SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — A Utah hawk took an unexpected summer vacation, spending nearly 100 days at a country club before finally returning home.

And apparently, he has expensive taste.

Meet Stax, a 14-year-old Harris’s hawk who lives at HawkWatch International, where he serves as a raptor ambassador, helping educate the public about birds of prey.

Stax came to the organization after an injury left him unable to return to the wild. But on June 29, he slipped free during routine handling and disappeared.

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“It was, I mean, scary,” said Renata Vazquez, education programs manager at HawkWatch International. “One, because we’ve been feeding him every day. So, we weren’t sure where he was gonna go or how far he was gonna go.”

As it turns out, Stax hadn’t gone very far.

With the help from the local community, HawkWatch learned in July that its missing bird had taken up residence at the Salt Lake Country Club.

“It wasn’t until July that we figured out where he was and it was thanks to the community,” Vazquez said. “And to Colson at the Salt Lake Country Club that was like, ‘Is this your hawk?’ And we’re like, ‘Yes, it is.’”

So, what exactly does a hawk do during a summer at the country club?

Apparently, a little bit of everything.

“Playing with sticks. He was enjoying the breeze, I think,” said Call Vandeveegaete, an educator with HawkWatch International who helped bring Stax home.

“I had heard that he had come down to check out some of the golf balls on the green,” he said.

While Stax appeared to be enjoying his extended stay, his caretakers were growing concerned.

Winter was approaching, and Harris’s hawks aren’t native to Utah.

“They are not able to sustain the winter as well as other native birds,” Vazquez said.

Vandeveegaete was also concerned about Stax’s ability to survive on his own.

“I was worried about him finding enough food to support himself,” he said.

Determined to bring him home, Vandeveegaete set up food traps and trail cameras to track the hawk’s movements.

“We had a good idea of him when he was taking his morning meal and when he was taking his evening meal,” he said.

Then, on Oct. 6, after 99 days on the loose, Stax’s country club staycation finally came to an end.

“I was just getting up to check the trap at a regular interval, and I was very surprised to see him in there,” he said.

The successful rescue was an exciting moment for the HawkWatch team.

When Vazquez arrived to pick up Stax, she was relieved to discover he still remembered her.

“I went to get him, and he immediately stepped up on the glove,” she said. “So, he hasn’t forgotten his human connections. But yeah, it’s good to have him back.”

Stax is now safely back at HawkWatch International, where he has heat lamps to keep him warm through the winter and a familiar role educating the community about birds of prey.

As for whether he’ll attempt another getaway?

Vazquez admits he’s quite the escape artist.

For now, though, the country club’s most unusual summer guest has officially checked out.

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