Injured Hawk Released Back Into Wild

An injured hawk that spent three months in a rehabilitation center was released back into the wild in Virginia on Friday.

The red-shouldered hawk was released from Turkey Run Park along the Potomac River in Northern Virginia -- after a hearty breakfast, of course.

"She had a nice meal this morning of some nice mice," said Gabby Hrycyshyn of the Raptor Conservancy of Virginia.

The National Park Service said the hawk, who is likely female, was probably struck by a car on the George Washington Memorial Parkway. A passer-by found the bird April 3 and reported it to U.S. Park Police.

An officer and a park service biologist rescued the bird, which was subsequently taken to the Raptor Conservancy of Virginia for rehabilitation.

The hawk suffered a concussion, which can leave birds unable to fly or feed themselves for weeks. It also had scrapes on its legs and received antibiotics.

Once the bird was stable, she was placed in a flight cage while she regained her strength -- and went through molting season.

"This so happened to be at the end of May. That's sort of the beginning of the molting period, so at that point she was replacing all of her feathers," Hrycyshyn said. "We don't really want to release that many of them until they're pretty much done regrowing their feathers [because] it takes a lot of energy."

The hawk remained in the flight cage for slightly more than six weeks, while receiving live micein order to keep up with hunting skills.

Rehabiliators then evaluated the hawk to ensure it was flying well and able to hunt before scheduling a release date.

"We're going to release her fairly close to where she came from, with the hopes that she stays away from the road now," Hrycyshyn said Friday.

As she prepared to release the hawk while cameras flashed, Hrycyshyn asked the hawk, "Are you ready? You're a famous red-shoulder." The hawk then flew off toward the trees.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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