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http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fc%2Fa%2F2011%2F10%2F18%2FBAMU1LJ5CS.DTL&tsp=1 (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fc%2Fa%2F2011%2F10%2F18%2FBAMU1LJ5CS.DTL&tsp=1) and this is what BirdChick  has to say about it! Jerk.Jerk.Ass.Jerk.Buttface.Jerk. (I agree and more)

(10-18) 12:12 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- Animal rescuers are trying to capture a wild, red-tailed hawk loose in Golden Gate Park that may have been shot with a nail gun.

It's a youngster too...  :(

A red-tailed hawk in Golden Gate Park suffering from a nail in the head has been seen eating small animals the past two days, a hopeful sign to rescuers trying to catch the bird before it's too late.

A crew with the group WildRescue spent most of Wednesday chasing the bird, which was apparently shot by someone using a nail gun.

A crew member spotted the bird in the early afternoon near Lincoln Way and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, the same area where it was seen one night earlier, said Rebecca Dmytryk, director of the Monterey group.

The hawk was eating a squirrel Tuesday night and was working on a gopher Wednesday afternoon - a good sign, Dmytryk said.

"He's catching prey and eating," she said. "While he's definitely injured and suffering, it hasn't compromised him too badly."

The hawk has survived with a nail in its head for at least a week, and Dmytryk said she's worried about a possible infection.

The stress of injury on animals in the wild also makes them more susceptible to respiratory and fungal diseases, she said.

Rescuers have set two traps in hopes of capturing the bird. They cannot use nets because of concerns the nail would get caught and further injure the hawk, Dmytryk said.

She has high hopes of saving the bird if it can be trapped.

"I think he has a good chance," Dmytryk said. "He's a survivor."

Any sightings of the bird should promptly be reported to WildRescue's paging service at (831) 429-2323 or rescue@wildrescue.org, Dmytryk said.

The group is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of the person who harmed the bird.



http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?f=/c/a/2011/10/20/BAFG1LJJO1.DTL&object=%2Fc%2Fpictures%2F2011%2F10%2F18%2Fba-Hawk19_0504381444.jpg (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?f=/c/a/2011/10/20/BAFG1LJJO1.DTL&object=%2Fc%2Fpictures%2F2011%2F10%2F18%2Fba-Hawk19_0504381444.jpg)

The red-tail has been captured and is on his way to Wildlife Center of Silicon Valley in San Jose

http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/2011/10/injured-red-tailed-hawk-found-golden-gate-park (http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/2011/10/injured-red-tailed-hawk-found-golden-gate-park)

OH I AM SO HAPPY! Great news! Thanks Ei, was waiting for an article to appear!  :clap: :crying: Tears of joy!!

Wonderful to hear!  Hope it does OK and I so hope they catch the monster that did such a horrible thing to this poor bird!

It's very rare they catch the ______!!!  :(

Too bad we can't arm the birds with a nail gun :snarl:

Nail-gun-shot hawk found in San Francisco spurs hunt for more clues
By: Sarah Gantz | 11/03/11 4:00 AM
Examiner Staff Writer


Now that the hawk believed to have been shot with a nail gun is back in the wild, authorities are looking to nail the person responsible for its injuries.

Authorities plan to run the construction-equipment equivalent of a ballistics test on the nail recovered from the hawk’s skull to narrow the search for a culprit in the federal animal cruelty crime.

“Nails are like bullets,” said Lt. Le-Ellis Brown, an animal control officer for the San Francisco Department of Animal Care and Control.

Just as special tests can determine what kind of gun shot a bullet, authorities can determine what piece of equipment shot the nail, Brown said.

No suspects have been identified, but authorities plan to begin their search at construction sites, where a nail gun is a standard tool. Once authorities know what type of nail gun was used, they can refine their search to construction sites using those models, Brown said.

“There’s so much construction in San Francisco; the hard part is trying to pinpoint where it happened,” Brown said.

Red-tailed hawks are protected under the federal Migratory Birds Treaty Act, and harming one is punishable by up to six months prison and a $15,000 fine, according to the Humane Society of the United States. On Wednesday, more than 60 people — including the hawk’s rescuers and medical team, media representatives and onlookers — gathered at the Botanical Garden in Golden Gate Park to release the bird, almost exactly where it was captured Oct. 22.

“We didn’t want to release her anywhere else,” said Rebecca Dmytryk, director of WildRescue, the emergency responder organization that trapped the bird.

WildRescue heard about a bird with a nail extending from its cheek through the front of its head Oct. 16 and tracked it through Golden Gate Park for a week before capturing it in a special baited trap. Rescuers feared nets would have tangled in the nail and caused more harm to the hawk.

The nail fell out while the hawk was being transported to Wildlife Center of Silicon Valley in San Jose. The center conducted blood work and X-rays and helped the bird gain back its strength and begin eating again.

Moments after Brown opened the latch on the bird’s carrying cage, the hawk jetted to a crabapple tree, in the same grove where rescuers found the bird.

When the newly freed hawk took flight from its perch, another hawk that had been watching from a distance followed.

sgantz@sfexaminer.com

Mission accomplished

   :clap:

 goodnews:  :clap:

 :thumbsup: ;D

 ;)

After!  :clap:

I was expecting a hard hat and safety goggles.

 :clap: Wonderful!  :2thumbsup:

Animal Cops To Search SF Construction Sites For Red-Tailed Hawk's Shooter

After one of Golden Gate Park's hawks was shot -- in the head! -- by a nail gun, rescuers captured the bird, nursed her back to health and, yesterday, released her back into the Park. But our story's not over yet, as authorities are now on the hunt for the hawk's attacker.

The injured hawk, a female juvenile that is about 6 months old, was first spotted on Oct. 9 in Golden Gate Park with a framing nail lodged in its head, according to Rebecca Dmytryk, director of WildRescue, a Monterey-based wildlife rescue group.

After several days of trying to catch the hawk, members of WildRescue were able to lure it into a wire mesh trap with rats inside, Dmytryk said.

The bird was then transported to the Wildlife Center of Silicon Valley in San Jose, and during the trip, the nail fell out of its head, said Anita Templer, the center's director.

Templer said "the bird was traumatized but wanted to eat" once the nail fell out.

Center officials inspected the hawk and found that the nail had pierced its skull but missed vital organs and its breathing cavity, allowing a full recovery.

The bird weighed about 1,180 grams when it arrived at the center and grew to about 1,570 grams, or just under 3.5 pounds, when it was released.

The hawk was brought out in a cage to the main field at the Botanical Gardens where Lt. Le-Ellis Brown from San Francisco Animal Care and Control opened the cage. The bird hesitated for a few seconds before flying out into a nearby tree.

There is a $10,000 reward being offered by WildRescue for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the shooting. Investigators believe the shooting was intentional, but there are no leads in the case, Brown said.

But perhaps some leads will emerge soon -- according to the Ex, Brown plans on running forensic tests on the nail to try to track down the shooter.

"Nails are like bullets," Brown tells the Ex, saying that with the right tests they can determine what kind of nail gun was used. They'll be searching construction sites for that type of nail gun, presumably questioning workers and, if they're smart, mentioning that $10K reward.

The federal Migratory Birds Treaty Act protects red-tailed hawks, and the Ex reports that "harming one is punishable by up to six months prison and a $15,000 fine."

Anyone with information on the shooting is encouraged to call Animal Care and Control's emergency dispatch line at (415) 554-9400.

The Wildlife Center of Silicon Valley is also asking for about $1,000 in donations to recoup the costs of caring for the bird. You can donate to the fund here.

SFAppeal

Shot red-tailed hawk doing well after release into wild: The Examiner
11-29-11


The red-tailed hawk that was shot in the head with a nail before being treated and released last month was spotted Sunday afternoon in San Francisco and is doing well, WildRescue director Rebecca Dmytryk said.

The bird was identified by the federal band on its right leg. The hawk was sighted in Golden Gate Park by park visitors, according to WildRescue officials.

WildRescue received a picture of the hawk with a nail through its head on Oct. 9 and was able to capture it nearly two weeks later on Oct. 22.

The bird was returned to the wild on Nov. 2.

 goodnews:

That is good news!  Just wish they could get the jerk who did this.