It all started with me seeing a hawk sitting on a log! 

I grabbed my camera, started clicking away, and moved closer to the hawk before it flew off…. yet it did not fly off! It never moved! It watched me!

I gave it more space, thinking it needed more space. As I moved to the other side of the road, it still sat on the log!

I continued walking a short distance down the road to check out a local piece of property. When I returned, the hawk was still sitting on the log!

I shared my hawk observation and concern with one of my younger sisters. She asked if it had been more than an hour since I last saw the hawk. Yes. And so we went to where I had seen the hawk.

The hawk was still there, sitting on the log, exactly as I had last seen it. I was very concerned! We saw some feathers on the ground. I had seen a feather falling off the hawk at my first photo. Is there a broken wing? What had happened? Side-swiped by a motorized vehicle? Or what? This hawk will not survive if it does not care for itself. 

My sister agreed with my concern. We telephoned the Pocono Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Center and asked them if they would care for the hawk if we brought it in. They said we were their heroes for doing this and yes.

Back at the house, we grabbed a pair of thick leather gloves, towels and a cardboard box, then returned to the hawk. My sister was the brave one; she had the best sense on how to approach the hawk. All I could see was a sharp beak and talons, wondering how she could creep behind the bird, cover it with a towel and grab it. 

As she did approach the hawk, the bird saw her, tried to make itself larger by spreading its wings and as she tried to put the towel on it, the hawk flew. It flew up and then all of a sudden it seemed to have dropped like a lead weight straight down to the ground. What!?!

We hoped it did not land in the lake. We eventually found it between a grounded wooden dock and a rock. With its body angled between the dock and rock, the hawk was again trying to look large. The hawk was not happy; mouth open, powerful feet with talons up, but truly in an awkward position.

My sister grabbed a foot, put the hawk in a towel and into the cardboard box. Two hours later the bird was delivered to the wildlife facility.

We filled out the required state paperwork and left. A couple of days later we received an update: the hawk had a really bad concussion and was very dehydrated. The hawk is slowly recuperating; good news! They were glad we brought the hawk to them.

We took the hawk to the Pocono Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Center, located in northeastern Pennsylvania. It is a non-profit, all-volunteer wildlife care facility. More information can be found here: poconowildlife.com Check them out, donate if you can, and be aware places such as this exist!