Above: Rosie Johnson of Grand Marais with the kestrel hawk she rescued on September 22. Rosie nursed the bird back to health and she and her husband Bruce released it on Friday, October 1. Left: Before being released the bird, which Rosie named “Precious” enjoyed being with Bruce and Rosie—and their cat, Patches!
The amazing rescue story of “Precious” the hawk began on Wednesday, September 22, when Rosie Johnson of Grand Marais saw an injured bird lying on the pavement of the Gunflint Trail, near the county gas pumps. Kind-hearted Rosie removes dead animals from the roadway when she sees them, to put them to rest in the quiet ditch. However, when she picked up the small bird, she felt a faint heartbeat. Certain that the bird was going to die; she placed it gently in the grass and headed to work at the county highway department. Later in the day, she stopped to see how the bird was doing and she was amazed that it was still alive and struggling to stand.
Rosie went back to the highway department and recruited co-worker Ann Zellner. The women gently placed the bird in a box and Rosie took it home. Her husband, Bruce Johnson, was not surprised. “Rosie is always rescuing animals,” he said. But even he was surprised at the behavior of the bird as it made itself at home in their house.
Rosie contacted the Raptor Center, but was told there was no one locally to care for the bird. It would have to be transported— in a box—to Duluth. Rosie didn’t think the bird was strong enough, so she decided to make it comfortable for as long as it survived.
“The Raptor Center said to treat the bird just like you would a person who was injured and in shock. So that’s what we did,” shrugged Rosie. The bird didn’t just survive— under Rosie’s gentle care, it thrived.
She made a nest in the box with a heating pad to warm it and fed it—first just milksoaked bread and water, but the bird still seemed hungry so she fed it hamburger and fish. Rosie’s co-workers at the county highway garage got in on the act and offered mice and chipmunks. “But she liked top sirloin and blueberries better,” chuckled Bruce.
The Johnsons not only fed the bird, which they believe is a female kestrel hawk, they gently exercised it. They didn’t keep it in the box—in fact, the bird didn’t want to be in the box. If left inside, it struggled out through the air holes and hopped around the room. The Johnsons let it hop around the house and each day for a few minutes, they gently moved the apparently injured wing. Eventually, the bird began moving the wing itself and it flew onto chairs, couches, Bruce and Rosie’s shoulders— and even onto the windowsill next to their bird-friendly cat, Patches.
After a week, the bird, now known as Precious, started stretching its wings and Rosie decided to take it outside to see if it could fly. She placed Precious on the deck rail and the bird looked around, content to be outside for a little while and happy to hop back on Rosie’s hand to go inside. One day, after a number of head bobs, it took off and flew about 15 feet, then about 40
” feet to a nearby tree. She was almost ready to go—but Rosie wanted to make sure. Precious lived inside the house and practiced flying in the yard for a few more days until finally, on Friday, October 1, the Johnsons decided she had to go find her own kind and head south.
Reluctantly, Rosie brought Precious outside for one last visit. The bird sat on the deck rails for a few minutes and the Johnsons decided she might take off if they set her on the ground. Take off she did, sailing across the yard in one long flight. She perched on a branch for a few minutes, and then attempted another more challenging flight—higher and through tree branches. She soared to the top of a tall dead tree, surveying her friends for a while before giving a call and heading off to where she belonged.
A very special bird, Precious, who could more appropriately be named “Lucky.” As Bruce Johnson said, Rosie takes care of all the animals in the neighborhood. “The bird found just the right person to rescue it,” said Bruce with a grin.
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