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Four hawks released in Phoenix after months of rehabilitation

By
Updated  September 30, 2020 6:27pm MST
Heartwarming News
FOX 10 Phoenix

Four hawks released in Phoenix after months of rehabilitation

One of the hawks had a rough road to recovery, but is doing great and was released back into the wild Sept. 30.

PHOENIX - A badly injured hawk is flying the Valley skies again after months of rehabilitation.

Someone found the Swainson Hawk and contacted Arizona Game and Fish for help, and it wasn't always an easy road to recovery.

On Wednesday, Sept. 30, volunteers and workers at Liberty Wildlife released four hawks who are all rescues. But, one of those hawks in particular really struggled to get to this point.

"Everyone loves to see this. Everyone loves to see birds take off and take wing," Laura Hackett with Libert Wildlife said.

This release is extra special for many at Liberty Wildlife because back in May, the hawk couldn’t fly at all.

"Found him down on the ground. I wasn’t entirely sure what was wrong with him, but knew that he wasn’t acting like a normal Swainson Hawk," Hackett said.

Wildlife Manager for Arizona Game and Fish, Nick Thompson responded to the initial call for help. He remembers finding the hawk in Mohave County dehydrated and barely moving a muscle.

"We were concerned because of the lack of activity, very passive," he said.

Thompson didn’t waste a minute rushing the hawk to Liberty Wildlife in Phoenix. That’s where the hawk stayed recovering for about fourth months.

Swainson's Hawk recovering in Phoenix, Arizona. Photo by Liberty Wildlife

Swainson Hawk recovering in Phoenix, Arizona. Photo by Liberty Wildlife

"Rehabilitated him over the last couple of months, got his strength up, got weight back on him," Hackett said of the hawk's recovery.

They decided to send off the now fully recovered hawk alongside three young Swainson Hawks that had been also rescued after getting separated from their parents.

"So they’ll be able to leave together and go on their migration path," Hackett said.

Months later, Thompson got to see the hawk he rescued fly free.

"Pretty much the reason I do this. Very fortunate for the opportunity and I look forward to doing it many more times," he said.

The released hawks are now following their migration pattern down to South America, which will take about two months. 

Fun fact: One of the hawks has a lightweight backpack strapped on so that their progress can be tracked.