American Crow
Corvus brachyrynchos

Crows are well adapted to the modern landscape and are found everywhere except in deserts and dense forests. They prefer agricultural lands, feeding on seeds and plowed-up worms and grubs. They stay in Massachusetts year round, even in winter. Communication is important to crows, helping them find food and stay safe from predators. To find a crow in the wild, listen for the variation in their chatter and caws. Often they will signal to each other that a hawk or owl is near. Crows are commonly found in groups at farms, noisily communicating back-and-forth.

Our crow was taken from its nest by a cat in 1996 and was then raised at the Boston Museum of Science before coming to Drumlin. Because it grew up with people, and not with other crows, it never learned how to avoid predators or find food.

Barred Owl
Strix varia

Barred owls are year-round residents of Massachusetts. They are carnivores with a variety of food choices, including amphibians, reptiles, rodents, insects, and songbirds. Barred owls expanded their range west during the 20th century, where they are competing for food and territory with their smaller cousins, spotted owls.

Owl pellets, a regurgitated mass of fur, teeth, and bones on the forest floor, are a sure sign of owls nearby in streams or wet areas. Listen for the owls’ hoots, especially in February when they are looking for mates.

Our barred owl was treated at Tufts Wildlife Clinic in 1996 for a shoulder injury. It didn’t heal properly, so the owl is not able to fly well enough to catch prey in the wild.

Broad-winged Hawk
Buteo platypterus

Broad-winged hawks breed in eastern and central North America. Each September they have a dramatic migration to Central and South America. They use thermals (warm air rising) to gain altitude and coast southward, usually in groups of thousands. Broad-winged hawks are more visible when migrating than when they are in their breeding territory. Open summits, such as Mount Wachusett, are good places to look for them in mid-September. Broad-winged hawks nest in the crooks of trees and feed on small mammals, reptiles, insects, and birds.

Our hawk was found near a road with a broken wing and other injuries in 2003. It had hatched that spring and possibly collided with a car on one of its first flights. Its broken wing healed well, but the hawk remains blind in one eye.

Eastern Screech-Owl
Megascops asio

Eastern screech-owls live in eastern North America and prefer an open forest of mixed tree species, making their nests in the cavities of deciduous trees. They are small enough to be prey for larger raptors, so to stay safe, they remain hidden in their tree cavities when they aren’t hunting. Look for screech-owls in open woodlands and suburban settings where they can find dead trees with cavities in which to hide.

Our screech-owl was found injured in the middle of a road in 1994. It never recovered the full use of its left wing.

Great Horned Owl
Bubo virginianus

Great horned owls occupy most of the Americas, from Alaska into South America. Their large size, aggressive nature, and silent flight make them sharp predators, and they prefer a dense forest habitat, where they prey on rabbits, small mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and many others. Because great horned owls are active at night, and because owls generally do not have a good sense of smell, they hunt and eat skunks. They are vocal particularly during the breeding season in January and February, so listen for their hoots after dark.

Our owls came from a zoo in Michigan, arriving at Drumlin Farm in April 2006. The younger owl was hit by a car and blinded in its left eye. The other owl’s history is not known, though it is thought to be a few years older than the other and is also blind in its left eye.

Red-tailed Hawk
Buteo jamaicensis

Red-tailed hawks are year-round residents of Massachusetts, though some spread north to Canada for breeding in summer. Red-tails, who feed mostly on rodents, keep the cold away by fluffing their feathers to create pockets of warm air. They can also live in city parks, feeding on squirrels and pigeons.

We have three hawks at Drumlin.

The first has been with us more than 20 years! We received it in 1983 from Laughing Brook, the Mass Audubon sanctuary in Hampden. It has a wing injury from an unknown cause. Its right wing is amputated at the wrist joint. The other red-tailed hawk was received in 1998 from the Vermont Raptor Center, where it had been treated for a gunshot injury. Its right wing was amputated. The third hawk came to us in February 1993. Her left wing had been shot, shattering the bones, and the wing was amputated. None of these hawks can be released. Since they cannot fly, they would be unable to catch prey animals or avoid predators.

American kestrel
Falco sparverius

Kestrels are commonly found throughout the Americas in areas with open spaces where they can hunt for their prey. Because of their small size and their diet of insects, they migrate south for the winter. Kestrels need to be careful as they may be preyed upon by larger raptors (hawks and owls) as well as other predators. Kestrels kite, or hover, and dive as they hunt. Look for kestrels on tall perches near clearings, grasslands, or roadsides.

Drumlin is temporarily housing two kestrels, a male and a female. These wild birds suffered damage to their flight feathers and were brought to wildlife rehabilitators. They will be kept at Drumlin until their new feathers grow in, and then they will be released.

Eastern Game Birds
Galliformes

Birds in the order Galliformes, known as game birds, are hunted seasonally in Massachusetts. Ruffed grouse, wild turkeys, and bobwhite quail (native to this area) and pheasants (introduced to this area) are in this category. All are ground-feeding birds and relatives of the domestic chicken. With their short wings they burst quickly into the air but cannot sustain long flights; therefore, they do not migrate. When frightened, Galliformes launch themselves into trees from the forest floor. They have feet for walking and scraping, and roost in trees at night.

At Drumlin, we have a pheasant that was found at the Quabbin Reservoir, hungry and disoriented. Pheasants need a habitat that provides thickets for shelter and grain crops for food. These habitats are decreasing in Massachusetts, and so are pheasants. They are native to Asia, and were introduced to North America in the 1880s. Ring-necked pheasants were once carefully bred and managed for hunting.

Turkey Vulture
Cathartes aura

Turkey vultures locate food using their keen sense of smell, something most birds do not possess. They migrate south in winter, yet have expanded their range northward in the summer months, and increased their population. Although closer in appearance to hawks, and long thought to be in the raptor family, they are in the stork family.

To find a turkey vulture in the wild, just look up any time from March through November. Look for the slight v-shape to their out stretched wings, called a dihedral, the silvery underside of the trailing half of their wings, and the finger-like wingtips.

Our vulture was found at Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary in 1977 with a broken wing. It never healed properly, keeping it grounded. Turkey vultures have bare heads (hence the name “turkey”) because feathers would collect bacteria and maggots from the rotting carcasses it eats.