Young Red-Shouldered Hawk Suffers Injuries After Fight

The following story was shared with us by the Audubon Center For Birds Of Prey in Florida.

A red-shouldered hawk was admitted in June 2020 to the clinic. The bird was admitted to the Center after being found under a tree in Kissimmee, Florida, being attacked by another bird. It was an immature bird (just going into adulthood) with an intake weight of 425 grams (about 15 ounces).

After conducting the initial exam, we found that the bird was very weak, emaciated, and dehydrated. It had swelling around the neck, trauma to the right eye, and was also molting.

The blood work and fecal exam showed that it had Haemoproteus (a genus of blood parasites in birds), flukes, and coccidia.

The patient received EmerAid IC Carnivore for three days until it could digest solid food and was released at a weight of 500 grams (about 1.1 pounds) a month after it was admitted.