Blue Ridge Wildlife Center Patient of the Week: Sharp-shinned Hawk

Photos / BRWC

This immature Sharp-Shinned Hawk came to us after it crashed into a window.

Thankfully, this bird didn’t have any broken bones but did show signs of respiratory distress like having blood in the mouth. This patient was given supplemental oxygen to help alleviate the respiratory issues, along with fluids and anti-inflammatory medications.

We’ve taken in more Sharp-shinned hawks just this December than we’ve admitted in any previous year! Four of the five we’ve seen this month came to us after striking a window.

Sharp-shinned Hawks and their larger cousins, Cooper’s Hawks, are incredibly agile birds. They speed through dense vegetation to take down their prey. Often, in more suburban settings, they stalk songbirds around bird feeders.

Unfortunately, while chasing birds, they may find themselves veering towards what they think is open sky or tree canopy, only to be struck by a reflective window.

Breaking up reflections on your windows can help birds realize it’s not a space they can fly through. Here are some ideas on how to prevent window strikes at your home.

As always, get all window-struck birds to a licensed professional as soon as possible!

You may be surprised by the size of this mighty hawk, which is around the size of a mourning dove (photo shows another one of our Sharp-shinned patients with a Sharpie, for scale.)

They may be tiny, but don’t be fooled—they are natural predators, with long toes and sharp talons for holding onto their songbird prey. They’ve also been seen taking woodpeckers, quail, shorebirds, and even falcons for dinner!

Even on holidays or snow days, we are here to serve our native wildlife.

This year, we have treated almost 3,400 patients, and we will keep admitting patients 365 days a year. Wildlife doesn’t take holidays or snow days, so neither do we!

But we can only provide this service because of the support we receive from people like you. If you haven’t already, please consider making an end of year donation to help us care for wildlife in need. We can’t do it without you!