This Sharp-shinned Hawk, the smallest of hawk species in North America, came to us from Pasadena Humane Society contaminated with glue trap material on its flight feathers and ventral side of the body, according to Marianne Dominguez, a rehabilitation technician at our Los Angeles care center.
Dominguez, shown here washing the bird, reports: “Because the trap material was too thick to easily wash off, we needed to pre-treat the bird’s feathers with methyl soyate to dissolve the product. Otherwise, after a couple of Dawn bucket washes and a good rinse, along with subcutaneous fluids and pain medication, we transferred the no longer sticky (and very feisty) raptor to South Bay Wildlife for the rest of its rehabilitation.”
All photos by Dave Weeshoff.
I am sure this poor little guy didn’t like the treatment but was happy to be rid of the sticky goo!