An injured red-tailed hawk rescued from Fordham’s Rose Hill campus on July 30 has died, according to wildlife rehabilitators, who say a necropsy will be performed to try and determine the cause of death.
The injured hawk was found lying on the grass outside Duane Library on Friday morning. A member of the University’s custodial staff discovered the bird on a lawn adjacent to the library at roughly 7:50 a.m. The employee contacted Fordham Security, which summoned officers from the New York City Police Department’s 48th precinct and emergency medical workers.
The hawk was believed to have been one of a pair of red-tailed hawks—nicknamed Hawkeye and Rose—which have nested and raised offspring on the pediment of Collins Hall since 2005. They have become popular campus fixtures for staffers and students alike.
Richard Fleischer, Ph.D., a professor of political science who regularly photographs the birds, said he believes the injured bird was Hawkeye, named after the M*A*S*H character popularized by Fordham alumnus Alan Alda.
“There was at least one other bird protecting the injured bird,” said Ken McCarthy, a Fordham Security officer. “The other birds would dive down on anyone who went near the injured hawk.”
Wearing protective clothing in case of an aerial assault from the other birds, officers transferred the injured hawk from the grass to a cage, and then transported it to a city animal-care facility.
The red-tailed hawk is a large bird of prey. It breeds almost throughout North America from western Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama. Throughout their range in Canada, Mexico and the United States, the hawks are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.
Patrick Verel contributed to this report.
