Red Tailed Hawk
This adult red-tailed hawk arrived at Willowbrook on November 13, 2002 with a compound fracture in the left wing. The x-ray on the left shows the fractured wing bones the day the hawk was brought to us. The fractured wing was immobilized with a bandage; pins were not necessary for this fracture because the bones were still lined up with each other. The wing remained immobilized for approximately one month. After this point, the hawk was moved to an 8 x 8 outdoor cage to allow a limited amount of exercise. Two weeks later (a month and a half after arrival) the hawk moved to a 40 x 40 flight cage to practice turns and curves and strengthen all its flight muscles.
The x-ray on the right was taken on January 6, 2003, almost two months after the hawk was brought to Willowbrook. The wing has healed and the bird will be releasable!! As soon as the temperatures improve, this bird will be released back into a forest preserve near the location where the bird was originally found.
On February 6th we were able to release the hawk back into the wild.
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