Miami Springs residents warned after red-tailed hawk attacks passersby

MIAMI SPRINGS, FLA. (WSVN) - Miami Springs residents are being warned to avoid a defensive red-tailed hawk.

Miami Springs Police took to Twitter on Wednesday to warn the community to avoid the hawk behind the Miami Springs Branch Library, located in the area of Flamingo Circle and Westward Drive.

Crews have put up caution tape around a tree where the hawk is believed to be nesting to keep people away.

“We have aggressive hawks in the area,” Miami Springs City Manager William Alonso said.

Alonso said the hawks are going on the offense to protect their young.

“We had a resident showed up at city hall this morning with some bleeding from the head and from the ear area and informed us that he was attacked by a hawk,” Alonso said.

Peter Newman, who has lived in the community since the 1980s, said he has seen the birds before, but not like this.

“I was walking out, and one hit me, and the hat came right off,” Newman said. “Standing outside and a guy was walking by and he was hit twice by the hawk. He couldn’t believe it.”

Alonso said the city has seen only two hawk attacks, but they are not taking any chances.

Since learning of the hawk’s presence, the city has blocked off the sidewalk and cancelled tennis classes at the adjacent tennis courts until further notice.

“For right now, we’re gonna close them down for a week to two weeks,” recreation director Omar Luna said.

FWC officials said the red-tailed hawk is an endangered species, which means they cannot move the bird.

“There’s really nothing at this point we can do,” Alonso said. “We have to learn to co-habitate with the wildlife.”

“Well, that’s the law, so, you know, we just have to obey the law,” Newman said.

Hawk mating season runs from March until the end of May.

City officials said things should return to normal in the coming weeks.

Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.