Young hawk down

On November 22, 2011, a young sharp-shinned hawk was found down on the ground near a window in Shawnigan Lake. A guardian angel rescued the hawk and drove it to Mill Bay where she was met by a BC SPCA driver. The driver then met with a Wild ARC rehabilitator closer to Victoria for the final transport to the centre.

The small hawk was severely injured, with obvious trauma to its head and wing, it looked critical. The hawk’s swollen, bruised and broken right wing would take a miracle to heal.

A digital xray (courtesy of Juan de Fuca Vet Clinic) was taken to confirm the bone was fractured in the middle – although a broken bone is never good news, this location was important as it meant the wing could be wrapped, the bone could align and have a chance of healing.

Like most wild animals, the hawk was stressed in care and hard to feed at first. Although the healing stage had several ups and downs for the next couple weeks, another xray was taken on December 19 and the fracture, plus several other injuries had completely healed. A hawk must have perfect flight to be able to hunt and succeed in the wild, so this was the news everyone was hoping for.   

Just over a month after its rescue, the hawk made a full recovery and was released near where she was found in Shawnigan Lake on January 9 to fly home. A great start to the new year!

The BC SPCA is a non-profit organization funded primarily by public donations. Our mission is to prevent cruelty and to promote the welfare of animals through a wide range of services, including cruelty investigations, emergency rescue and treatment, sheltering and adoption of homeless and abused animals, humane education, advocacy, farm animal welfare, spay/neuter programs, and wildlife rescue and rehabilitation.