RAPTOR RAPTURE

Bird rehab center works to preserve much-loved species.

In the spring of 2017, wrapped in a harness, Todd Secki hung suspended some 60 feet above ground, beside the trunk of a tree in Chatfield Hollow State Park. With its wings stretched into a shadowy V, a greathorned owl darted toward Secki from more distant branches and, in an attempt to tear him from his perch, clawed at him ferociously.

“It was terrifying,” Secki said. In all, the owl made four hits.

But Secki will tell you the encounter was worth it. He and his wife, Christine Cummings, help run A Place Called Hope, a Killingworth-based raptor rehabilitation center.

APCH is a nonprofit that relies on donations of time, support and money, Cummings said. It has garnered social media attention for bird rescues all along the Shoreline.

One of APCH’s biggest programs is re-nesting, Cummings said, which involves building manmade nests when baby birds of prey fall from trees. In order to construct the nest and relocate the babies, Secki — who hates heights — heads up into the branches, sometimes as high as 85 feet.

Secki has been climbing for 14 years but until the incident at Chatfield Hollow, he had never been physically attacked by a bird. (Cummings cautioned that nonprofessionals who approach a baby raptor, even when it’s on the ground, risk injury from a parent).

Often, Cummings said, birds fly toward Todd and pretend they’re going to attack him, but they rarely make contact.

Chatfield put APCH in a tricky situation, though. After a park trooper reported a baby greathorned owl had fallen to the ground, APCH arrived to find a second still nestling in the tree, Cummings said.

Not only did Secki have to build a new nest, he also had to relocate the

“Birds are best raised by birds.”

Christine Cummings, president, A Place Called Hope

fallen bird’s sibling — whose mom was decidedly not happy about it.

Secki walked away shaken, but he didn’t stop climbing trees. With spring around the corner, he and Cummings are anticipating the re-nesting season that could start as early as midMarch.

The impact of re-nestings Though APCH works with other species, the first raptors likely to need re-nesting are great-horned owls, as their eggs hatch earlier than many other birds’ do, Cummings said.

Along with red-shouldered hawks, Cooper’s hawks and redtailed hawks, great-horned owls are “not too smart” about nesting, Cummings said. As platform nesters, they’ll settle into found surfaces like treetops, osprey platforms and old nests leftover from previous springs.

The method makes their babies particularly vulnerable to tumbles, Cummings said. In 2018 alone, APCH completed 28 renesting projects.

When APCH performs a renesting they do everything they can to get the babies back with their parents or with wild foster parents. “Birds are best raised by birds,” Cummings said, noting that babies in captivity cannot learn the skills they need to survive in the wild.

Though APCH temporarily houses the displaced babies, they don’t keep them for more than a few days, Cummings said, working as quickly as possible to construct the new nest and reunite parents and offspring. Cummings said the man-made nests can last for seven to eight years.

When Cummings was growing up, she remembers a lot of people she knew took the attitude that wild animals in trouble should be left alone. But since humans cause so many problems for wildlife, Cummings said, “it’s imperative that we do something about it.”

APCH takes in injured birds and of the conflicts that impact bird species, 98 percent are caused by humans, Cummings said, with vehicle collisions representing the most common problem. Last year alone, APCH admitted some 600 birds.

It’s the threats to these birds that make the re-nestings so important to Cummings and Secki. Every baby that’s put back represents potential preservation for that species, Cummings said.

North Branford resident Cindy Walker has witnessed the impact of APCH’s re-nestings firsthand. Eight years ago, she and her boyfriend contacted the organization after two baby hawks ended up on the ground in their yard.

APCH re-nested the hawks and over the summer, Walker enjoyed watching the birds grow up. The family has stuck around the neighborhood ever since, she said, becoming “part of the community.”

Walker finds that amazing. She’s grateful to APCH for making it possible.

What to do when you see a baby bird on the ground

If you encounter a baby bird in the coming months, the folks at APCH want you to be aware of a few things.

First off, not every baby bird on the ground needs help. If a parent is engaging with the bird, or if it’s feathered, has its eyes open and is hopping, it’s probably fine and there’s no need to call for help.

With songbirds in particular, it’s common for fledglings to spend a couple days on the ground before they take flight, Secki said.

If a bird has not yet opened its eyes, cannot hop or is downyfeathered, though, it could be in trouble. When that’s the case, you should contact a licensed rehabilitator that can help you determine the best course of action.

It’s a good idea to take pictures of the animal — from a safe distance — to help the rehabilitator address the situation.

Touching a baby bird will not precipitate rejection from its parents, Cummings said, in an effort to dispel a common myth.

A list on DEEP’s website provides the contact information for Connecticut rehabilitators, sorted by the species with which they work.

If you see a fallen baby bird of prey or an injured raptor in Connecticut, you can call APCH at (203) 804-3453. According to the organization, it’s vital that you refrain from interfering with the animal without guidance, as non-professional help can could lead to injury for bird and human alike.

And if you do contact APCH, you might luck out and see Secki perform some great feat — like cutting off his ponytail mid-climb while holding a baby eagle in his other hand. That actually happened once, when his hair got tangled in the climbing line.

Todd Secki, below and at bottom, climbs high into the air to re-nest baby birds of prey that have fallen from trees. His work marks part of A Place Called Hope’s efforts to rescue, rehabilitate and preservelocal raptor species.

Peter Hvizdak / Hearst Connecticut Media

Great-horned Owls use abandoned nests instead of making their own. A Place Called Hope helps re-nest them and other raptor species

Peter Hvizdak / Hearst Connecticut Media Todd Secki with a bard owl at A Place Called Hope, a nonprofit that rescues and rehabilitates birds of prey. He is secretary and treasurer of the organization which, since Jan. 1, has taken in 38 bard owls for rehabilitation. Upkeep of the 22 aviaries on his Killingworth property are part of his day-to-day responsibilities he sees to with his wife Christine Cummings, president.