A Red-Tailed Hawk Flies Free after Bone Fracture

By Dr. Stephany Lewis, DVM, Veterinarian

This Red-Tailed Hawk suffered a coracoid fracture afterbeing hit by a car
Photo by Heather Patrice Brown

This adult male Red-Tailed Hawk came to us from West Hollywood on February 10th. He was found on the street, unable to fly, most likely after having been hit by a car. Just like every patient in our care, he received a full physical exam, and radiographs (x-rays) were taken. He was found to have some mild trauma to his left eye, as well as a fractured left coracoid bone, a bone in the shoulder of birds that helps stabilize the shoulder while in flight. When this bone is fractured, birds are unable to get any lift, and thus are left unable to fly. Luckily for this Hawk, this bone usually heals very well without surgery.

We bandaged the bird’s wing to his body for about three weeks so that the bone could become stable enough to heal. He received pain and anti-inflamatory medications during his treatment, as well as physical therapy to stretch the wing. After time spent in our flight pens, becoming stronger on his own, his flight was deemed strong enough for release. Our patient was brought to a park close to the location he was found and took flight straight out of his box–right into the treetops!