Eagle-eyed officer saves injured hawk

AUSTIN (KXAN) - An Austin police officer came to the rescue of an injured young red-tailed hawk that was in danger of falling prey to the afternoon traffic on MoPac Boulevard on Wednesday.

And as Officer G. Burbank was attempting to move the dazed bird out of harms way near the Southwest Parkway exit, it just so happened that a licensed falconer was driving by.

"He provided a box, which I put the bird in," Burbank told KXAN. "And then he drove the it to a wildlife rehab specialist he has worked with."

The falconer said the hawk is about a year old, the officer added.

Sallie Delahoussaye with Austin's Wildlife Rescue Inc . took the bird in.

"The bird is suffering from head trauma at this point," she said. it did not appear to have any broken bones. But there was some bleeding into the mouth and left eye.

KXAN will follow the hawk's progress and provide updates to this report.