LAGRANGE — Drivers on the Taconic State Parkway were slowed last weekend by an unusual winged pedestrian.
On Sept. 14, a state Department of Transportation highway maintenance crew was removing brush from the side of the Parkway in the town of LaGrange when they noticed southbound traffic slowing down and backing up. The culprit was an injured hawk walking along the open left driving lane, said Ryan Wilson, a DOT highway maintenance supervisor and part of the crew that rescued the raptor.
When the crew approached the bird, they saw cars driving around it. The hawk didn’t try to fly away but just stared at them, Wilson said.
“He was walking like it was a Saturday stroll down the parkway,” he said.
The crew directed the hawk to the shoulder and out of harm’s way and contacted the Hudson Valley Animal Rescue and Sanctuary, which instructed them to cover the hawk with a blanket or a sweatshirt until a rescuer arrived 15 minutes later.
While the hawk did not try to fend off its rescuers, “everybody was a little scared of it,” Wilson admitted.
The hawk was brought to the sanctuary, where it was determined to be a young female red-tailed hawk no more than 2 years old and weighing about 1 pound. The diagnosis? A concussion, according to Celeste Wiltse, founder and director of Hudson Valley Animal Rescue and Sanctuary. Other than the head injury, the bird was in very good condition and “was actually perching on the (DOT’s) truck when we got there,” Wiltse said.
Wiltse said the bird probably was brushed by a car when chasing something to eat. When an animal is found alongside the road and being friendly or not reacting to human interactions, that’s a sign that something is wrong, Wiltse said, adding that their eyes will be dilated and unable to focus.
The hawk spent three days at the Poughkeepsie sanctuary and has since been brought to Peter Corey, a licensed wildlife rehabilitator in New Paltz. So far, she’s doing very well, eating six mice a day, and will likely be released in the next week, Wiltse said.
The DOT is not new to animal rescue operations. Every day, the Hopewell Junction crew finds wildlife on the Taconic State Parkway, including turtles that need help crossing the road, abandoned fawns and domestic animals like dogs — although this was their first time rescuing a hawk, Wilson said.
“It was very, very interesting,” Wilson said. “The hawk is a lot lighter than you think it would be.”
If people find an injured wild animal on the side of the road, Wilson recommends not stopping and putting yourself in danger, but calling State Police or a wildlife rehabilitator. The state Department of Environmental Conservation also advises calling one of its regional wildlife offices.
“I had her for three days and she was looking really good,” Wiltse said. “I was 100% sure she was going to be released and have a very successful release and good life.”
This article by Maria M. Silva was first published by Times Union on 20 September 2024. Lead Image: A state Department of Transportation cleaning crew in Dutchess County found an injured hawk walking alongside the Taconic State Parkway on Sept. 14. Provided by DOT.
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