Red-tail Rescue: Act One

Red-tail fledgling rescued at CMU by Barbara Kviz (photo by Kathy Borland)The drama began Sunday morning when Security Guard Andrew Loveridge found a red-tailed hawk fledgling hiding under a bush at Carnegie Mellon’s Hunt Library. 

No one saw the bird launch from his nest on the roof of the Fine Arts Building but he had obviously missed the tree he was aiming for, if he aimed at all. 

The fledgling looked fine except for a slight limp, perhaps from a botched landing.  To add insult to injury he was being harassed by a food item!  A squirrel was chasing him from bush to bush.

Andrew guarded the hawk and enlisted the help of Barbara Kviz who formulated a plan.  She called her friend Kathy Borland, a fan of this red-tail family since the nest began.  Kathy also works for CMU Security so together with Dorothy Kweller they corralled and captured the hawk.

They knew the bird shouldn’t be on the ground so they called Wildbird Recovery for confirmation. “Yes, he needs to be up high.  Put him in a tree and his parents will take over from there.”

Barb, Kathy and Dorothy tried placing him in a nearby tree but the only reachable limb was too low.  Then Kathy realized it would be an easy matter to put him on the roof.  With her help they went upstairs in the Fine Arts Building and carefully put the fledgling on the lower roof near his sibling. 

Next morning when I walked by both red-tail babies were lounging on the railing of the lower roof.  End of the Act One.

Let’s hope Act Two doesn’t require a rescue.

(photo by Kathy Borland of Barbara Kviz holding the rescued red-tailed hawk fledgling)

4 thoughts on “Red-tail Rescue: Act One

  1. This is amazing. I never knew bird watching can be so exciting. These fledgelings have to the edge of my seat!

  2. Good news today (July 7) about the two red-tailed hawk babies. This morning I walked to work through Schenley Park and past the CMU Fine Arts Building. Just as I passed the building I heard starlings making their “danger” sound, then a juvenile red-tail making a begging sound. I looked up & saw one of the adult hawks arrive with breakfast at another building. Then the two juveniles flew in to get the meal. One of them – I think it was “Limpy” – picked up the meal in his beak and flew away to enjoy it on his own. So both “babies” are fine.

  3. I have a question. Over the 4th of July weekend – I was in my backyard and I heard a Hawk’s cry. I ran for my binoculars and I saw 4 of them – flying from Allegheny Cemetary over towards the river and back again. In a big loop, they went at least three times. And there were crows as well.

    Do Hawks fly in groups like that? I’m wondering if it was a parent with several juveniles? They were big birds and they kept calling. But they didn’t seem to be flying from anything…it wasn’t quite a romp either…but a determined slow loop.

    If they weren’t Hawks – they sure looked like them! and they were beautiful.

  4. The only time hawks fly in a group like that is when the young are begging from their parents. The kids make begging calls as they follow the adult. Sounds like that’s what you saw – and it’s the right time of year to see it. Red-tail juveniles are the right age now to be doing this.

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