"It was in bad shape:" New Berlin family rescues red-tailed hawk, bird of prey recovering



NEW BERLIN (WITI) -- A New Berlin couple looked out their front window -- and were startled by what they saw. It was a red-tailed hawk perched on their porch. But something wasn't right.

Linda and Steve Hordyk say the hawk stayed on the porch from 8:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. on Sunday. The Hordyks woke up on Monday morning and found the hawk lying on the cold cement, face down. They noticed the hawk moved its head and was still breathing. They placed a towel on top of the hawk to try to warm it up -- and after a little while, it moved back onto the porch.

"Yeah, I'm thinking, I don't know if this bird is okay," said Linda Hordyk

Something was clearly wrong. The bird of prey wasn't going away.

"It was in bad shape. yes. It was laying, lethargic lifted her head up looked at me. Trying to get up hard to get up," said Steve Hordyk.

So the couple boxed up the hawk and took it to the Wisconsin Humane Society's Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. The hawk is now recovering -- it's right wing bandaged up.



Wildlife Director Scott Diehl isn't sure how the injuries to the hawk happened. The hawk's condition has improved since coming in -- but it isn't out of the woods just yet.

"We've done a course of fluid therapy on here," said Diehl.

In about a week, Diehl and his team should know more about the hawk's long-term outlook.