Fly High, Free Bird
It’s a typical Thursday at the Blackland Prairie Raptor Center, which means there’s a Cooper’s hawk being treated for severe burns, an injured falcon, and a vulture in need of X-rays. The hawk, a wild creature that would normally fight its way out of this tiny room, lies on a table, completely still. Its damaged talons are covered in thick white burn cream. A falconry hood covering its eyes lessens stress by reducing visual stimuli to keep the bird calm. It’s a strange sight: a stealth hunter in a rare moment of tranquility.
“We will not turn one down,” says Hailey LeBaron, the center’s rehabilitation manager, after the phone rings again and a volunteer rushes out to pick up yet another injured raptor in North Texas. The
