What happened to hawk that was pushed out of SLO County eagle’s nest? See how it’s doing

The hawk that was pushed out of San Luis Obispo County eagle’s nest has continued to defy the odds and is now living at a raptor rehabilitation home in an outdoor aviary in Cayucos.

The red-tailed hawk made headlines in May when The Tribune learned about of a baby hawk living alongside an eagle family in San Simeon .

Instead of becoming a meal, the hawk chick survived, sharing the nest with the eagle parents and being fed alongside their two eaglets for three weeks.

But by June 8, one of the eaglets chased the young hawk out of the nest. The chick dangled off the side of the nest for a few moments before the eagle seemed to let go of it, sending it plummeting to the ground.

Eaglet pushes baby hawk out of San Simeon nest — but the story has a happy ending

The hawk survived the fall from the sycamore tree. It was then rescued by observers who alerted Pacific Wildlife Care in Morro Bay, where the hawk recovered for two weeks.

From there, the wildlife nonprofit placed the hawk into the care of Kelly Vandenheuvel, who has been a wild animal rehabilitator for 40 years and longtime volunteer of the organization. She was also one of the initial founders of Pacific Wildlife Care .

“It was just like a jack-in-the-box trying to get out ... just the whole time, and it would just eat like crazy,” Vandenheuvel said of the hawk when it first got to Pacific Wildlife Care.

Vandenheuvel said the hawk is currently learning to fly and hunt at her large outdoor aviary at her property in Cayucos.

Vandenheuvel said that when she took the hawk in, it could only fly up to about 10 feet and then it would come down.

“Now, it’s up in the highest perches,” Vandenheuvel said.

Vandenheuvel said it’s important for injured or debilitated animals like the hawk to remain in the outdoor aviary to learn to fly and hunt in as natural of an environment as possible.

“They get hungry, they get emaciated and then they don’t have the strength to hunt,” Vandenheuvel said of injured birds. “So doing this step is critical.”

According to records from Pacific Wildlife Care, the baby hawk currently weighs about two and a half pounds. When he first got to Vandenheuvel’s place on July 3, the chick was just over one pound. He was dehydrated and emaciated but uninjured.

The hawk lives alongside two other hawk “roommates” in the aviary, which is outfitted with long branches for the birds to grasp with their talons. There’s a pool of water and area for the animals to hunt for live mice.

Even though Vandenheuvel brings in the mice and other food, she says she’s tried to simulate what it would be like for the hawks to hunt in real life as much as possible. Rodents move around underneath twigs and brush in the enclosure.

Vandenheuvel said that when the hawk is released, she’ll do what is called a soft release. This means the door will be opened for the bird to fly out, but he’ll also have the option of coming back to the rehab center for more food.

Over time, Vandenheuvel said, the hawk will eventually stop coming back for free meals.

Vandenheuvel said the hawk will likely be released after about three weeks, once Pacific Wildlife Care does a full examination of the bird.

“By then, we can evaluate for sure and make sure that they are ready to go back into the wild, that they’re healthy enough and strong enough and can prey-hunt,” Vandenheuvel said, referring to all three birds.

How do birds find their way to the wildlife rehab?

Vandenheuvel said she has rehabilitated numerous birds and mammals, including red-tailed hawks, great-horned owls and possums. She said that typically, her center and Pacific Wildlife are generally well known enough that when people find a sick, injured or orphaned bird or mammal, they contact them.

Vandenheuvel said the other two hawks in the aviary came from different places in Paso Robles.

To volunteer and learn more about how to get involved, visit pacificwildlifecare.org or call 805-543-9453 (WILD).