On that beautiful summer day, while enjoying the sun and cooling off in the cold water, the visitors of a pool party in El Dorado County, California, did not think that anything particularly surprising could happen.
However, one of the partygoers noticed something strange inside the pool filter when he opened the lid. When he looked a little closer, he saw that there was an unexpected guest inside.
After the other visitors at the pool saw who was inside, they decided not to do anything themselves but to call the rescuers for help.
Clump Of Feathers
As soon as the employees of Sierra Wildlife Rescue (SWR), a rescue organization from Diamond Springs, California, got a call about a poor animal stuck inside a filter, one of their rescuers was on his way to that location.
When he got there and opened the lid, he immediately realized that the animal inside the filter was a red-shouldered hawk. According to the SWR Facebook post, he fell into the pool while attempting to get a drink of water, after which he got sucked into the filter.
The poor hawk was lying motionless in the water, not being able to do anything to escape. “[O]nce a bird’s feathers get that wet, they are unable to fly,” Debbie Buckles, president of SWR, told The Dodo.
Although, according to him, it would have been better if the pool party visitors had acted immediately, the rescuer took the situation extremely seriously and arrived just in time to save this animal’s life.
Difficult But Successful Rehab
The hawk was in terrible condition when the rescuer found him in the pool filter. “During the removal of the hawk from the pool filter, [he] was not responsive, extremely tired [and] soaking wet,” Debbie said.
The situation wasn’t any better even when they came to the rehabilitation center. Despite the very high temperatures prevailing during those days, the hawk could not stop shaking. He simply spent too much time in the cold water.
However, these good people had no intention of giving up on him, so after some time, they finally managed to bring him back to life.
“Using the low speed of a hair dryer and a very gentle touch, each feather was carefully separated and preened. The hawk was able to warm back up and have [his] feathers restored,” Debbie said.
He was given the best food and antibiotics for two weeks and that ultimately produced excellent results – this hawk completely transformed.
Back Where He Belongs
After two weeks of difficult but successful recovery, Debbie said that this amazing hawk completely regained his “feisty personality” as well as “[his] strength and flight ability.”
It was a sign that he was ready for his new beginning. The rescuer who saved him from the pool filter got the honor of affording him freedom.
“As the rescuer put on gloves and held the hawk up towards the sky, [he] sat for a moment on the glove, taking in the surroundings. Then, the hawk looked into the rescuer’s eyes as though to say thank you, and then took flight,” Debbie said.
It was a magical moment that reminded this rescuer once again why it is worth going through all the hardships that this job entails.
The reward for that is being able to watch them go to freedom where they belong, and that is priceless.