The "Hawk To Return To The Skies After Recovery From Injury" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading in my local newspaper about a juvenile red-tail hawk that had flown into a nearby power line while trying to catch a squirrel that was already dead after making contact with the power line.  Luckily the Raven Ridge Wildlife Center in Washington Boro took in the juvenile hawk after it became tangled in the power lines near Harrisburg, PA. on January 10th of this year.  The experience almost killed the bird.  The bird is now a "spitfire" according to its handlers, and will be released into the wild within a week or two.  Raven Ridge director Tracie Young said the hawk likely flew into the power lines to catch the squirrel that was already dead and dangling from the lines.  It was stuck there for nearly three hours when PPL and a game warden showed up and got it lose.  It fell to the ground, motionless.  At first, they thought the bird was dead, but the bird showed faint signs of life, so the warden delivered it to Young and her team, who attended to the hawk.  The hawk was soaking wet and unresponsive at first, but after some time in an incubator and getting its appetite back, she's fully healthy and feisty.  She has been eating quite a bit, up to seven mice a day, and now has Raven Ridge employees bringing her food.  They believe the hawk is less than a year old based on its coloring of eyes and tail feathers.  The Raven Ridge team has been looking for tissue damage during the hawk's recovery, as electrical burns can internally damage birds and make part of them die, like their feet.  "She is one lucky hawk, because there's no indication of any burns."  Tracie Young said birds flying into power lines is a common occurrence and believes it happens daily.  One of the big problems in situations like these is people do not know about local rehabilitation centers like Raven Ridge and don't call to get help for animals.  To contact Raven ridge, call 717-808-2652 or send an email to Contact@ravenridge.org.  As seen by the accompanied photograph, the bird is beautiful.  She is just so lucky that she was sighted in time to save her.  I can't imagine how many animals are destroyed due to power lines as well as other types of traps or automobile strikes.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  PS - The photograph below is of the red-tail hawk that was injured.  She's showing off for the camera!