Tompkins Square hawk fledgling taken to Wild Bird Fund

One of the Tompkins Square Park red-tailed hawk fledglings had to be rescued this evening after showing signs of injury.

I found the fledgling on the east side of the park playing in the grass. Things seemed normal until it tried to fly up into a tree (to avoid an unleashed dog that was let into the fenced-in area) and it struggled to make it to a low branch. From there, it flew back to the ground and ran around in the bushes. I thought it could be chasing after a rat, so I circled around to the other side of the bushes to get a better look. That's when I saw the hawk fly up to a fence where I could see it obviously had something wrong with it.

The hawk could barely make it up to the fence and had to use its beak to pull itself up. When it perched, it let its left wing hang out. This is not normal. 

A crowd of onlookers quickly formed and some people were getting way too close. I contacted Rob Mastrianni of the NYC Urban Park Rangers, who immediately said he was on his way to come rescue the hawk.

 

In the mean time, the situation was getting stressful as people kept crowding the hawk. The fledgling took refuge atop one of the brick pillars at the entrance to the park, and one of the NYPD officers who patrol the park assisted by putting barriers around the hawk, keeping anyone from getting too close.

Just before help arrived, the hawk flew across the street to the courtyard of Trinity Lutheran church. If this seems familiar, this is where red-tailed hawk Dora took refuge when she was injured in 2018.

Here is video of the hawk being netted and Rob doing a preliminary examination:

Here is video of a closer inspection of the hawk:

 

Rob took the hawk to the Wild Bird Fund on the Upper West Side for veterinary treatment.  Thanks to Rob and the other hawk watchers who responded quickly to help out. Thanks also to the NYPD officer who kept things calm. 

 

It was almost a year ago when Rob and the Urban Park Rangers rescued a fledgling who was acting out of sorts in the skateboard area of the park. And Rob has come to the rescue several times when our hawks have been in distress. 

As soon as I know anything about the condition of the hawk, I'll post here.