Released Bird Profile

Rescue

I received a call from the rescue coordinator this afternoon stating we had a coopers hawk down.  I arrived at the home in the Chestnut Hills subdivision, to find a juvenile coopers hawk that the homeowner had contained in a netted type carrier on her upper deck.  She showed me the area of the house, which backs up to woods, where he flew into the second story window and then crashed to the concrete slab below.  The hawk appeared lethargic and I was able to handle it very easily to do a field exam.  Both wings appeared normal as did the feet / talons.  However some blood was noted on the foot and it appeared to have a small laceration that had already stopped bleeding.  When I examined the eyes, however, it appeared that it could not follow my hand movements so it might have some vision issues.  The bird was placed in a transport box and taken to Dr Funnell for examination.

 

1-13-2017 evaluation by our avian veterinarian: upon presentation, the Cooper's Hawk was quiet but alert.  

Cooper's Hawks are normally never quiet, so this always indicates a problem.  Head trauma and eye trauma are also very common in coops when they hit a window, which unfortunately is a common occurrence for them.  Their eyes are cone shaped and take up over half the size of their skull which leads to much retinal trauma with any blunt force trauma to the head.  

 

Upon complete evaluation, no fractures were found on radiographs, a small laceration was found on one leg, and unfortunately it has little if any vision.  It will be treated with pain medicine and a non-inflammatory and be given time to see if it's vision returns.