Baby hawks rescued in Sewickley Township after tree falls

When Jason Magill went to cut up a neighbor’s tree that had fallen during storms last month, he didn’t expect to be rescuing three baby red-shouldered hawks.

But when Magill, of Sewickley Township, went to work on May 29 with the help of his son Jake, that’s exactly what he found.

“I was walking around the tree and, when I went around the one side of the tree, I saw a … bird of prey sitting there,” Magill said. “I told my son, ‘Hey Jake, come check this out.’ He found where the nest was and there were two more (hawks) in the middle of the tree.”

Magill, who was unable to immediately identify what type of birds they were, called the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s Southwest Region office when he realized they were birds of prey. With the help of Wildlife Conservation Officer Chris Bergman, the trio freed the birds from the tree.

According to Bergman one “was in bad shape.” The bird died after it was transported to Wildlife Works in Youngwood, he said.

“Considering what had happened we’re lucky two of them survived,” Bergman said. “It was a big tree, I’m sure the shock and the force of the tree falling was great.”

He added, however, the other two hawks are “doing great.”

Magill said, during the rescue, he noticed two adult birds resembling the babies flying around the area.

“The parents are still around because they have a real unique call,” he said. “Both parents were actually sitting there watching us while we were gathering up the little ones.”

According to Magill, the birds will be released once they are healed.

He added, “I just thought it was kind of neat that there was something that could be done. … When I saw them it kind of bums you out.”