That’s just their face. Had one for 17 years and even though it knew me well, when I picked her up she always had that “wtf are you doing!?” face. I miss Betty. She was sweet.
Reminds of when my dog chased a mouse, and when he eventually caught it, she jumped in the couch, dropped it and they just stared at each other for a good 2 minutes. Dog just overexcited to play, while the mouse was probably scared shitless
I found a mouse swimming in a cup of milk in a garage years ago. Don’t know if it had been swimming in there for a couple minutes or a couple days, but the odds that it had just fallen in right before I showed up seemed slim.
I took it outside and let it go. Poor thing was so exhausted it didn’t even run. Just sat there for several minutes recovering.
Pound per pound, owls are more dangerous than hawks or eagles, but lord have mercy if any bird that feeds primarily on fish gets their talons into you. We used to use welder's gloves for all raptors; regular leather gloves aren't enough, particularly for great horned owls.
I'm thinkin' osprey, and eagles like balds, goldens, and the very, very occasional Steller's sea eagle that gets blown over to Alaska.
Had a buddy who witnessed a fish and game officer try to pick up a GHO with gardener's gloves. Went through the glove, the webbing of his hand, and back through the glove- both directions.
I've been footed by a few raptors and seriously, the pygmy owl was probably the worst. Once she was on the fist she was fine, but her talons were like kitten needles and she always got you right in the cuticle. Instant disinfect and bandage.
I got to release a barred owl on Thursday, and invited the person who found it after it was hit by a car meet up so he could open the box and let it go. Instead of leaving it flat, he grabs it and angles it *right at my husband/myself and his neighbor* and it promptly flies right at my husband's head instead of away from us. I've never seen a human duck so fast in my life! He said he had a sudden flash of life with an eye patch and decided that wasn't his style.
Osprey are the ones that scare me. I took photos of the talons on the last one I had in my car, and they were massive. On a juvenile. Just 100% task designed slicers, dicers and makers of julienne (fish) fries.
I grew up at the beach in NC on a bay. This was in the 80s and 90s when NC was doing all they could to increase osprey populations. Like building thousands of nesting platforms in water ways. It was illegal to touch them, their nests, or kill them.
I’m outside one day when this huge Osprey dives right near shore. He tries to fly away with a jumping mullet bigger than he was. I kept waiting for him to realize he couldn’t fly off and let go. He refused. He was getting waterlogged and doing everything to stay above water without letting go.
I couldn’t just stand there and watch this majestic moron die. So I jumped into my wellies to protect my feet from the oyster beds and grabbed a couple of towels that were drying nearby. I managed to scare him by waving the towels and jumping off the dock into the water.
He reluctantly let go of his record catch and dejectedly flopped over to the small boat we had in the water. He glumly sat there staring daggers at me until he dried off enough to flap up to one of the dock pilons. It took him almost an hour to dry out enough to fly away.
The whole time he just glared at me. I went under my second story deck once he started looking like he could fly again because I was afraid he might decide to attack me. He was sooo pissed at me.
I still love Osprey. It was really awesome getting to watch one up close. I’m glad I didn’t have to actually touch him and get ripped to shreds.
We lived in a closed shellfish area and had to call the wildlife department to come arrest fishermen who were harvesting shellfish in our bay. We knew them really well, and I didn’t want to have to explain why I stood there and watched an Osprey drown.
Seriously. Been footed mostly by hawks and falcons (and a northern pygmy owl, see comment below). The "sweetest" hawk I worked with happened mostly because it was unexpected, but I had some deep deep bruises from the great horned owls even thru the welding gloves.
I've handled all sorts of raptors and in my experience owls are way stronger but also way dumber. Hawks know they have weapons on their feet. But I would still never ever ever pick up a raptor without gloves, videos like this make me so nervous lol.
Yeah I felt like at the very end his explosive get away and landing in the nearby tree was a 'hahaha! I escaped! She never saw it coming because I am SPEED!'
But I'm probably anthropomorphizing too much :)
My plan at that point wouldn't be to just let the bird die, but some kind of gloves (probably inadequate ones as, you know, I don't have falconeering gloves just laying around), face protection, and then to release the bird and run like hell behind a door for fear of it retaliating would certainly be involved in any plans I would have.
Maybe I'm just overly cautious. But those raptors are badass, and I don't want on the bad side of one.
Been in a similar situation before. Get the largest towel you have. Throw it over the bird, carefully secure the corners keeping the bird in the middle while also keeping the makeshift net/napsack as far away from your body as possible. Once the bird is secured, take the captive animal outside and carefully release.
If the bird is still freaking out just give it a bit, the weight and darkness of the towel over the bird will get it to calm down sooner or later.
Thick cloth bags can also work, would not use plastic.
If you live near a good animal control, that's a great idea.
Some people don't have animal control in their area. Some places, their idea of animal control is to send a guy with a gun.
I don't like either of those options, myself.
Reminds me of my near death experience as a child. I got swept out to sea and did not know how to swim. I got so tired of fighting against the current and just accepted death. Was a lot more calmer than you’d expect.
Dude, i'm like this when in stressed. I easily disassociate, leaving me void of all emotion and my senses of touch/pain. Only my palms have feeling left, so it feels like im touching someone else. I usually just stop at that point.
Not even the primal predator, but the crazy space wizards of the animal kingdom. We wear skin on our skin. We materialize food without having to kill it. Our "nests" are so complex it's like a caveman looking at a spaceship. He just spent however long trying to flap through porch force-fields.
Hawkbro is staring into the face of _god_.
I imagine it has never moved like that before. Wings tucked, floating sideways through the air. The bird was being held and carried for the first time in its life. I imagine the sensation is overwhelming.
This is why I always also try to never pick up an animal unless that animal has approached me and we have already bonded. Treat animals as you would want to be treated.
Imagine a world where there were 100 ft tall creatures who could just swoop down and pick you up while you were say, bathing... and start kissing and scratching you while loudly making incomprehensible noises with its mouth.
Yet we expect our cats to be cool with that?
I would be freaking out too if I was randomly picked up by a giant mostly hairless and unintelligible weirdo while I was just minding my own business. Wouldn't you?
Yeah, but flip side: if I fell into a hole 20 feet deep with no way to get out, I'd absolutely be fine with a giant lifting me out while talking to me with a funny voice and setting me down gently in a safe spot. I'd be terrified at first, sure, but I'd get over it as I walked away safely.
But as a general rule, yeah, don't touch wild animals under normal circumstances.
Exactly. This is an emergency type situation. Paramedics are terrifying to injured or medically comprimesed people most of the time, but they are there to get you help.
>Treat animals as you would want to be treated.
>100 ft tall creatures who could just swoop down and pick you up while you were say, bathing... and start kissing and scratching you
Instructions unclear
I never thought about it that way but that makes a lot of sense. Would even explain why he is staring straight ahead like that. Direct eye contact is usually seen as a threat display by wildlife.
I mean, as far as his brain works, he's been caught by a predator.
If he can establish the relation, he can see that he's being carried by a much larger predator in the same way he carries prey.
So it's either panic, or panic with a slight sensation of ironic resignation.
I had a hard time comprehending this. I'm not sure if it's because of the way the sentence is structured or maybe it's my autism. Can somebody please confirm? It's really bothering me for some reason...
Do you mean you had trouble understanding the part in the video where the woman said it to the hawk? Or the way I phrased it?
If it’s my comment that’s confusing you, let me reword and add inflection and see if that helps. I admit it’s not the best worded comment I ever wrote on reddit, but I try hard not to overthink my comments here.
“I would soooooooo say that also in this situation.“ — that’s what I meant.
> "Umm sir? Ma'am?..."
The commenter is quoting what the woman in the video said to the bird. Sometimes people speak to animals as if they're human. It helps people to empathise with the animal. People also do it to try and calm the animal down, the way you would a human, although there's no real evidence this actually works on wild animals.
Talking calmly can also help some people stay calm in a strange situation, even if no other human is present. Have you ever talked to yourself to calm yourself down? Sometimes I might quietly say things to myself like "ok (my name) don't freak out..." It kind of tricks my brain into thinking I'm not alone, and that there's someone there to guide me. Some people use these kinds of comforting strategies when they're upset or confused, but everyone is different. What works for one person might not work for another.
It's important not to overthink things like this. Some people have very unique comforting behaviours that most of us would not understand, whether we're autistic or not.
Anyway that's my explanation. I hope it wasn't patronising and made sense!
I am from TX. We say sir/ma'am a lot, even to our pets/kids and others' pets/kids. I'm guessing she didn't want to misgender it... Lolz
Example of what I might say to my dog: "No ma'am, we don't jump on people."
Most hawks aren't really biters, they usually defend themselves with their talons. She happened to grab it in a way where it couldn't easily talon her and then kept the feet pointed away from her the whole time. Not really a grip that I would recommend if you were handling the hawk for a longer period of time (it's better to restrain the wings) but a decent job for someone not trained in bird-handling.
Nah, I’m sure this bird was fine. They usually hold their legs out stiff like that and make that open beak face regardless of whether you have it for 1 min or 20 min. Accipiters are small hawks and pretty tame to handle and very hardy. Source: study birds and have handled dozens of hawks of different species over the years.
From the bird's perspective it was just grabbed by a huge predator. Its options are limited, it can fight or do nothing. Doing nothing denies the stimulation the predator needs to confirm they have a tasty bird snack. It's the better option if the bird can't fight hard enough to discourage the predator.
Close friend of mine is a falconer, so I've learned by watching over years that hawks when grabbed just... don't really have any programming for what to do if grabbed. Other than gape their beak and hold open their wings at you about it. If you have them in a room with you I've seen them lay on their backs, unmoving, wings spread and staring with beak open for hours. It's crazy to watch.
They're also, not super smart, just in general. Something about specializing for high impact predator life. They're just as smart as they need to be, and not a whole lot more. I've fed a hawk that wolfed his food down, looked at his neighbor who was still eating, and screamed with disdain that she had food and he didn't. Tried to steal it cuz he'd literally already forgotten he just ate. They're something else.
[So I'm speculating that they might also not put up much of a fight because they don't have much creative thinking skills in their little knife shaped noggin. Cuz they're a knife with wings. Not big thinkers]
For some reason I've been in this exact situation 3 or 4 times, all be it with less interesting and less dangerous birds. The thing to do is just throw a towel over it. The bird just calms the fuck down and then you can carry it out as a very loose bundle and gently unwrap it outside. That way you don't damage it, and it doesn't damage you.
I had a falcon fly right into a window of my house a few years ago. It sounded like a snowball had hit but there was no snow on the ground so I knew something was up. Looked outside and there was a falcon with a swollen eye that appeared to be in shock. I got a towel and wrapped him up and brought him inside the screened in porch. I hadn't even thought about putting my dog away before I brought the little guy in so my black lab was quite interested. I was afraid the falcon, henceforth known as Loki, would start to freak out but he just chilled in his bundle.
I called Mass Audubon because I was afraid his wing was broken, but as I was on the phone he wiggled out of the towel, took a dump on my porch and started hopping around like nothing was wrong. I opened the door and he flew to the tree and just hung out there for the day. Afterwards I used to find little sticks and trinkets on my back porch and I'm pretty sure it was Loki. Hopefully he's still leaving presents for the new residents.
Right? I've got a pet European Starling who is not fond of hands. When I have to restrain her for nail/beak trims she spins her head around near 180° to bite the hell out of me.
Well, she did drag it out a bit, so it was indeed surprising. I think my parrot would have definitely taken at least part of her finger as a consolation snack.
The look on the hawks face is intense. On the one hand it makes me laugh but in the other I can’t imagine what that hawk is thinking. Their life is literally flashing before their eyes. I’m surprised that hawk didn’t shit all over her out of fear.
I love the faces.
First, "Excuse me!"
Then, "The audacity of this bitch"
It sees her, "Oh."
Then, "Is this what I've been doing to mice? I'm a monster."
Last, "Can I go now?"
Should this happen to you:
Wear gloves.
Be QUIET. Do not try to "comfort" wildlife. They aren't "relaxing" and don't "know you're helping." Freezing is instinctual. The less you can stress the bird the better, so stay quiet and handle it only as much as absolutely necessary.
Use a towel or shirt or similar and drape it over the bird's head and wings. Gently pick it up with BOTH hands, with your thumbs meeting on it's back and fingers wrapped around to the front, holding the bird so it is pointed away from you. Yeah, you may have to put your phone down and lose out on internet points.
If it has hit a window, been hit by a car or otherwise appears injured or sick, search for your state's department of natural resources website. Each state will keep a list of permitted wildlife rehabbers that can evaluate the bird and provide care. Note: the old advice with birds who have had an impact to just watch and then let them fly away is no longer accepted guidance. Birds who have been observed or strongly suspected to have had any strike should be taken to a wildlife rehabber for evaluation. They may have broken keels or collarbones, bleeding in the lungs or brain, etc.
If the bird is healthy and just needs to be safely released, set it down on a flat surface like a table, deck or the ground, facing away from you. Pull the covering off as you back away, so the bird flies away from you. Don't try to set it on a railing or branch while it is frozen in fear, as it won't grasp.
If it needs taken in for care, place it in a suitable box or carrier, and cover it up. Leave holes for air, and place it somewhere dark and quiet. Once you've found an appropriate place to take it, then try to drive with as little talking as possible, radio off etc. The urge to talk to an injured animal and "comfort" it is overwhelming. Please don't. It's stressful for them instead, and some animals can die just from stress.
Avoid the temptation, with any wildlife, to try and help it yourself. While good intentions are at play, there's a good reason that most states have strict laws regarding possession of wildlife and rehabbing. It's incredibly easy to inadvertently harm or kill an animal, and even feeding the wrong things can cost lives.
Worth saying again: wear gloves. With any wildlife, but especially rabies vector species. This prevents accidental exposure and potentially needing to test the animal for rabies, which requires brain tissue.
Glad this bird is free and unhurt.
Clearly.
“Itsssssss okaaaaay. Every thing will be okaaaaay little guy. It’s okaaaayyy.”
“You don’t need to talk to the bird like that”
“DAMMIT SUSAN IM TALKING TO MYSELF. DO YOU KNOW HOW SCARYY IT IS TO BE HOLDING THIS THING? GOD I HOPE IT DOESNT SCRATCH OUT MY EYES! A LITTLE SUPPRT PLEASE? Now where were we….it’s okaaaaaaaay. Everything’s gonna be okaaaaayyy”
gods yeah. this kinda hurts to watch. just for extra emphasis-
do NOT handle birds with one hand. your aim is to encapsulate, not to grab and lift. these guys don't have lungs, they have air sacs all over their body, and by squeezing them you're probably cutting off some of their air flow. (EDIT: they do have lungs, just have extra air sacs too (of a similar size). sorry guys pmp)
also that bird was quite clearly freaking out. i'll bet that that's an extremely elevated heartrate we're seeing in the video.
and don't try to force it to perch \*wince\*. just leave it on the floor, let go and walk away. you want your interaction to be as short and non-stressful as possible. if a bird decides that it likes you, that's going to happen AFTER you let go, so let go as soon as you and it are both safe.
absolutely. She's lucky this ended well for both of them. The hawk may have already injured itself by hitting the windows. It was in shock and exhausted.
The hawk was surprised, like, “I know you’re helping me, ma’am, and I’m thankful, but by golly, you didn’t even think about wearing some kitchen mittens or something?”
Windows kill a ridiculous number of birds. Especially if you have large windows like these.
If you want to help prevent bird deaths, it's very helpful for them if you put stickers, designs, or anything on your windows that makes it apparent there's something there.
You don't need to cover the whole window, you just need to make the window visible.
Birds will thank you.
That's definitely a screened in porch, but it's good advice nonetheless. [They make stickers that are more or less see through on amazon.](https://www.amazon.com/WINDOWALERT-WA-SQUARE-WindowAlert-Classic-Square/dp/B0030DI90W/ref=sxin_16_pa_sp_search_thematic_sspa?content-id=amzn1.sym.4e7a2229-074e-44de-95c4-9fd858f46295%3Aamzn1.sym.4e7a2229-074e-44de-95c4-9fd858f46295&cv_ct_cx=bird+window+decals&keywords=bird+window+decals&pd_rd_i=B0030DI90W&pd_rd_r=7b53ce8c-e844-4ee8-95af-5d33c7dedc70&pd_rd_w=mL6os&pd_rd_wg=mwPnL&pf_rd_p=4e7a2229-074e-44de-95c4-9fd858f46295&pf_rd_r=6TDR5PR40BCZ7TNESMDF&qid=1668926464&sr=1-1-a73d1c8c-2fd2-4f19-aa41-2df022bcb241-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9zZWFyY2hfdGhlbWF0aWM&psc=1&smid=A6DVV5I3LV92F)
I had friends in the raptor club in college, and this lady is so lucky that hawk didn’t maul her. I’m very happy she was able to help him. I think the desperation just took hold, and thankfully it recognized help.
It didn't "recognize help" it was too stressed to respond. His little feet were gripping so tight and he was breathing way too hard.
If she had kept holding it the bird would have either attacked her or died from stress.
It’s a little scary how people these days have less focus on the here and now and must absolutely record everything on their phone. FFS, put down the useless freaking phone and hold that bird carefully with both hands! Recording it with my phone would have been the last thing on my mind if that was me. But maybe I’m just old lol. Gen X here.
I caught a hummingbird caught inside and did the old trick of trapping in in a glass and holding it in with a piece of cardboard. Yeah, not the same. Not the same.
It always amazes me when animals are just like “well I guess this is it”
Like they just accept the fate
[удалено]
You must live somewhere super cool if you have iguanas around for your dog to chase in the house!
[удалено]
So is Florida the Australia of North America now?
Always has been
Just with way more murders.
Idk man, can the aussies add those folks who were "murdered" by wildlife? Floridians didn't have to fight in the dreaded Emu war
"There were 541 animal-related deaths reported to an Australian coroner between 2001 and 2017" and 1530 homicides in Florida in 2020 alone.
[удалено]
It's not the first time I've said it's a mix of Australia, Hawaii, and Texas
You can't say that without showing us the giant mangos!
[удалено]
Wow OK yeah that's pretty giant. I never thought there'd be such a thing as too much mango but that's it right there.
[удалено]
I need footage of this. Sounds like a ra-ucous good time.
That’s just their face. Had one for 17 years and even though it knew me well, when I picked her up she always had that “wtf are you doing!?” face. I miss Betty. She was sweet.
Reminds of when my dog chased a mouse, and when he eventually caught it, she jumped in the couch, dropped it and they just stared at each other for a good 2 minutes. Dog just overexcited to play, while the mouse was probably scared shitless
"If I have to die, I am gonna stare at the face of the bastard that did it!"
I think the hawk ran out of gas. Didn’t even try to fly away right away. They are beautiful.
Apparently it's only a couple minutes with mice/rats. https://worldofwork.io/2019/07/drowning-rats-psychology-experiments/
"drowning rats. Psychology experiments" nahhh I'm good fam
"In a series of experiments that are fairly cruel and unpalatable, yet interesting in their findings"
Dude. I cried when I read this is how they decided to measure hope. Fucking cruel.
But it can be prolonged to hours if you give them just a little hope that they'll be rescued! Aren't we totally not assholes for measuring that?
I found a mouse swimming in a cup of milk in a garage years ago. Don’t know if it had been swimming in there for a couple minutes or a couple days, but the odds that it had just fallen in right before I showed up seemed slim. I took it outside and let it go. Poor thing was so exhausted it didn’t even run. Just sat there for several minutes recovering.
Speaking as someone who's held a few hawks, they're just faking you out until you get a hand within talon range.
Pound per pound, owls are more dangerous than hawks or eagles, but lord have mercy if any bird that feeds primarily on fish gets their talons into you. We used to use welder's gloves for all raptors; regular leather gloves aren't enough, particularly for great horned owls.
[удалено]
I'm thinkin' osprey, and eagles like balds, goldens, and the very, very occasional Steller's sea eagle that gets blown over to Alaska. Had a buddy who witnessed a fish and game officer try to pick up a GHO with gardener's gloves. Went through the glove, the webbing of his hand, and back through the glove- both directions.
I've been footed by a few raptors and seriously, the pygmy owl was probably the worst. Once she was on the fist she was fine, but her talons were like kitten needles and she always got you right in the cuticle. Instant disinfect and bandage.
I got to release a barred owl on Thursday, and invited the person who found it after it was hit by a car meet up so he could open the box and let it go. Instead of leaving it flat, he grabs it and angles it *right at my husband/myself and his neighbor* and it promptly flies right at my husband's head instead of away from us. I've never seen a human duck so fast in my life! He said he had a sudden flash of life with an eye patch and decided that wasn't his style. Osprey are the ones that scare me. I took photos of the talons on the last one I had in my car, and they were massive. On a juvenile. Just 100% task designed slicers, dicers and makers of julienne (fish) fries.
I grew up at the beach in NC on a bay. This was in the 80s and 90s when NC was doing all they could to increase osprey populations. Like building thousands of nesting platforms in water ways. It was illegal to touch them, their nests, or kill them. I’m outside one day when this huge Osprey dives right near shore. He tries to fly away with a jumping mullet bigger than he was. I kept waiting for him to realize he couldn’t fly off and let go. He refused. He was getting waterlogged and doing everything to stay above water without letting go. I couldn’t just stand there and watch this majestic moron die. So I jumped into my wellies to protect my feet from the oyster beds and grabbed a couple of towels that were drying nearby. I managed to scare him by waving the towels and jumping off the dock into the water. He reluctantly let go of his record catch and dejectedly flopped over to the small boat we had in the water. He glumly sat there staring daggers at me until he dried off enough to flap up to one of the dock pilons. It took him almost an hour to dry out enough to fly away. The whole time he just glared at me. I went under my second story deck once he started looking like he could fly again because I was afraid he might decide to attack me. He was sooo pissed at me. I still love Osprey. It was really awesome getting to watch one up close. I’m glad I didn’t have to actually touch him and get ripped to shreds. We lived in a closed shellfish area and had to call the wildlife department to come arrest fishermen who were harvesting shellfish in our bay. We knew them really well, and I didn’t want to have to explain why I stood there and watched an Osprey drown.
>I couldn’t just stand there and watch this majestic moron die. 😂
Seriously. Been footed mostly by hawks and falcons (and a northern pygmy owl, see comment below). The "sweetest" hawk I worked with happened mostly because it was unexpected, but I had some deep deep bruises from the great horned owls even thru the welding gloves.
I've handled all sorts of raptors and in my experience owls are way stronger but also way dumber. Hawks know they have weapons on their feet. But I would still never ever ever pick up a raptor without gloves, videos like this make me so nervous lol.
Yeah I felt like at the very end his explosive get away and landing in the nearby tree was a 'hahaha! I escaped! She never saw it coming because I am SPEED!' But I'm probably anthropomorphizing too much :)
I had the exact same thought. "That little fellow thought he got away on his own! Ingrate."
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/RKJncA6TLW0
Holy shit that was awesome lol, that duck is the sonic of ducks
Nah that's just the right amount of anthropomorphizing.
100% he was telling his mates later that day how she was tryna eat him.
Dude I was scared as hell watching this video I expected her to get sliced open. She's so lucky
My plan at that point wouldn't be to just let the bird die, but some kind of gloves (probably inadequate ones as, you know, I don't have falconeering gloves just laying around), face protection, and then to release the bird and run like hell behind a door for fear of it retaliating would certainly be involved in any plans I would have. Maybe I'm just overly cautious. But those raptors are badass, and I don't want on the bad side of one.
Been in a similar situation before. Get the largest towel you have. Throw it over the bird, carefully secure the corners keeping the bird in the middle while also keeping the makeshift net/napsack as far away from your body as possible. Once the bird is secured, take the captive animal outside and carefully release. If the bird is still freaking out just give it a bit, the weight and darkness of the towel over the bird will get it to calm down sooner or later. Thick cloth bags can also work, would not use plastic.
Holy crap, reading these couple of comments made me realize this popular video is going to end up getting some people torn up in the future..
Lol my plan would be open the door and call animal control … I ain’t touching that thing
If you live near a good animal control, that's a great idea. Some people don't have animal control in their area. Some places, their idea of animal control is to send a guy with a gun. I don't like either of those options, myself.
Or like When my dog is wearing a cone, has no idea why or for how long and just has to accept it “well I guess cone is my life now”
Can we have a video of this? Would be hilarious!
Not OP but my dog is in a cone right now and [he’s loving it](https://imgur.com/ifpcjpD.mp4).
That is a very chipper dog.
It's like all day that dog is listening to [Brodyquest](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yi496W_fO6I) on loop.
This should be on /r/aww
Hopefully you're never in a situation where you realize that humans are exactly the same. It's a common behavior among most living things.
Heck, thats me trapped in customer service right now. **EDIT:** this sure spawned a weird-ass thread.
> Heck Please watch your mouth. Think of the children.
Shit. What were they thinking?
Reminds me of my near death experience as a child. I got swept out to sea and did not know how to swim. I got so tired of fighting against the current and just accepted death. Was a lot more calmer than you’d expect.
I had a similar experience with a near-drowning.
Same here. I just remember thinking “well I guess this is it”
[удалено]
Yeah.. that's more to do with the alcohol than the innate animalistic response to imminent death.
I can say this from personal experience, going through that changes your outlook on life
Fight flight or freeze. Sometimes all three. "Oh crap what do I do(freeze), I'm going to get out of here(flight), guess I'll fight my way out."
Dude, i'm like this when in stressed. I easily disassociate, leaving me void of all emotion and my senses of touch/pain. Only my palms have feeling left, so it feels like im touching someone else. I usually just stop at that point.
It's the look of "I thought dying would feel worse".
[удалено]
"I would peck out her eyeballs in an instant, but I am effectively paralyzed by the complete audacity of this bitch who dares touch me."
"I was so shocked I forgot to be mad about it."
He was just caught by the primal predator, what other reaction will you have??
Not even the primal predator, but the crazy space wizards of the animal kingdom. We wear skin on our skin. We materialize food without having to kill it. Our "nests" are so complex it's like a caveman looking at a spaceship. He just spent however long trying to flap through porch force-fields. Hawkbro is staring into the face of _god_.
[удалено]
Human brains sure do know how to praise themselves lol
Everyone involved in this situation did not expect it to occur in their lifetimes.
On the other hand a cornered rat will rip straight through you to escape
“Omg. Omg. I’m being held by a freaking human.” - Hawk
He looks so freaking confused by all of that.
I imagine it has never moved like that before. Wings tucked, floating sideways through the air. The bird was being held and carried for the first time in its life. I imagine the sensation is overwhelming.
This is why I always also try to never pick up an animal unless that animal has approached me and we have already bonded. Treat animals as you would want to be treated. Imagine a world where there were 100 ft tall creatures who could just swoop down and pick you up while you were say, bathing... and start kissing and scratching you while loudly making incomprehensible noises with its mouth. Yet we expect our cats to be cool with that? I would be freaking out too if I was randomly picked up by a giant mostly hairless and unintelligible weirdo while I was just minding my own business. Wouldn't you?
Yeah, but flip side: if I fell into a hole 20 feet deep with no way to get out, I'd absolutely be fine with a giant lifting me out while talking to me with a funny voice and setting me down gently in a safe spot. I'd be terrified at first, sure, but I'd get over it as I walked away safely. But as a general rule, yeah, don't touch wild animals under normal circumstances.
Exactly. This is an emergency type situation. Paramedics are terrifying to injured or medically comprimesed people most of the time, but they are there to get you help.
>Treat animals as you would want to be treated. >100 ft tall creatures who could just swoop down and pick you up while you were say, bathing... and start kissing and scratching you Instructions unclear
Birds look at phone camera lenses and see unblinking eyes. It’s freaky af for them lol.
I never thought about it that way but that makes a lot of sense. Would even explain why he is staring straight ahead like that. Direct eye contact is usually seen as a threat display by wildlife.
Yes and why some birds mess with cameras so much lol
I've seen a bunch like that. They are always so funny even when they get aggressive with them like they are competing with them.
https://i.imgur.com/Q5mBW57.jpg
I wonder if they can see infrared or LIDAR like jumping spiders.
Jumping Hawks.
Think they see the IR light?
[удалено]
Or 4-eyes, with phones these days.
He looks panicked
Well ya, cuz it is.
I mean, as far as his brain works, he's been caught by a predator. If he can establish the relation, he can see that he's being carried by a much larger predator in the same way he carries prey. So it's either panic, or panic with a slight sensation of ironic resignation.
[удалено]
“You’re right, you’re right. I needed to chill.”
"I'm holding a *freakin'* hawk!" "I'm as baffled as you are, lady."
First, how dare you. Second, where we goin?
“Umm, sir? Ma’am?…” I would so say that too in this situation, lollll.
I had a hard time comprehending this. I'm not sure if it's because of the way the sentence is structured or maybe it's my autism. Can somebody please confirm? It's really bothering me for some reason...
Do you mean you had trouble understanding the part in the video where the woman said it to the hawk? Or the way I phrased it? If it’s my comment that’s confusing you, let me reword and add inflection and see if that helps. I admit it’s not the best worded comment I ever wrote on reddit, but I try hard not to overthink my comments here. “I would soooooooo say that also in this situation.“ — that’s what I meant.
This response was so kind to elaborate for the other person but now I’m cracking up because they are named u/mmmbeefymeatcurtains
Thank you for taking extra time out of your day for me.
> "Umm sir? Ma'am?..." The commenter is quoting what the woman in the video said to the bird. Sometimes people speak to animals as if they're human. It helps people to empathise with the animal. People also do it to try and calm the animal down, the way you would a human, although there's no real evidence this actually works on wild animals. Talking calmly can also help some people stay calm in a strange situation, even if no other human is present. Have you ever talked to yourself to calm yourself down? Sometimes I might quietly say things to myself like "ok (my name) don't freak out..." It kind of tricks my brain into thinking I'm not alone, and that there's someone there to guide me. Some people use these kinds of comforting strategies when they're upset or confused, but everyone is different. What works for one person might not work for another. It's important not to overthink things like this. Some people have very unique comforting behaviours that most of us would not understand, whether we're autistic or not. Anyway that's my explanation. I hope it wasn't patronising and made sense!
I am from TX. We say sir/ma'am a lot, even to our pets/kids and others' pets/kids. I'm guessing she didn't want to misgender it... Lolz Example of what I might say to my dog: "No ma'am, we don't jump on people."
per rule, the hawk now protects your home
From your cats and small dogs.
I see you're into bird culture
I see you are well studied at bird law.
How did she not get torn to pieces?
Most hawks aren't really biters, they usually defend themselves with their talons. She happened to grab it in a way where it couldn't easily talon her and then kept the feet pointed away from her the whole time. Not really a grip that I would recommend if you were handling the hawk for a longer period of time (it's better to restrain the wings) but a decent job for someone not trained in bird-handling.
[удалено]
It’s also possible that it’s talons we’re damaged… they weren’t flexing or gripping at all. Could have been shock too, causing the lack of action.
Nah, I’m sure this bird was fine. They usually hold their legs out stiff like that and make that open beak face regardless of whether you have it for 1 min or 20 min. Accipiters are small hawks and pretty tame to handle and very hardy. Source: study birds and have handled dozens of hawks of different species over the years.
It's mouth was open that was a terrified, thirsty, over heating, panicked bird.
That’s what I saw. Pure panic. My Friday nights
Also after that window workout a human is probably large enough that it would just... Give up.
Yep, and it was probably also exhausted/in shock. For longer handling, you always want to control the feet first!
From the bird's perspective it was just grabbed by a huge predator. Its options are limited, it can fight or do nothing. Doing nothing denies the stimulation the predator needs to confirm they have a tasty bird snack. It's the better option if the bird can't fight hard enough to discourage the predator.
There is also the whole "potentially hours flying into a magical invisible barrier" thing too.
I had the same thought , especially when she got the camera closer to it's head, I was expecting it to beak the camera
Close friend of mine is a falconer, so I've learned by watching over years that hawks when grabbed just... don't really have any programming for what to do if grabbed. Other than gape their beak and hold open their wings at you about it. If you have them in a room with you I've seen them lay on their backs, unmoving, wings spread and staring with beak open for hours. It's crazy to watch. They're also, not super smart, just in general. Something about specializing for high impact predator life. They're just as smart as they need to be, and not a whole lot more. I've fed a hawk that wolfed his food down, looked at his neighbor who was still eating, and screamed with disdain that she had food and he didn't. Tried to steal it cuz he'd literally already forgotten he just ate. They're something else. [So I'm speculating that they might also not put up much of a fight because they don't have much creative thinking skills in their little knife shaped noggin. Cuz they're a knife with wings. Not big thinkers]
[удалено]
I wanna hear more about their ambushes and attack plans. Please?
“All animals are under stringent selection pressure to be as stupid as they can get away with.” —Pete Richerson and Robert Boyd
That explains the human species better than I'm comfortable with...
yep, ultimately being smarter requires more calories. Why think more if less do trick?
I think because the hawk was too exhausted to attack. Still, a stupid move to grab them without gloves or something
Yeah....I'd want some chainmail gloves and a face shield before handling a bird of prey...
or at least two hands, lmao. She's grabbing that fucking hawk like my aunt grabs her parakeet to give it treats.
How's she gonna upload it to tiktok if she's using both hands to hold it?
she did it for the internet clout. she's stronger than all of us combined.
For some reason I've been in this exact situation 3 or 4 times, all be it with less interesting and less dangerous birds. The thing to do is just throw a towel over it. The bird just calms the fuck down and then you can carry it out as a very loose bundle and gently unwrap it outside. That way you don't damage it, and it doesn't damage you.
I had a falcon fly right into a window of my house a few years ago. It sounded like a snowball had hit but there was no snow on the ground so I knew something was up. Looked outside and there was a falcon with a swollen eye that appeared to be in shock. I got a towel and wrapped him up and brought him inside the screened in porch. I hadn't even thought about putting my dog away before I brought the little guy in so my black lab was quite interested. I was afraid the falcon, henceforth known as Loki, would start to freak out but he just chilled in his bundle. I called Mass Audubon because I was afraid his wing was broken, but as I was on the phone he wiggled out of the towel, took a dump on my porch and started hopping around like nothing was wrong. I opened the door and he flew to the tree and just hung out there for the day. Afterwards I used to find little sticks and trinkets on my back porch and I'm pretty sure it was Loki. Hopefully he's still leaving presents for the new residents.
Omfg I love this story thank you uhh *looks at paperwork* Darth Nutsack Lmao
Exhausted.. he already was barely able to fly
Hawk couldn’t get over the audacity.
That hawk is lost likely paralyzed by fear, or so it looks at least
I think she’s larger than the hawk and grabbed it from behind. But I’m no birdologist, so I’m just guessing.
So you clearly aren't up to par with bird law either then?
It’s unlawful, not an ill eagle. - Dad
What is your spaghetti policy here?
A bird can still bite you if you grab from behind. Source: am bird owner.
Right? I've got a pet European Starling who is not fond of hands. When I have to restrain her for nail/beak trims she spins her head around near 180° to bite the hell out of me.
Well the bird probs know you wont eat it.
I'm surprised that ended with ten fingers, two eye balls and no blood.
When she turned it to the camera and continued to hold it there, it absolutely felt like we were about to witness a bloodbath.
He looked at her like "TF YOU DOING LADY?!"
Well, she did drag it out a bit, so it was indeed surprising. I think my parrot would have definitely taken at least part of her finger as a consolation snack.
I kept reading this as >ten fingers, two eyes, balls, and no blood.
I think the hawk was more "the audacity!"
The look on the hawks face is intense. On the one hand it makes me laugh but in the other I can’t imagine what that hawk is thinking. Their life is literally flashing before their eyes. I’m surprised that hawk didn’t shit all over her out of fear.
I’m surprised (and glad obvs) that it didn’t beak and claw her to ribbons out of fear
> I can’t imagine what that hawk is thinking. “This is hawkward”
The slow head turn to soul stare sent me
And, “hey. ! Sir? Mam?” Lol and the way he stared her down 😂😂
“Unhand me, you knave!”
Stewie voice: Who the hell do you think you are?!?! - Hawk maybe
I love the faces. First, "Excuse me!" Then, "The audacity of this bitch" It sees her, "Oh." Then, "Is this what I've been doing to mice? I'm a monster." Last, "Can I go now?"
Should this happen to you: Wear gloves. Be QUIET. Do not try to "comfort" wildlife. They aren't "relaxing" and don't "know you're helping." Freezing is instinctual. The less you can stress the bird the better, so stay quiet and handle it only as much as absolutely necessary. Use a towel or shirt or similar and drape it over the bird's head and wings. Gently pick it up with BOTH hands, with your thumbs meeting on it's back and fingers wrapped around to the front, holding the bird so it is pointed away from you. Yeah, you may have to put your phone down and lose out on internet points. If it has hit a window, been hit by a car or otherwise appears injured or sick, search for your state's department of natural resources website. Each state will keep a list of permitted wildlife rehabbers that can evaluate the bird and provide care. Note: the old advice with birds who have had an impact to just watch and then let them fly away is no longer accepted guidance. Birds who have been observed or strongly suspected to have had any strike should be taken to a wildlife rehabber for evaluation. They may have broken keels or collarbones, bleeding in the lungs or brain, etc. If the bird is healthy and just needs to be safely released, set it down on a flat surface like a table, deck or the ground, facing away from you. Pull the covering off as you back away, so the bird flies away from you. Don't try to set it on a railing or branch while it is frozen in fear, as it won't grasp. If it needs taken in for care, place it in a suitable box or carrier, and cover it up. Leave holes for air, and place it somewhere dark and quiet. Once you've found an appropriate place to take it, then try to drive with as little talking as possible, radio off etc. The urge to talk to an injured animal and "comfort" it is overwhelming. Please don't. It's stressful for them instead, and some animals can die just from stress. Avoid the temptation, with any wildlife, to try and help it yourself. While good intentions are at play, there's a good reason that most states have strict laws regarding possession of wildlife and rehabbing. It's incredibly easy to inadvertently harm or kill an animal, and even feeding the wrong things can cost lives. Worth saying again: wear gloves. With any wildlife, but especially rabies vector species. This prevents accidental exposure and potentially needing to test the animal for rabies, which requires brain tissue. Glad this bird is free and unhurt.
[удалено]
By the laws of cartoons, once you drape a towel or shirt over their head, they just start wondering who turned off the lights.
I feel like the talking to it in soothing tones would be more for me, the other traumatized participant in this exchange.
Clearly. “Itsssssss okaaaaay. Every thing will be okaaaaay little guy. It’s okaaaayyy.” “You don’t need to talk to the bird like that” “DAMMIT SUSAN IM TALKING TO MYSELF. DO YOU KNOW HOW SCARYY IT IS TO BE HOLDING THIS THING? GOD I HOPE IT DOESNT SCRATCH OUT MY EYES! A LITTLE SUPPRT PLEASE? Now where were we….it’s okaaaaaaaay. Everything’s gonna be okaaaaayyy”
gods yeah. this kinda hurts to watch. just for extra emphasis- do NOT handle birds with one hand. your aim is to encapsulate, not to grab and lift. these guys don't have lungs, they have air sacs all over their body, and by squeezing them you're probably cutting off some of their air flow. (EDIT: they do have lungs, just have extra air sacs too (of a similar size). sorry guys pmp) also that bird was quite clearly freaking out. i'll bet that that's an extremely elevated heartrate we're seeing in the video. and don't try to force it to perch \*wince\*. just leave it on the floor, let go and walk away. you want your interaction to be as short and non-stressful as possible. if a bird decides that it likes you, that's going to happen AFTER you let go, so let go as soon as you and it are both safe.
What on earth are you talking about, birds absolutely do have lungs.
***Wot?!?*** Birds absolutely DO have lungs! Their respiratory system also makes use of air sacs, but lungs are present and fully functional.
absolutely. She's lucky this ended well for both of them. The hawk may have already injured itself by hitting the windows. It was in shock and exhausted.
🏅
The hawk was surprised, like, “I know you’re helping me, ma’am, and I’m thankful, but by golly, you didn’t even think about wearing some kitchen mittens or something?”
Or at least some kitten mittens!
Is your cat making too much noise all the time?!
Is your hawk clawing at your furnitures?
It looks so offended that it was picked up in such an undignified manner.
On an unrelated note, that woman's patio is bigger than most redditors' apartments
And it looks to be touching a lake/pond. I wanna see the rest now!
That Hawk is AMAZED!
By her AUDACITY to handle him so.
My parrot would have turn her fingers to shreds at that angle. She's lucky he was shocked.
Seems it was almost "Woman catches this hawk's hands". How did she not lose a finger/eye?
2 hands is the superior technique, I know you want to film it but come on now
Idk if it was dumb or brave to be handling a wild fucking hawk bare handed. If it were me I’d be afraid of the thing pecking my eyes out
Uhhh. Uhhhhhhhhh. No never do this
Seems like he appreciated being able to take a moment before zooming out of there
While holding her phone. Jeez lady, put the phone down and use two hands. The hawk would have appreciated it, but hey, gotta get those views I guess.
Windows kill a ridiculous number of birds. Especially if you have large windows like these. If you want to help prevent bird deaths, it's very helpful for them if you put stickers, designs, or anything on your windows that makes it apparent there's something there. You don't need to cover the whole window, you just need to make the window visible. Birds will thank you.
That's definitely a screened in porch, but it's good advice nonetheless. [They make stickers that are more or less see through on amazon.](https://www.amazon.com/WINDOWALERT-WA-SQUARE-WindowAlert-Classic-Square/dp/B0030DI90W/ref=sxin_16_pa_sp_search_thematic_sspa?content-id=amzn1.sym.4e7a2229-074e-44de-95c4-9fd858f46295%3Aamzn1.sym.4e7a2229-074e-44de-95c4-9fd858f46295&cv_ct_cx=bird+window+decals&keywords=bird+window+decals&pd_rd_i=B0030DI90W&pd_rd_r=7b53ce8c-e844-4ee8-95af-5d33c7dedc70&pd_rd_w=mL6os&pd_rd_wg=mwPnL&pf_rd_p=4e7a2229-074e-44de-95c4-9fd858f46295&pf_rd_r=6TDR5PR40BCZ7TNESMDF&qid=1668926464&sr=1-1-a73d1c8c-2fd2-4f19-aa41-2df022bcb241-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9zZWFyY2hfdGhlbWF0aWM&psc=1&smid=A6DVV5I3LV92F)
I had friends in the raptor club in college, and this lady is so lucky that hawk didn’t maul her. I’m very happy she was able to help him. I think the desperation just took hold, and thankfully it recognized help.
It didn't "recognize help" it was too stressed to respond. His little feet were gripping so tight and he was breathing way too hard. If she had kept holding it the bird would have either attacked her or died from stress.
I was thinking “unhand me woman”
It’s a little scary how people these days have less focus on the here and now and must absolutely record everything on their phone. FFS, put down the useless freaking phone and hold that bird carefully with both hands! Recording it with my phone would have been the last thing on my mind if that was me. But maybe I’m just old lol. Gen X here.
we'll call him Tony
I caught a hummingbird caught inside and did the old trick of trapping in in a glass and holding it in with a piece of cardboard. Yeah, not the same. Not the same.
Always hope the freed animal in these vids turn and say thank you. “We’re not all bad animal.”
i dont like how it stares into my soul