Injured Sharp-shinned Hawk after a window collision | Photo by Scott Houghtaling
by Hanae Bettencourt, Education Manager
On a lazy Saturday morning in December, I received a text message from an unknown number. The message said, “Hi. I’m a neighbor, Scott. There is an injured Sharp-shinned Hawk in our yard. Any advice?”
When you’ve worked in the bird world for as long as I have, (almost 10 years,) and are pretty into birds yourself, word gets around to friends and neighbors. The usual text messages I get are of the “what’s this bird”-type, accompanied by a blurry cell phone photo. But this was the first injured hawk message I’d gotten. So naturally, I sent back an “I’ll be right there,” and sprang out of bed.
Cities can be dangerous places for birds. Collisions with windows and cars, and run-ins with cats and poisons are all too common for urban birds. As part of their volunteer service, our Seattle Bird Window Collision Monitoring volunteers are trained on proper handling of both dead and injured birds so that they can be transported to a wildlife rehab facility or the Birds Connect Seattle freezer (for science!) with both health of the bird and the human in mind.
Injured raptors on the other hand pose unique challenges. Raptors are generally larger with many more sharp edges, making handling dangerous for both parties. The general rule is to NOT handle raptors at all. With that in mind, I headed around the block wondering what I would find. Would I be able to help this bird?
When I arrived at Scott’s house, he directed me across the street where the hawk was found resting on a stump. It hop-flew a few feet away as I approached, at which point I didn’t notice any visible injury in both its wings or feet. But clearly, something was wrong. He apparently had been hanging out in their yard all night, coming up on 18 hours. Very strange behavior for a wild bird.
Based on the size of the bird, docility, and lack of apparent injury to its extremities, I was confident that I should be able to capture the bird for transport to PAWS, our local wildlife rehab facility, without causing it further injury. Equipped with a bath towel, leather gardening gloves, and a salmon net I borrowed from Scott, I was able to slowly back the hawk into a low bush and get my hands around it without struggle. Into a small, towel-lined dog carrier he went, and my Saturday morning continued with a trip to PAWS.
Stunned Sharp-shinned Hawk being captured to take to a wildlife rehab facility | Photo by Scott Houghtaling
Having heard my mention of a possible window strike as the cause for injury to the hawk, Scott took a closer look at one of his front windows, finding a “sharpie-sized smudge,” all but confirming the reason for this bird’s strange behavior. This info was relayed to the veterinarians, who were very grateful, as this allowed them to better care for the bird and treat for typical window collision injuries.
Being the conservation educator that I am, this wasn’t the end. I went ahead and got some Feather Friendly Window Tape and asked Scott if he would be willing to install it on the large reflective window that the hawk had struck. He enthusiastically agreed and I helped him and his daughter install it to make that window bird-safe and less likely for another bird-window collision to occur in the future.
Scott and his daughter apply small stickers to their window to prevent future bird-window collisions | Photo by Hanae Bettencourt
So what happened to the hawk? Unlike the majority of bird-window collision stories, this one has a happy ending. I received an email from PAWS almost a month later. They were able to successfully rehab and release the hawk back into the wild. I hope that maybe someday I’ll see him around our neighborhood again.
While it started tragic, this whole experience was for good. I was able to connect with a neighbor on our shared appreciation for urban birds, helped a small hawk in a time of need, and made one more urban window safe for birds. It’s just another example of how urban wildlife enhances our lives every day and helps connect us to one another.
Before and after of the window the Sharp-shinned Hawk struck | Photo by Hanae Bettencourt
Purchase Window Strike Prevention Products
The Nature Shop sells a variety of products and materials to help you prevent a bird-window collision at home. You can speak to our friendly staff and volunteers to learn which product might work best for your windows.
Report a Bird-Window Collision
dBird.org is an online reporting tool developed by Birds Connect Seattle and New York City Audubon, allowing anyone in North America to report a dead or injured bird. This data helps us better understand threats facing local, regional, and national bird populations using data provided by community members.
Prevent Window Collisions
Learn more about preventing bird-window collisions at home. Methods include placement of bird feeders, installing collision deterrent products on reflective windows, and interior and exterior lighting.
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