Birds of prey in Edmonton

Several hawk species can be found in and around Edmonton. Dale Gienow from WILDNorth joined CTV Your Morning Edmonton with how we can coexist with them.

Several hawk species can be found in and around Edmonton. Dale Gienow from WildNorth joined Kim Wynn on CTV Your Morning Edmonton to discuss how we can coexist with them.

This transcript has been edited for length and clarity.

Kimberly Wynn: Do we have a lot of hawks in Edmonton? If so, what kinds?

Dale Gienow: Surprisingly, we do. I don’t think a lot of people are aware. Just in the last couple of months, WILDNorth has admitted eight different hawk species. There are quite a few, including everything from very small birds to quite large species like the Swainson hawk and Red-tailed hawk.

Kim: With some of these large species out there, do we need to be concerned if we have pets, especially small ones?

Dale: (With) some of our big birds of prey, we do have to be a little bit concerned, in particular birds like great horned owls. But our daytime hunters, the hawks, even though they’re large, they don’t typically go after our small pets. However, they can put us at risk come baby season, so in the springtime, when they have young ones, some of these birds, particularly the Swainson’s hawks, can get quite aggressive.

Kim: What if we come across an injured or orphaned hawk?

Dale: WILDNorth is open 365 days a year. We encourage people to give us a call at our wildlife hotline. You can reach our information at www.wildnorth.ca to find out how to get a hold of us. These can be potentially dangerous, especially some of the larger species. We work with the community. We can walk you through what to do and even dispatch a rescue team if necessary.

Kim: Does WILDNorth get many hawk patients this time of year?

Dale: We do. This time of year, we’re coming up on migratory season, and we get a lot of birds passing through the Edmonton area. We get about 200 raptors or birds of prey every year. Often this time of year, the young birds don’t have experience hunting. They just need to spend a little time with us to get filled up again, get their strength back and get back into the air so they can make that long journey. Some of these birds travel as far south as Argentina, so it’s a long trip.

Kim: Can anyone visit these beautiful WILDNorth patients?

Dale: They’re one of the few animals that you can. WILDNorth has an active sponsor, a raptor program, where you can sponsor one of our hawks or birds of prey. When it comes time for release, you get to come to the release, which is a spectacular experience and heartfelt and lovely to see these beautiful creatures go back to the wild where they belong.

Kim: When you sponsor them, can you name the hawk?

Dale: A lot of people do. At WILDNorth, we try not to name our patients, especially until we know that they’re good to go and they’re going to be healthy. We try not to get too attached, knowing that they’re going to be giving them up soon. But certainly you can, and it’s awesome to see. This is the best part of my job. I just love it when these guys get to go back.