MIAMI (WSVN) - It’s time to fly for a hawk who was nursed back to health in South Florida.
When rescuers found the bird, it was so sick it was barely able to move. Now thanks to their help, it’s making a grand return to the wild.
It was a historic take-off.
The 40,000th patient to be treated at Miami’s Pelican Harbor Seabird Station spread its wings and soared into the sky.
It was an almost month-long recovery.
This juvenile red-shouldered hawk was taken into treatment back on Dec. 1.
The bird was unable to move and was sick after it ingested what was essentially rat poison.
“You are not going to recognize right now what he looks like compared to when he came in,” Dr. Renata Schneider said. “When he came in, he was on his side, he couldn’t lift his head, and barely opened his eyes. You wouldn’t have even known he was alive. He was so sick, somebody was able put him in a box, and he actually got an Uber ride to Pelican Harbor Seabird Station where we were properly able to take care of him.”
Twenty-six days later, the hawk is now healthy and strong enough to be released back into the wild. The workers were there to make sure everything went off smoothly.
“He has made a complete full recovery, we expect him to survive, to hunt, to thrive, to hopefully reproduce, and carry on the red-shouldered hawk population,” Dr. Schneider said.
It’s a monumental milestone for an organization founded more than 40 years ago, which was the first to care for injured brown pelicans.
But over the decades, it has grown into an internationally recognized center for rehabilitating all sorts of birds, mammals, and reptiles.
“We’re actually treating over 40,000 patients now since Pelican Harbor Seabird Station first opened, which is absolutely amazing and a testament to the community really,” Schneider said.
If you ever stumble across wildlife in need, Pelican Harbor is always taking sick or hurt animals.
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