Hawk crashes through window into Caledonia home

CALEDONIA — A home on River Road got a surprise guest for the day, a hawk that blasted through the window of their attic.

DEC Wildlife Specialist, Chris Ward, extracted the bird without hurting it, and then took it to a bird sanctuary for treatment on its bloody beak before it will be released back into the wild.

“We get about 18 of these a year,” said Ward who calmly handled the bird.

The bird, likely a Cooper Hawk,  is common in this region and preys on smaller birds like morning doves.

It is important to have a professional or the DEC remove the bird for treatment and preventing further injury so it can be released back into the wild.

in many states the bird is listed as an endangered species.

Here are some interesting facts about the Cooper Hawk from www.hawkmountain.org

    •    Cooper’s Hawks belong to the family Accipitridae, a group of 24 species of hawks, eagles, vultures, harriers, and kites.

    •    Cooper’s Hawks were named for William Cooper, a New York scientist whose son James is the namesake of the Cooper Ornithological Society.

    •    Cooper’s Hawks closely resemble, but are larger than Sharp-shinned Hawks (Accipiter striatus).

    •    Cooper’s Hawks eye color changes from bluish-gray in nestlings, to yellow, in young adults and then to red in older adults.

    •    Female Cooper’s Hawks often weigh 35% more than their mates.

    •    Cooper’s Hawks were highly persecuted earlier this century, when an estimated 30-40% of all first year birds were shot annually.

    •    Although they are common in some areas in the west, Cooper’s Hawks were listed as endangered, threatened, or of special concern in 16 eastern states as recently as the early 1990s.