress Gardens in Florida. This little fawn broke its leg in an accident with a farmer's combine. We were able to immobilize the fracture and it healed up nicely.
Ducks always seem to get into trouble with local hunters.
Usually they just need to have some lead pellets removed and we can send them on their way. And, of course, there are the squirrels that get attacked by the neighbor's cat. Perhaps the greatest thrill is to be able to release an injured critter back into the wild. Here are some photos of several red-tailed hawks being released. The Wildlife Medical Clinic is located at the University of Illinois College of Medicine.