Photo scourtesy of Keri Lewis Raptor specialist Jo Santiago releases a red-tailed hawk at the Bowden Fish Hatchery on Monday afternoon as Elkins residents Kimberly Leary, left, and David Leary look on. The Leary’s rescued the bird after it was found injured in a road this summer.

An injured red-tailed hawk that recently spent close to nine weeks at the Avian Conservation Center of Appalachia in Morgantown was released back into the wild Monday. The hawk eventually found a resting spot in a nearby Norway spruce.

BOWDEN — A small group of onlookers watched an adult male red-tailed hawk be released back into the wild Monday afternoon at the Bowden Fish Hatchery.

The hawk, which had been injured and was rescued on July 19 by Elkins residents David and Kimberly Leary, took flight without any issues Monday after being released by raptor specialist Jo Santiago, who operates Flying Higher LLC.

“The hawk first flew straight out and then completely did a 360 all around us, which I’ve never seen one do, before ending up in a Norway spruce” Santiago told The Inter-Mountain. “I’ve released a lot of birds and never had one circle us like this one did.”

The Leary’s rescued the hawk this summer when they were traveling down the Allegheny Highway on Route 33 East near the Fish Hatchery.

The hawk had been struck by a vehicle and was flailing in the road when the Leary’s were passing by and saw it, Santiago said.

“They stopped, pulled over and turned around to get it. Mr. Leary said he knew if they didn’t get it out of the road, someone was going to run it over,” she said.

The couple removed the hawk from the road and called Randolph County 911 to report what they had found. Operators then got in touch with Santiago, who quickly made her way to the location.

“The Leary’s had carefully wrapped the bird in a quilt they happened to have in their car,” Santiago said. “When I arrived I could see that the bird had head trauma and it was favoring one eye, so I knew it had some kind of eye trauma as well.”

Santiago transported the hawk to Dr. Jesse Fallon of the Avian Conservation Center of Appalachia in Morgantown.

“Dr. Fallon said it had an abrasion to the cornea and that it had a concussion,” Santiago said. “He said that both injuries would heal but it would just take some time. So he called me a couple days ago and said it was ready to be released. The bird was at the center for about nine weeks.”

Santiago said hawks spend a lot of time around highways while hunting, which leads to accidents.

“I’d say he was hunting when he got hit,” she said. “Red tails are big-bodied with big, broad wings, they’re not built to hunt in the woods. So they hunt over open meadows and highways and they often cross the highway when they see prey. It was probably diving in for something when it got hit.”

Santiago said she provided updates to the Leary’s about the condition of the hawk until its release.

“The Leary’s were so excited to watch the bird be set free,” Santiago said. “They were taking all kinds of photos with their cell phones and both of them kept commenting on how beautiful the bird was.”

Residents who encounter injured birds are asked to keep them away from other animals and humans, and to call the ACCA hotline at 304-906-5438 or the WVDNR for assistance. Information on Santiago’s organization can be found at www.flyinghigherllc.online.