Story via Volunteer Mary Koher:
We received a call to the rescue line from a homeowner that was concerned about a red tail hawk on their property that appeared to be injured. They described that the left foot appeared to dangle and the left wing didn’t seem to function well. They observed the hawk throughout the day in different areas of their property. It’s as if it was purposely trying to get their attention as if to say “help me”.
I arrived at their house around 7:30pm and was escorted to the wooded area at the rear of the property. They last saw the hawk setting on a brush pile. When we got there, the hawk was no longer on the brush pile so we started going deep into the brambles, weaving and ducking our way through. The homeowner, Steve, saw him part way up in a small tree. By the time I made my way over to the tree it moved to another tree and a bit higher up! This went on for probably 20 minutes, finding it, losing it and finding it again. Thankfully, Steve was finally able to get it to come out of a tree and onto the ground where he was able to secure it with my net. At that point I reached in and secured the talons and we carried him in the net out to a clearing. I did a quick field exam that revealed an open wound to the left leg and the top of that foot also appeared swollen but the talons seemed functional. Both wings appeared normal and he was alert, but quiet. He was probably very exhausted spending the day hopping / semi flying from one part of the property to another. His keel felt thin so he probably hasn’t eaten for awhile and given the condition of that foot it would have been difficult for it to hunt properly. I placed this beautiful adult red tail in a rescue box and after securing a bit more information from Steve I then headed north to deliver him to Dr. Funnell for further assessment / treatment.
Intake Number : #05202018RTHA
