Red-tailed hawks are a hardy species. While some move farther south for the winter, many red-tails choose to stay in Wisconsin as long as they have a reliable source of food. They’re built to withstand our cold winters if they are able to replace their calories.
Carson the Red-tailed hawk doesn’t have to worry about food with a constant supply of prepared mice, rats, and quail to keep her going. Just like her wild counterparts, Carson will fluff her feathers and tuck a foot to her belly to stay warm. Her injured left wing, however, can’t fold against her body to trap heat as well as it should. It would be like going outside without zipping up my jacket – on a morning like this at -16 degrees, I would definitely feel a chill!
To give Carson relief from the frigid temperatures coming up in the forecast, she came inside for the week. She always prefers to be at home in her mew, but I’ll try to explain that chilling in the classroom will be better than freezing outside at -25 degrees.
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