Great black hawk in Portland rescued during snowstorm

The great black hawk that has been living at Deering Oaks in Portland had to be rescued after being found on the ground during Sunday’s snowstorm.

Volunteers transported the injured bird to Avian Haven in Freedom, a nonprofit wild bird rehabilitation center.

“The roads were treacherous but an undaunted team of volunteer transporters helped get the bird safely to Freedom,” Avian Haven wrote in a post on its Facebook page. “The hawk arrived here around 5 p.m. and is now settled into an intensive care unit for the night.”

Great black hawks are native to Central and South America. It was first seen in August in Biddeford, but was later spotted at Deering Oaks. Bird watchers are not sure how it ended up in Maine, but every year birds like this one – called vagrants by ornithologists – fly outside their geographic range.

There was no information provided on the hawk’s condition or what led to its being found on the ground, but Avian Haven promised more information would be released on Monday.

Avian Haven treats about 2,500 birds a year, making it one of the largest avian rehabilitation practices in New England.

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