27-03-2025
Red-shouldered hawk set for release after 2 months of recovery
ROANOKE, Va. (WFXR) – Southwest and Central Virginia Wildlife Center will be releasing a red-shoulder Hawk back into the wild after being admitted as a patient on January 15, 2025.
The Hawk was admitted as a patient after being hit by a vehicle, and after two months of recovery, a release will take place on Saturday, March 29, at Mayflower Hills Park in Roanoke at noon. All are welcome to attend.
(Photo Credit: Southwest and Central Virginia Wildlife Center)
SW Virginia Wildlife Center releasing Red-tailed Hawk on Roanoke River Greenway
Red-shouldered Hawks are known for their unique loud, piercing call, which the center describes as a repeated 'kee-ah' sound, making them easily identifiable from other hawks. They have a reddish color on their shoulders with black and white checkered wings and a banded tail.
However, unlike other hawks that prefer open fields to hunt, red-shouldered hawks usually thrive in forests near wetlands, swamps, and rivers. They hunt small mammals such as amphibians, and even crayfish.
These hawks are monogamous and return to the same nesting site year after year and defend their territory from intruders. They also form alliances with American crows, which drive off their shared predators, such as the Great Horned Owls.
They have also been adapted to suburban environments by nesting in the wooded neighborhoods and even hunt in backyard bird feeders where their prey is likely to gather.
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