A red-shouldered hawk died while being treated for gunshot wounds after it was found injured in San Diego’s Encanto neighborhood last month, while a second hawk was recovering from an unrelated shooting, San Diego Humane Society officials said Tuesday.
The red-shouldered hawk was shot with two pellets and found on the ground, unable to fly, on Sept. 22, according to humane officials. The bird was taken to the San Diego Humane Society’s Project Wildlife program in Ramona and found to be suffering from lead poisoning, as well as a broken left humerus, or bone in the wing, and a broken clavicle.
However, the bird died while under anesthesia, the agency said.
The other bird, a red-tailed hawk, was found in Indio with a single gunshot wound on Sept. 10. It was transferred to the Ramona center and is recovering from orthopedic surgery.
“Hawks should be able to soar over our neighborhoods without becoming targets,” Alexis Wohl, wildlife veterinary manager for the Project Wildlife program, said in a statement.
Raptors, including hawks, are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and other federal and state laws.