10/13/2026
One lucky Red-Tailed
In early September we received a call about a Red-tailed Hawk sitting beside a busy road in Sarnia. This bird was just standing on the road and was later moved over to the edge by Sandra who kindly remained with the bird until we could come and get her. We assumed that she had been hit by a car and was too stunned to fly off.
The bird was fortunate in that it did not have any obvious broken bones or injury other than head trauma when examined, but it was sitting on her tail and hocks and presented docile and "stunny."
When we get a bird in with suspected head trauma, we need to look at several things. A lot of this can be checked by just looking at the bird.
Direct physical damage from initial head trauma can be a concussion, contusion, or intracranial hemorrhage. We look for several things: depression (slow to react or respond, laying down, eyes closed), head tilt to one side or the other, head rolling, nystagmus (eyes flicking back and forth), ataxia (lack of co-ordination, unable to stand or perch), blindness or some type of eye trauma, uneven or lack of pupillary response.
Secondary head trauma can cause impaired cerebral blood flow to the brain which can cause cerebral edema in turn causing increased intracranial pressure leading to death.
Treatment goals are to decrease cerebral edema, maintain cerebral blood flow and watch for increases in intracranial pressure. It can be seen by changes in the bird’s attitude and ability to stand etc. The most acute time is the first 24-48 hrs where we need to prevent an increase in intracranial pressure. This is done with cage rest, oxygen in cage, being careful warming the bird (do not overheat), keeping the head elevated 30 degrees and keeping the bird in a dark quiet environment with little stimuli. The bird is treated with pain meds and fluids and monitored regularly.
With proper therapy, it is hoped that the bird will recover fully without any deficit.
This Red-Tailed Hawk was fortunate in that its head trauma was fairly minor and she was able to recover fully in about a month. Some birds need several months to recover depending on the brain injury and may need rehab in order to help them function fully.
She was released in October after spending time in a flight cage where we could assess her ability to fly straight and help her regain any strength she may have lost during cage rest. She was very happy to take to the sky again!
