Setting the scene
The BRT: Aleigh Z.
Experience level: 3+ years
The bird: Cooper’s hawk
The partner: a major big box store in Bossier City, Louisiana
We received a call from a major big box store who said they had a hawk in their garden center. This was a very large location—about 200,000 square feet. I knew if the hawk got inside the main building, the store could have a potentially hazardous situation, so I went as quickly as possible to the customer location.
Fortunately, I had experience with raptors—this would be my second hawk capture. In addition, the store was also able to tell me they thought the hawk appeared injured.
A serious injury makes this capture different
When I arrived, the manager walked me to the garden center and pointed out a juvenile Cooper’s Hawk perched there. The store staff said the hawk had barely moved all day. I guessed the injured bird was attracted to the safety of the garden center.
I got to work setting up a net across the bird’s main flight path. While Cooper’s hawks are small—roughly the size of a pigeon—they are powerful fliers, maxing out at airspeeds of over 50 miles per hour. However, this poor bird was not in any shape for that kind of flight. I noticed the hawk seemed unable to use one of its feet. After I got the bird out of the net, I found a very serious wound on one of its legs. The wound looked old and the joint was almost completely severed. I secured the bird and called our local wildlife rehabilitation facility. They agreed to take in the injured Cooper’s hawk, so I transported it directly to them for treatment.
Help First applies to injured hawks, too
While working at Meridian, I’ve learned customers trust us not just because we remove birds quickly, but because we have a lot of accumulated knowledge in our fields. This knowledge means we can handle unusual situations like this with efficiency and also compassion. One of our core values is “Help First.” I was glad to be able to help not only the customer but also the bird!