20210701-Red-tailed Hawk-1
A call came in to the rescue line from a pair of brothers that witnessed a red-tailed hawk getting “rolled” by a speeding car that had passed them. The hawk was eating some road kill along side of the road and the car had plenty of time to avoid hitting it but did not attempt to slow down. The brothers thought for sure that the hawk was killed but were surprised when it rolled out from under the car. They placed the hawk off to the side of the road into the grass and when they returned, it was still there. At that point they gathered it up and placed it in a box and called us. They were between Berne and Bluffton, IN when I spoke with them so we agreed to meet on the south side of Decatur to pick up the bird. When I arrived I opened the box to find a quiet but alert adult red-tailed hawk that had some blood around the left eye but otherwise appeared to be surprisingly uninjured on the outside. I gave them some Soarin’ Hawk literature and then headed back to Huntertown where the triage team was waiting. Sue triaged the hawk and found that it did have blood on the orbital ridge, an abrasion on the cere and beak, a small open wound on the left wrist and a small wound on the left metacarpal. The next day the bird was anesthetized and was found to have bruising on the spine and right elbow and a possible right eye injury. It was given pain meds and fluids on admission and it continues to receive the same along with food. It will need plenty of time to rest and recuperate but with the trauma it endured, we are hoping that it does not have any internal injuries and will make a full recovery. 07/04/21 This hawk is still not eating on its own, it will continue being treated for pain and kept under observation