Helping Beatrix Recover |
| The Peregrine Falcon Recovery Project is a small, volunteer-driven non-profit that relies exclusively on public donations and, to
a lesser degree, the sale of Project merchandise to fund our activities. While the Project always tries to keep a few dollars in our
bank account to cover unexpected expenses, we aren't sure what the total cost will be for Beatrix's recovery so we decided to provide
a running total of expenses and directed donations so that anyone wanting to help the Project support PWRC's rehabilitation efforts
could keep up with our progress. To date, our expenses include the cost for a couple of the export/import permits, Beatrix's surgery
and medication and most recently, the purchase and shipping of quail for Beatrix to eat. We will update the bar graph below as new
expenses are incurred and donations are received. |
For those wanting to contribute to Beatrix's care please check out the links at the bottom of this page.
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Beatrix's Story
Beatrix hatched at the Radisson Hotel in downtown Winnipeg in 2011, the daughter of our resident pair Princess and Ivy. Her first big adventure involved a rescue
when she ended up at the bottom of a decommissioned smokestack shortly after fledging. She was found by workers doing construction in the building and after a clean
bill of health from Wildlife Haven, she was returned to the nestbox on the Radisson along with her brother Carson who'd had an earlier close encounter with the
Manitoba Hydro Building on Portage Avenue. A couple of months later, she and her brothers Cade & Carson left Winnipeg to begin life on their own.
Beatrix returned to Winnipeg for a short visit in the fall of 2013 where we caught up with her in West Winnipeg where she was hunting and eating giant water bugs.
Disgusting, but very nutritious food choice but she looked great doing it - just like her dad Ivy - he was by far our most accomplished hunter, his chicks always
had more than they could eat, which is saying a lot! Beatrix then turned up bright and early in the spring of 2014 and paired up with Beau in the West Winnipeg
territory when Beau's long-time mate, Jules, failed to return. Beatrix and Beau had four chicks that year - Beaumont, Bishop, Bristol (who returned to Manitoba in 2016
to hang out with Sundance from the Logan territory after a very brief pit-stop in Grand Forks to visit with Terminator's mate Marv) and Belle. Beatrix returned
again in 2015 and found herself with a new mate, Ty, after he won a territorial battle with Beau. Ty and Beatrix had two female chicks together - Tiggy and Tuppence.
In March 2016, Beatrix was injured during a hailstorm in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and was transported to the nearby Rogers Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre. There was
some concern that her vision may have been affected but an opthalmic specialist checked her out and she was ultimately found to have suffered no lasting damage but
would need time to recover - soft tissues injuries take longer than one would think to heal and she had to regain her muscle strength and coordination after being
confined for a couple of weeks while they were waiting to be sure of her vision. Her recovery appeared to be going well through the spring but then the Texas summer
arrived which not only meant hot (hot) weather, but also severe weather events and then there was an outbreak of the West Nile Virus. Birds in captivity are unable
to avoid the mosquitoes that carry the virus so are at higher risk of contracting the disease. As a result, Beatrix was spending more time inside for safety sake and
her rehabilitation stalled a bit as she was unable to use the outdoor flight cages to rebuild her wing strength and flight skills. Manitoba may have extreme weather
at times, but we knew we could provide her with a safe environment to complete her recovery so we increased our pressure on the various state, provincial and federal
governments to obtain the necessary export/import permits to return Beatrix to Canada. Even with support from everyone on both sides of the border, it still took us
five months to get all the necessary paperwork in place. That's when things really started to rock'n'roll!
The last permit was signed on November 29th and arrived in Texas the following day. On December 1st, Beatrix and her travelling companion, Kathy Rogers, began
their trip north on flights donated by American Airlines and WestJet. They arrived in Winnipeg just after midnight on the first. The following day, Kathy and
Beatrix headed out to meet with Lisa Tretiak of the Prairie Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre (PWRC) where Beatrix will be continuing her rehabilitation. Beatrix
had her first vet visit the same day and it was decided that she would need some surgery to clean up a bit of infection on her feet. Kathy stayed in town to make
sure that Beatrix was settled into her new home before heading home to Texas - her flight left just hours before Manitoba's first winter storm of 2016/17 shut
the southern half of the province down for the better part of a week. A couple of days later, Beatrix had her surgery and two weeks later her feet were healing
nicely and she was put on medication to fight any lingering infection. Best of all, Beatrix began feeding herself, something she had been stubbornly refusing to
do when she was in Texas. Hopefully she will continue to cooperate with her rehabilitation so that she can be re-released in 2017. But nothing is for sure, only
time will tell.