This guy was hanging out this morning
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OK, my mind is completely and totally BLOWN. Look, I know you Texas and other southern and southwest state residents see these things all the time. But I am 1 mile from the KY border in TN, and I found this guy dead on the side of the road less than a mile from my orchard. I have been an outdoor enthusiast and hunter all my life so Iāve spent more hours in the woods than almost anyone I know, and I have never, ever seen an armadillo and never heard of anyone seeing them. I did a little internet reading and there are stories about how these things have been migrating north the last 15-20 years, and the TN wildlife agency says they have been spoted in south and southwest TN, but Iām in far North TN. These ugly things have no fur at all, I donāt see how on earth they can live here in the winter??? Strangeā¦no, shocking to me!!! 
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They dig deep holes and stay in the ground except when they have to eat. They can survive anywhere basicallyā¦
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THAT, is what is known here as āarmadillo on the half shellā. Litters our highways a lot. I have a local one that digs in my yardā¦ran right by me up the ramp of my deck and jumped off the other side one day. Eats grubs and other pests and doesnāt do 1/100 the damage of the feral hogs. I kinda like them. Now coming to you in TN/KY!!
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hahahaha. That one literally made me laugh out loud! Armadillo on the half shell! VERY funny! haha. I just saw your comment on the other thread toā¦no way are they as cute as opossums! haha. Then again, most people say possums look like giant, ugly rats, so I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder! But yeaā¦I still canāt believe that in just 20 years or less an animal never before seen in my area has managed to migrate up here. Scientifially, that seems like a pretty big deal for an animal that has lived in the south for hundreds of years suddenly moves this far north. I might suggest global warming as a reason but I fear Iād touch off another huge debate about that, and really I have no idea why they would migrate up here. I hope we donāt end up having the problem Florida is having with invasive snakes where armadillos take over up here! ha
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Our friend & neighbor up in N. Mn. found bear poo under her apple tree last yr. We live in a small " hamlet" and deer regularly browse our fruit plantings. One year during winter; a bobcat tried to climb into a truck delivering snack food to the bait shopā¦ must have had the munchies! LOL
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The truck must have been going his way.
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I found this guy on one of our trails today, an eyas (baby hawk) but I could be wrong about that, could be eagle, but Iād expect Hawk considering where the nest is and how close to the ground it is. Itās on the ground just below a nest, looks to be in pretty rough shape and covered in flies. DEC guy wasnāt interested, said to leave it alone. He stated itās probably a failed first flight, but I donāt think first flights occur when theyāre covered in white down??? Hereās a project for you guys, ID what kind of hawk this guy is. Stick nest about 15ā off the ground. No sign of the parents, that would make it too easy.
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thats a pretty young chick. surprised the wardens didnāt come get it. i found a redtail chick about 10 yrs. ago a little bigger than that. kept him for a few days and he was eating small pieces of chicken from me before the warden came and got him. if it were me, id take him in and put him in a used parrot cage and feed him until big enough to fly. illegal but i wouldnāt be able to just leave him there to die. any chance you could get him back to the nest without being attacked? maybe a animal control officer locally could help you? was probably bumped out of the nest by a bigger chick. Iām a sucker for the under dog.
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I suspect the nest is abandoned, I could get it back up there, but if nothings tending it that would seal itās fate.
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As you can tell by my many posts on this thread, Iām a big wildlife guy and have taken in countless injured and abandoned animals since childhood. That is an amazing little bird- clearly some kind of raptor. Iād love to know what. Did you mean that the nest was 15 FEET off the ground or was it just 15 inches (you used the " which I thought meant inches. Iāve never heard of any raptor building a nest that low- even 15 feet seems very low for a bird of prey. Sadly, if that guy has been out of the nest and without food or water for more than 1 day I doubt he can be saved. He also looks young enough that he might get chilled at night without momās heat, and if so he is also probably doomed. Flies also are a very bad sign. Often with birds that small, flies will lay eggs and maggots may hatch before it even dies, but its a bad sign. Last but not least, if he stays on the ground for more than a few hours, he will almost certainly become a meal or a play toy (in a bad way) for a cat, dog, or countless other wildlife. In short, as cute and rare as he looks, Iād say the odds are against him and likely he is already a goner. But Iām with @moose71 , if he is still there tomorrow Iād have to scoop him up and see if he is savable. He is old enough that it is possible. Good luck. Let us know if you see him again . was this near your home or at a park somewhere?
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BTW @AndySmith that looks like a golden eagle chick to me, but since I canāt see the back Iām not sure. Please google āGolden Eagle chick photosā and select image and see if the photos shown look like that your chick??? Iām quite curious. Hawks are more common, but the baby red tails Iāve seen have more color on the front and elsewhere, whereas Golden eagles keep a white breast until they are mostly feathered out. So as unusual as it may be, I think it might be a Golden Eagle, which is super cool! If it isnāt a Golden, maybe its a coopers hawk because they have more white than Red Tails but not as much as the one in your photo (Iāve seen baby Red Tail but not baby coopers, so Iām going on google photos for that conclusion. But again, I think it looks more like a golden eagle. Iād love to see a photo of the nest tooā¦and donāt forget to clarify if the nest is 15 inches off ground or 15 feet??? Surely its feet? Thanks.
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If I were to guess Iād say Sharp Shinned Hawk. The nest platform is consistent with that and we have them around. We also have Golden Eagles here, slowly making a comeback. We actually have a diverse population of raptors here, so hard to say what it is. Youāre correct, I meant to use ā not ". This is on our property and well enough away from houses to not be threatened by pets. Iāll check on it this a.m. I just found out a friend has a contact that does bird rehab so I may have someone to take it if we confirm itās abandoned.
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I checked on the chick this a.m. and itās doing better, less lethargic. But the better news is thereās at least one other chick in the nest and momma was there to express her dissatisfaction with my presence. Iāll let them be for now, Iām afraid of flushing other(s) out of the nest if I try to put this one back in. The chick on the ground seems better this morning so momma is tending it. I donāt like that itās sitting in the middle of an open trail and may have to reconsider later.
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That is awesome news, Andy. Iād have bet anything that chick was a goner by now. The fact that it isnāt must surely mean that mom is still feeding it. Iāve seen regular mama birds (non-raptors) care for babies for a week or more after the chick fell out of the nest. I have very much enjoyed you sharring this story and photos and I REALLY hope you will keep us updated. Iām sure you know that birds of prey are not all that common so you (and now us) are getting to be part of something pretty unusual. Thanks for sharing. Fingers crossed this all works out well and no hungry cat or other animals walks by. Cool post, man!
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I stripped my haskap bushes but at least one cedar waxwing was hanging around to try and get the last few left.
Pretty but unwanted.
It didnāt seem impressed to have me following it around with a camera!
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If you quit feeding them they might not hang around. 
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