Arrowhead 2b

The arrow-like marking on the back of this red-tailed hawk's head is quite common for young hawks, marking that soft spot in the skull similar to human babies.  The shape varies, but this one definitely seems to have an arrow; think it will try some air-bending when it gets older?

This youngster will grow up at our county wildlife rescue center, hopefully to be released at the end of the year; the younger they come in, the harder it is to avoid having a bird imprint on the people taking care of it, though much effort is taken to minimize time spent with the bird.  A young vulture that came in last year wound up imprinting on people, despite having an older, permanent resident vulture around as a role model; two others who came in slightly older were fortunately successfully released. The younger one has been sent to another outreach program that works at introducing people to nature.  Whenever possible, a found bird should be delivered to a qualified facility ASAP to avoid imprinting.