A couple days ago I heard the quail that live under my rose bushes complaining loudly...sounded the way they do when there's a snake crawling around there. I looked out to see a hawk - and the way it was moving it was obvious that it was crippled somehow. Next time I looked out there, it was gone. Early this morning the hawk was on the ground by the corner of my garage, and it was not looking good. Kind of staggering around. Crippled the way it was, I was sure it was starving - unable to hunt. Not sure what it would be best to feed it but then I thought of some canned cat food I had. I put the cat food near the hawk along with a pan of water; I knew it had to be in distress as it let me approach within 4 feet without trying to get away. Then I went back in the house to get my camera, and by the time I'd returned the hawk had consumed the cat food. You can see bits of the cat food on its beak in this pic, and some remnants on the ground beside the hawk. The hawk stayed in that spot most of the day. By evening it seemed to be moving around much better and soon was 50 yards away hopping out into the desert. But it still couldn't fly.
(That white thing in the lower left corner of the photo is the downspout for a rain gutter.)
