Juvenile hawk found covered in ice recovering well

A juvenile red-tailed hawk is recovering at the Atlantic Wildlife Institute after being found frozen to the ground.

Pam Novak of AWI said the bird was found on their property in Cookville, New Brunswickover Easter weekend with its body covered in ice.

"He was sitting in front of our learning centre pretty much frozen to the ground. It was a pathetic sight to see," she said.

He literally had to thaw.- Pam Novak, Atlantic Wildlife Institute

Novak said transporting the bird back to the institute wasn't difficult. She wrapped him in a blanket and held him while he was brought to their bird room.

"He literally had to thaw. He was underweight, soaking wet andhad damage to the ends of the tail feathers. They were iced and stuck to the ground;he was stressed and hypothermic," she said.

The 'hawksicle'is recovering well and is back to eating the normal amount for a juvenile red-tailed hawk.

"He was so weak he didn't really have the strength to stand up that well," she said.

Novak said that adult red-tailed hawks are, in most cases, able to survive the winter months.

"It's not uncommon we will get birds in that are having a hard time struggling through the poor weather.Some we can save, and unfortunately some we can't."

But, red-tailed sightings, especially during the snowy months, are becoming more common.

"I've been seeing more red-tails that winter over. This one decide to stay in this region for winter months."

This hawk will be ready to be sent back out into the wild in the next few weeks to a month, according to Novak.

"He was in such a miserable position I'm glad we spotted him when we had a chance."