Community Corner

Hawk Saved by Salem Police Back in the Wild

A young Cooper's Hawk that was saved by members of the Salem Police Department in November was recently released back into the wild in Byfield.

The young Cooper's Hawk that was rescued by police in November after being found in front of a Federal Street home was recently released back into the wild. 

It was just after 6 p.m. on Tuesday Nov. 28, when a local woman called the police station to report that her dog had found a young hawk under the bushes in her front yard and, despite all the barking, it wasn't moving.

Fearing it was injured, the woman reached out to local police and officer Michael Levesque responded to the scene, located the injured raptor and brought it back to the station for safe-keeping.

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The following morning, the hawk was transported to Byfield, where it was handed over to Wildlife Rehab Specialist David Taylor.

When we checked in with Taylor Tuesday night, he was happy to report that the hawk had fully recovered and was released back into the wild on Dec. 8.

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"He just flew right out of a cage in my backyard," Taylor said. "If he wanted to, he could've gotten back to Salem faster than I could."

All's well that ends well. Hopefully this is the last time we'll hear of him.


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