Local red-tailed hawk soaring in wild again after second rescue

SEATTLE — Each year, the PAWS organization treats more than 5,000 injured animals. It’s not often they see the same animal twice, but last month they had a repeat customer.

“To have the same bird back again ... I’m just like, ‘we know you!,’” said PAWS CEO Heidi Wills Yamada.

Yamada and others at PAWS treated the red-tailed hawk in 2020, when it was injured during a thunderstorm in Seattle.

Last month, they were asked to help that same hawk again after Tom Johnston found it on his lawn, struggling to move.

“I was pretty worried that he wasn’t going to make it,” said Johnston.

After a call to PAWS, he was able to safely capture and transport the hawk for medical attention. The hawk had a leg fracture, requiring surgery and 43 days of rehab.

On Saturday, the hawk was re-released into the wild as a crowd watched at a Seattle park, including Johnston.

“It’s awesome. I’m so happy that he could recover and get released,” said Johnston.

Those who treated the hawk hope it’s the last time they’ll see him.

“No more visits. We’ve had enough visits from this one,” said Jeff Brown, a wildlife naturalist at PAWS.

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