Neighbors Rescue Injured Hawk Found in Howard County

A juvenile Cooper's hawk found limping along a fence on Windstream Drive in Columbia is doing well after being brought to Frisky's Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Woodstock on March 5.

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The injured hawk was rescued by a group of neighbors who found it with a broken wing along fences backing up to Windstream Drive in Wilde Lake, according to an Explore Howard letter written by Columbia resident Barbara Glick, who wrote the letter to thank her neighbors for their help.

Glick wrote that after attempting to corral the bird with her neighbors, she told Howard County animal control about the bird who brought it to Frisky’s to recover.

Colleen Layton, who runs Frisky’s, said the hawk was suffering from a sprained wing. She said it’s a relatively common injury in the birds, who most often injure their wings protecting their food along roadsides or in fights with other hawks.

“We’re going to rehab him to get him back to health and then release him,” said Layton. “It’ll probably take about at least two weeks.”

Layton said the hawk will be released within a 5 mile radius of where it was rescued, likely in a local park in the area.

Cooper's hawks are among the four most common hawks found in the Howard County area, according to Layton. The other three types are red-tailed hawks, red-shouldered hawks and sharp-shinned hawks.

Cooper's hawks are often seen at bird feeders, swooping in to grab unsuspecting jays or doves, according to National Geographic.