Healed hawk returned to the wild

SPCA releases Red-tail hawk that was injured last year

SEASIDE >> A Red-tailed hawk spread its wings in Seaside Monday morning and flew free for the first time in over two months.

The bird had been discovered injured on a sidewalk in one of the city’s neighborhoods on Dec. 30. The Monterey County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals recovered the hawk and have been rehabilitating it since. This past weekend, they announced that it was fully recovered and ready to be released.

“It’s always really exciting to be able to witness and participate in the release of a beautiful animal like this,” says Dawn Fenton, the Monterey County SPCA Education and Outreach Manager.

After SPCA Wildlife rescuers picked up the hawk, they performed an X-ray which revealed a broken humerus. In birds, the humerus is a bone in the wing. So, the hawk’s injury was an impediment to its ability to fly. Based on its injuries and where it was found, the rescuers determined the bird had been most likely hit by a car.

Since its initial assessment and surgery to stabilize the broken bone, the Red-tailed hawk has been undergoing care at the SPCA Wildlife Center. At first, because of its wing injury, the hawk had to be kept still for 20 days.

“I’m sure it’s quite a feat, keeping a bird like this absolutely still so it can heal,” says Fenton

Once the bone healed, the hawk was taken out by SPCA workers to a small enclosure and then a larger one so it could stretch its wings and exercise its abilities back to full strength.

As the hawk progressed, the SPCA workers even took it out to nearby York School in Monterey on a long tether where it could fly around and have more space to fly before being fully released back into the wild.

“It’s physical therapy, essentially,” says Fenton. “Like we would get physical therapy if we broke a leg or an arm.”

Fenton says the Monterey County SPCA takes in several cases like this a year. The organization is on call 24 hours a day to provide aid to wild animals in need.

Fenton characterizes witnessing the recoveries as “remarkable.” What the veterinarians and technicians at the SPCA are able to do for injured animals is “pretty fantastic,” she says.

The experience of seeing the Red-tailed hawk progress from its injury to where it’s ready to be released back into the wild has been “rewarding,” according to Fenton.

“To go out there and open up the enclosure and let the hawk soar literally back into the wild is pretty exhilarating.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF SPCA OF MONTEREY COUNTY A Red-tailed hawk is prepared for surgery. It was released back to the wild Monday after being discovered injured in Seaside in December.

A Red-tailed hawk takes some “rehabilitation” flights before being released back to the wild Monday. The bird was discovered injured in Seaside in December. After surgery and rehabilitation at the SPCA Wildlife Center it was released.