(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- An injured red-tailed hawk found in north suburban Wadsworth is being nursed back to health at a wildlife rehabilitation center in Barrington.
The bird was rescued by Lake County Animal Control, which reached out to Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation for help.
“They were contacted by a homeowner, from what I understand, who told them it was in their yard and it was unable to fly,” Flint Creek founder and director Dawn Keller tells WBBM Newsradio.
“It was admitted to us very thin and very dehydrated.”
Keller believes the hawk was likely hit by a car. It had an old fracture to its right wing, and feathers at the end of the wing are missing.
She originally estimated the bird to be eight years old but got a surprise when she researched the number on the hawk’s leg band. The bird originally was banded as a juvenile in October 2009, making it more than 14 years old.
“This hawk is officially the oldest banded raptor that we have ever admitted,” the clinic said in a Facebook post.
Keller said the hawk is healing well but can't be released until its primary flight feathers grow back, which will likely take about three months.
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