Injured Red-Tailed Hawk Struggles to Recover

If all goes well, an injured red-tailed hawk brought from Milford to the wildlife clinic at Tufts University Veterinary center will recover enough to be released into the wild.

A week after the bird arrived in Grafton, that outcome is uncertain. The red-tailed hawk suffered serious head and eye trauma, probably from a collision with a car. The injury has affected the raptor's vision in one eye and it has a persistent head tilt, said Tom Keppeler, a spokesman for the Tufts wildlife clinic.

Rochelle Thomson, the Milford Animal Control officer, brought the red-tailed hawk to Tufts after she recovered it on April 11. Milford police initially were told a wounded eagle was on the Beaver Street access road, in the center of the road.

Four days earlier, Milford animal control employee Keith Haynes picked up another wounded red-tailed hawk, which had a broken wing. It was recovered from Senate Road about 9:30 p.m April 7.

Red-tailed hawks are found across North America, and are abundant in the U.S.

The hawk with the broken wing had surgery at Tufts wildlife clinic, but it did not respond well following surgery and was put down through euthanasia, Keppeler said.

Wildlife clinic vets hope for a better outcome for the second Milford hawk.

The red-tailed hawk with the head injury has not had surgery and is being monitored for progress, Keppeler said.

"Eye trauma is especially concerning with a hawk because they use their eyes to hunt," he said.

In fact, the reason why so many hawks collide with vehicles is they swoop into their paths, exclusively focused on prey they may be pursuing. If a mouse or a squirrel is crossing the road, and the hawk spies it: "the bird will go right after it," Keppeler said. "They will hone in on that object and see nothing else."

The injured hawk is being monitored for progress, he said. The best possible outcome is a release to the wild. Other options could include placement in a rehabilitation home or in a facility that exhibits birds of prey. It's too early to say what will happen, he said.

"We're proceeding very cautiously with this particular case," he said.