June 23rd, 2021 started out as a typical day at Wings Rescue Center. Volunteers were busy caring for rescued birds, feeding them, cleaning their cages and treating their ills and injuries. But that all changed when a call came in to rescue a fledgling hawk near Victoria.
Amateur photographers seeking the perfect shot caused the little Red-Shouldered Hawk to fall from its nest. Having a serious eye injury, the baby bird was brought to Wing’s for treatment. After two weeks at Wings, “Champion”, as it was called then, was transferred to another facility for long-term care and rehabilitation. Wing’s volunteers hoped that they would witness its release someday, as they had with so many other young birds in their care.

But, after several months of rehabilitation and testing, a veterinarian concluded that Champion was blind in one eye, it could not safely fly or capture its prey for food and thus, could never be released. Unless a permanent home could be found, it would have to be euthanized. That is when Wings received the second rescue call. And just as with Wings’ permanent residents, “Jerry”, a Goose and two Pelicans, “Patches” and “Willy”, the juvenile hawk, first known as Champion, had found a forever home.

On October 23rd Wings volunteers, Greg Simmons, a falconer and his wife Sally brought the hawk in. Sally asked whether the Center had given it a name while in their care. Kay Adams, Wings founder, and President, said its name was “Champion”. Sally responded, “you know, ‘Rocky’ was a Champion”. The name stuck.

Welcome Home Rocky.

Rocky’s new life started that afternoon. Greg Simmons placed the “anklets” (permanent leather straps) on its legs and attached “jesses” (short cords) attached to a leash. Wings full-time caregiver, Dana Rhodes, then began the first day of many to follow: hours upon hours of gentle one-on-one interaction to gain the bird’s confidence in preparation for Rocky’s training to be Wings' first Education-Ambassador Bird.

Wings Rescue Center is a state and federal permitted bird rescue rehabilitation center serving Aransas County and the surrounding counties of the Coastal Bend. It is the only facility in South Texas that takes in abandoned eggs and baby birds. Through the pandemic shut downs, the February freeze and Spring floods, the Center’s phones have not stopped ringing with requests for wildlife rescues. Over 900 birds were rescued in 2020 and quickly approaching 850 since January of this year. With the community’s generous support, Wings volunteers continue to work tirelessly to provide the best care possible in order to give birds a second chance at life in the wild.