Injured Hawk Rescued and in Treatment

Last week, observers in San Francisco Botanical Gardens spotted a Red-tailed Hawk that had a nail stuck through its head. It seems that the nail must have been fired from a nail gun. For most of the last week, the hawk eluded rescuers, but last week, it was finally caught.

The juvenile bird was trapped Saturday evening at the San Francisco Botanical Gardens. It was immediately transported to the wildlife center where specialists stayed late to receive it, Dmytryk said.

WildRescue had been notified of the injured bird nearly a week ago and had tried to trap it several times last week without success.

But observers got close enough to the bird to see the nail extending from its cheek through the front of its head. They said the hawk appeared to be in pain.

Dmytryk's group had been using a trap called a bal-chatri, a trap made of wire mesh, to try to catch the injured hawk.

According to the report, the nail dropped out while the hawk was being taken to the wildlife center. The bird is currently alive and recovering.

There is a reward for information about the shooting since it is a federal crime to kill or injure birds without a take permit (or a hunting license in the case of game birds). I think it is terrible that someone would injure the hawk (deliberately or not) and then leave it without trying to get help for it. Fortunately, the hawk appeared to be able to hunt and eat, but it could easily have been otherwise. These are wild birds and deserve to be treated humanely and with respect.