via Citizen user BaconPaez
Jan. 24, 2019 By Laura Hanrahan
An ailing, lead-poisoned hawk was rescued by police from a Williamsburg intersection in an incident that caused a stir on Wednesday evening.
Around 6 p.m. last night, a red-tailed hawk found itself stranded in the middle of the three-way intersection of Lorimer, Lee and Wallabout Streets, unable to fly away.
The hawk, in videos posted on Citizen, was seen on both the sidewalk and the street, where cars, trucks and even school buses were seen maneuvering around the fallen bird.
A large crowd of spectators had also gathered around on nearby sidewalks to watch the scene unfold and warn drivers of the ailing bird.
One witness, Francisco Paez, threw his coat over the large hawk to protect it and move it off to the side of the road, the New York Post reported.
“It was just kind of scary that it was in the middle of the street and cars were going by,” Paez told the New York Post. “I was afraid it was going to run over by a car.”
Officers Islam and D’Angelo from the 90th Precinct responded to calls about the hawk and were able to wrangle the bird into a cage, the precinct said on Twitter, adding that the hawk was covered in grease.
The hawk was then brought to the Wild Bird Fund, a nonprofit dedicated to rehabilitating New York City’s birds and wildlife.
The nonprofit posted about the ordeal on its social media pages, and said birds tend to get lead poisoning from eating pigeons or rats that are lead-poisoned themselves. As for the grease?
“Hard to say,” the Wild Bird Fund said.
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2 Comments
Paez’s thoughtful action is true grace. Thank you
Unfortunately 3 murderers went free while this was happening, but at least a bird was saved.