Hobbitstee Wildlife Refuge: Working to return a hawk to the wild after it was shot by an arrow

By Chantal Theijn

To The Haldimand Press

JARVIS—On January 12, 2020 a father and son duo brought out a Red Tailed Hawk they had found sitting by the side of the road looking pitiful.

Upon examination the hawk did indeed look pitiful, but I could not find any serious injuries aside from a slight droop of his left wing. His blood work however showed a very different picture. It showed him to be severely dehydrated and on the verge of kidney failure.

I started hydration therapy right away using warmed IV fluids, placed the hawk in an incubator, and let him rest for the night. The next morning he appeared to be feeling better and ate a little.

In the afternoon I took him for x-rays to ensure there was no broken bones causing the slight wing droop on the left. When the X-rays popped up on the screen, I could not believe my eyes. The poor hawk had the tip of an arrow (without the shaft) stuck in his pectoral muscle.