An injured hawk was spotted on the side of the road and a Suffolk County Sheriff’s Deputy stopped to help it out.
Over the weekend in Eastport, a Deputy Sheriff saw an injured bird on County Road 51. She retrieved the animal, later identified as a red-tailed hawk, and Deputy Sheriffs began contacting local wildlife shelters to seek veterinary treatment. The hawk was safely transported to STAR Foundation Wildlife Rescue in Middle Island and taken into their care for assessment and treatment.
The South Shore Press was in contact with the Star Foundation this morning and their spokesperson gave us the sad news that the hawk did not survive.
STAR spokesperson said, “The bird had chest contusions and neurological issues in both legs and unable to stand. The bird was in oxygen for 12 hours yesterday trying to save it from the contusions. There was a lot of bruising in the lungs.”
“It is very hard to get a bird through with these types on injuries. We could have worked on the legs given more time. Sometimes nerve damage can be reversed, but he couldn't stand and he basically couldn't breathe,” STAR spokesperson said. “He was very grateful to be here. You could tell he really needed the help and seemed to know we were giving him comfort.”
Sometimes, if a bird can be rehabilitated, even if it can’t be released to the wild, it can become an educational bird and live out its life. That was not to be in this instance due to the severity of the injuries.
The STAR representative said, “We do absolutely keep any animal that we can that we think would be comfortable enough to be an educational animal. We have quite a few of them here. We actually have a red tail hawk with no eyes. He was attacked by crows and had his eyes pecked out.”
STAR Foundation is a Lon Island non-profit 501(c)(3) volunteer organization, dedicated to the welfare of domestic and wild animals. Our goal is to provide a safe haven for every injured or orphaned Long Island animal in need of medical care, rehabilitation, or humane euthanasia, and to return as many healthy animals as possible to their natural habitat."