HAWK LADY

Since receiving a state permit from the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources in 1974, Stellanie Ure has devotedly cared for and set free a large number of injured or orphaned raptors (birds of prey). Most are given her by Salt Lake City's Tracy Aviary, though some come from concerned neighbors. In their backyard sanctuary, the Ures treat their taloned patients with medicine, a proper diet, and great respect. They started the rehabilitation project, we learn, with two owlets and a marsh hawk; but a procession of eagles, hawks, owls, falcons, and kestrels was soon passing through the Ure yard--with the result that the individual accounts are rather clipped and almost completely lacking in sentiment. But as Ure encounters each new genus and species, she describes its appearance and feeding habits; and as each new bird appears, she describes its malady, the treatment, and her success (or lack of success) in returning it to the wild. At times the narrative reads like a log of events and a register of names and affiliations (of vets, authors, conservation officers, etc.). But Ure's accumulated knowledge of raptor care will be of interest to others wishing to get such an ambitious project off the ground.