Sheriff's Officers Rescue Red-Tailed Hawk In Wayne

WAYNE, NJ — Two Passaic County Sheriff's officers rescued a red-tailed hawk that was injured and couldn't fly Wednesday.

Officers Alaa Matari and Bashkim Seji were patrolling Hamburg Turnpike when they saw the hawk in the road. They got out of their vehicle and spoke to a woman who said she saw the hawk get hit by a vehicle, said Sheriff Richard Berdnik.

The officers placed a towel over the hawk's head and picked it up. They took the hawk to sheriff's headquarters in Wayne. A volunteer then took it to The Raptor Trust, an avian rehabilitation center in Millington, Berdnik said.

The hawk will be cared for and its wings mended at the trust before it is set free into the wild, the sheriff said.

Red-tailed hawks are most commonly seen in New Jersey during the winter. They have about a 4-foot wingspan and weigh about 3 pounds.

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com

Image: The red-tailed hawk that 2 Passaic County Sheriff's officers rescued. The bird was hit by a vehicle in Wayne Wednesday. (Courtesy of Passaic County Sheriff's Office)