MONTE VISTA— A hawk has regrown its flight feathers and has been released back into the wild. The hawk spread his wings and flew away during the Kids Crane Festival on Saturday, Oct. 14.

The hawk was picked up by a Colorado Parks and Wildlife Officer on Jan. 29 and had been recuperating at the Frisco Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Del Norte since then. It was found with soft tissue damage to a wing and to its chest. It was missing seven flight feathers that had to be regrown. During the time it took to regrow its feathers it missed the spring 2017 migration to its breeding grounds in the artic.

Families that gathered at the Kids Crane Festival got to witness the bird fly to freedom and enjoyed a short talk about the rough-legged hawk. They also learned what to do when they see an injured bird.

Other activities were enjoyed by children and their families on Saturday. These activities included a puppet show, talks about owls, snake handling, origami, migration games, archery, scavenger egg hunt and binocular lessons.