Koyu (Harlan’s Red-tailed Hawk)

Koyu (Harlan’s Red-tailed Hawk)

Koyu was found along the side of a road in the remote village of Huslia, Alaska in late 2020. Luckily for Koyu, the gentleman who found her was a falconer and picked her up to see if there was anything he could do to help her. He noticed that Koyu had damage to her left eye, possibly caused by being hit by a vehicle, and had no vision on that side. Because hawks are active hunters and rely on their depth perception to capture prey, it was unknown if she would be a successful hunter with only one eye. The falconer decided to add her to his falconry permit and see if he could give her a better chance at life in the wild by training her to hunt. Training went well, but because of her eye injury she was never able to hunt successfully. When he realized she would not survive in the wild, he contacted the Alaska Raptor Center to see if we would be interested in taking Koyu on as an avian ambassador, which we were! Koyu’s name comes from the Koyukuk River that flows near Huslia.

The Harlan’s red-tailed hawk is one of the many subspecies of red-tailed hawks, even thought by some to be a separate species altogether. It is an uncommon variety, nesting in Alaska and northern Canada and wintering in the south-central United States. Harlan’s red-tailed hawk plumage presents in two different color morphs; dark and light. Dark morphs make up 85% of the population and are an overall chocolate brown coloration. The light morph is considered rare and these individuals are very white overall with little red or buff color on their body but show more red in their tail than a dark morph.
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The Alaska Raptor Center’s Adopt-A-Raptor program allows people around the world to help us care for Alaska’s wild birds. By becoming an adoptive “parent,” you help support the daily care, feeding and any required medical treatment for your adopted bird.

Adoptive “parents” receive an official adoption certificate, a photograph and biography of the adopted bird, natural history information, and a one-year membership to the Alaska Raptor Center. As a member you will receive a 10% discount on all of our gift shop items in future purchases.

Thank you for your support and congratulations!