Rescued – Japanese Sparrowhawk

Yesterday a kind man from Bangkok rescued a juvenile male Japanese sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis). He had been found next to the mans home drowning in a river, the man noticed it and swiftly saved him from drowning. He then called WFFT immediately and commenced on the long drive down from Bangkok. Upon arrival to WFFT he was given a health check and no broken bones were found, even though it was initially assumed that he must have a broken wing. We have named this little one Captain Jack Sparrowhawk.

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species list this species as Least Concern (LC), with wild populations estimated to number in the tens of thousands. Threats include, Land-use change within the species’s wintering range could result in a loss of roosting habitat, instance logging operations may reduce the availability of roost sites. Capture of birds from migratory roost sites for trade is unlikely to be significant. As always habitat loss and degradation, combined with conflict with humans post huge threats to this species, as with many other species on earth.

Being a migratory bird that passes through Thailand it seems that Captain Jack Sparrowhawk may have lost his way in Central Bangkok and become weak, resulting in him being found in the river, this is not surprising considering that Bangkok is the second largest city in the region with many obstacles to overcome. He will stay at the WFFT Wildlife Hospital for now. We hope that he will regain strength and be able to fly properly and ultimately return home to the wild.