Hawk Stunned After Crashing Into Window Of Reston Home

RESTON, VA — Edward Abbott was making lunch around 12 noon last Friday, when he heard a loud crash at one of the windows of his Reston home. He stepped out onto is deck to investigate.

"I wasn't sure what it was," he said. "I saw a dead chipmunk and a stunned hawk lying on the deck."

Abbott contacted Fairfax County Animal Control and an officer responded about 30 minutes later.

"He picked him up and inspected him to see if there were any broken bones or anything," Abbott said. "He didn't see anything, so he just let it sit there for awhile."

Abbott and the officer then looked at the chipmunk, but it was unclear whether it was meant to be the hawk's lunch or had met its demise by other means.

"There weren't any marks on it, so you really couldn't tell," he said. "It didn't look like he had it in his claws. It's hard to say. The hawk was looking at it the whole time he was stunned."

The officer told Abbott that it would take the hawk about an hour to recover.

"They don't want to leave them exposed, because they can't defend themselves," Abbott said. "Some predator can come along and kill it and eat it, I guess."

After waiting about 45 minutes, the animal control officer put the hawk in a box and took it away so that it could be examined by a veterinarian.

"When officers respond out to an injured animal, specifically injured birds, they are taken to Pender Vet Clinic for evaluation and treatment once it's determined that they appear to be injured," a Fairfax County Police Department spokesman said, on Thursday. "Once at Pender Vet, they make the decisions on the next steps that are best to help the animal to recover and animal control is not involved."

The animal control officer signed over care of the hawk to Pender Vet, where it would be evaluated by a veterinarian, according to a spokeswoman in the clinic's exotic animals section.

The clinic does not share information about specific animals in its care. However, the spokeswoman said after a wild animal is assessed and treated by the veterinarian, it is turned over to an animal rehabilatator. Once the animal has fully recovered, the rehabilatator releases it near where it had been originally picked up.

"As far as what to do when someone comes across an injured animal, please do not approach the animal or move it from where it is," said the Fairfax police spokesman. "They should contact the police non-emergency number 703-691-2131, so an animal control officer can be dispatched to assist the animal if needed."