Wildlife Rescue: A Happy Ending for a Nestling Goshawk

In mid-June, West Fraser’s Hinton, Alberta Woodlands team was alerted to a Northern Goshawk nestling in distress. A predator had disturbed its nest. Although the nestling was unharmed, it was still very vulnerable to the cold, wet weather and further predation.

After discovering the sensitive species nestling, West Fraser team members went to great lengths to rescue it. West Fraser was supported by multiple animal rescue organizations and a volunteer bird bander. This resulted in a rescue mission involving relocating the nestling to a “foster nest” in a forest near Edmonton, where it is now thriving in its new home.

“Our forestry contractor, Muskrat Environmental, came across a disturbed Northern Goshawk nest while laying out a small harvest area in the Berland working circle, north of Hinton,” said Ryan Lanning, Planning Forester. “While reporting species at risk is a standard procedure at Hinton Wood Products, reporting on any distressed wildlife and seeking advice from the appropriate professionals is the precedent we want to set. We are grateful for our contractor’s quick action enabling us to have a happy ending for this nestling.”

The contractor found a disturbed nest, two deceased nestlings on the ground and an adult goshawk attempting to care for the surviving nestling in these bleak conditions. 

West Fraser’s Habitat and Wildlife Biologist, Emily Cicon, recommended seeking direction from the Medicine River Wildlife Centre (MRWC) as to the next steps in assuring the young goshawk’s survival. With persistent cold, rainy conditions, MRWC directed Ryan to collect the nestling and bring it to town, where a local Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) associate with experience in animal rescue would take the nestling to keep it warm and fed until the bird could be transported to the wildlife centre.

Looking at all solutions, MRWC enlisted the help of experienced bird bander, Rick Morse, to work with the SPCA, Ryan and West Fraser planning summer student Emma Ireland, in finding a solution. They began by attempting a nest replacement and reacquaintance of the young bird with its mother.

At the nest location, the group used phones to play a repetitive playback of goshawk calls to try and attract the attention of the mother if it was indeed still in the area. The group sat patiently for multiple hours, but to no avail. As the 18-day-old goshawk nestling could not be left by itself, the group came up with a plan to relocate the nestling to test if the nestling could be “fostered” by another adult with its own nestlings.

“As a first-year summer student, I feel very fortunate to have been a part of helping the goshawk. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and it really showed me how much West Fraser cares about wildlife.” 
‍_{Emma Ireland, West Fraser planning summer student}

After a few days of checking known nests in the region, a new home was found close to Edmonton.

“This is not the first occurrence of a contractor reporting a young raptor away from its nest, but in most instances, we would just reach out to other experts from the Government of Alberta or research partners for further advice and defer operations in the area until there is no longer disruption to needs of the wildlife,” said Ryan. “In this unique situation, we needed to intervene to help the most vulnerable and are grateful to all involved for their commitment to biodiversity, and their successful efforts to save this young raptor!”

Managing for biodiversity is a core principle of West Fraser’s sustainable forest management approach. Learn more about our management approach in the 2022 Sustainability Report.