Hawk Released in Pace’s Nature Center After Recovering from Injury

Photo: David Spillo (l) and Jacob Reiter (r) with Red-Tailed Hawk. 

October 1, 2024

The Dyson College Nature Center is a focal point on the Westchester Campus of Pace University. The center is operated by the Dyson Institute for Sustainability and the Environment, an organization under the school’s department of Environmental Studies and Science. The Nature Center aims to connect the Pace community, and local communities of Westchester County, to the environment and natural spaces around them. So, when a Pleasantville police officer came to the Nature Center with an injured Red-Tailed Hawk, Nature Center Manager Jacob Reiter was ready to help.

Back in early August, an officer from Pleasantville PD came to the Nature Center with a juvenile Red-Tailed Hawk that was seemingly hit by a car. The officer responded to a call by a town resident of a large, injured bird on the side of the road. When the officer arrived on the scene, the hawk allowed the officer to pick it up and transport it with little struggle; not a sign of a healthy bird. When the young hawk was brought to the Nature Center, it was clear upon physical examination that the hawk’s left leg was broken. The center’s manager, Jacob Reiter, knew it needed to be rushed to the vet. Reiter is a Wildlife Biologist and licensed Wildlife Rehabilitator trained in the care and handling of wildlife, specializing in birds. It is illegal to touch or be in possession of wild animals in the state of New York without the proper licensure. Though the state has a “Good Samaritan” law regarding the capture and transport of wildlife in distress, it is not recommended for the public to do so without prior experience and knowledge. Reiter brought the hawk to the Brewster Veterinary Hospital, which specializes in the care and treatment of native wildlife. Here the bird’s leg was examined and bandaged, while also being treated for any internal ailments that may have been caused by the car collision. Once at the vet, the hawk was able to heal for a few days under the watchful eye of the veterinarians to make sure nothing else was wrong. After a few days, the bird was ready to move on to the next stage of its rehabilitation journey.

The next stop for this young hawk was the Green Chimney’s Wildlife Center, located down the road from Brewster Veterinary. Here the hawk was cared for by David Spillo, the Wildlife Program Manager for Green Chimneys. Spillo is also a licensed Wildlife Rehabilitator, and each year rehabilitates and releases over 100 native New York birds. While at Green Chimneys, the hawk was monitored to make sure it retained wild instincts as its leg healed. After several weeks of care at Green Chimneys, the bandage was finally removed. The next step for the young hawk was to see if it could still perch and hunt with its left leg. If the leg lost some of it’s function, the hawk would have been deemed non-releasable due to the fact that it wouldn’t have been able to effectively catch prey. Red-Tailed hawks commonly feed on small mammals such as squirrels, chipmunks and rabbits. Catching these animals is no small task, and if the hawks talons aren’t functioning at 100%, hunting becomes almost impossible. Luckily for this bird, the work of Brewster Veterinary and the supportive care at Green Chimneys lead to a full recovery with perfect function of its once broken leg. Spillo monitored the bird for another week to make sure it still knew how to catch live prey, and then decided it was ready for release.

On September 30, 2024, the young hawk was brought back to the Dyson College Nature Center where it had been dropped off over a month ago with an uncertain future. Thankfully, the hawk was able to recover and be released back into the wild here on Pace’s Westchester Campus. The young hawk will be able to make a living in the woods behind campus, fully able to hunt and ready to once again brave the elements of nature.

While this Red-Tailed hawk got a second chance at life, many young Red-Tails do not make it past their first year. The average lifespan of the species in the wild is only 1-3 years. This is mostly due to the difficulties young hawks face when learning how to hunt, migrate, and steer clear of roadways. Red-Tailed hawks can most commonly be found on the sides of highways perched in trees. These areas are great vantage points for hawks on the hunt, as the grassy areas on the sides of highways are generally mowed low to the ground to reduce to possibility of wildlife surprising drivers on the road. Small rodents will often travel through the grass thinking they’re covered, but a watchful hawk atop a tree can easily spot them scurrying along. Often the chase can lead hawks into the roadway where they will commonly collide with cars.

If you want to know more about helping wildlife, please visit the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation website, or Animal Help Now at ahnow.org. If you are on the Pace campus and see wildlife in distress, please call Jacob Reiter at (914) 773-3093.