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McCallister the Baby Hawk On the Mend At UWS Sanctuary

By Rosa Goldensohn | February 27, 2015 4:58pm | Updated on March 2, 2015 9:02am
 The red-tailed hawk is healing at the Wild Bird Fund on Columbus Avenue.
McCallister on the Mend
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UPPER WEST SIDE — McCallister, the starving baby hawk picked up Wednesday on West 57th Street, is packing on the grams, according to his keepers. 

The red-tailed hawk, named after Police Officer Brian McCallister, who helped save him, was half the weight of a normal year-old hawk, according to Rita McMahon of the Wild Bird Fund. He is still on a liquid-only diet as his body recuperates, she said, although yesterday "someone did slip him a mouse." 

"He was definitely on his way out," McMahon, an Upper West Sider who used to keep up to sixty birds in her apartment, said. "He's looking good."

McCallister is one of three red-tailed hawks currently housed at the Wild Bird Fund's Columbus Avenue storefront. Harry, an adult, was shot with a pellet gun in the wing and body. 

"Somone was doing target practice on him," McMahon said. He was found in a backyard in Queens. O'Malley, another baby red-tailed hawk, will likely be released in Central Park this weekend, McMahon said. 

McMahon offered some tips for what to do if you find a bird in distress:

►If it's a baby, and it's moving around but just bewildered, look around for a nest. The bundle of sticks might be in a tree or under an awning. Try to put it back in the nest. 

►If you come across a bird that is not moving, test the legs to see if they bend. If they do not bend, the bird is dead. If they bend, it is alive, just unconscious.

►If the legs bend, you want to warm the bird up. Put it in your picket, a small box or paper bag. Most of the time the bird comes back to life just because he's been given some warmth, McMahon said. 

►After he has warmed up a bit, offer him some water in a bowl or by putting a droplet on your finger and onto the side of his beak. Do not force them to drink or eat. 

►Call the Wild Bird Fund or just bring him over to the center at 565 Columbus Avenue.