SW Virginia Wildlife Center releasing Red-tailed Hawk on Roanoke River Greenway

ROANOKE, Va. ( WFXR ) — The Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center announced the release of a Red-tailed Hawk at Smith Park on the Roanoke River Greenway on Friday, June 26.

The wildlife center said the Red-tailed Hawk was taken to its facility in May as a small fledging and stayed at the center while after efforts to find its parents failed. He is now a completely healthy adult hawk that weighs 2.64 pounds and is one of 15 Red-tailed Hawks the wildlife center has admitted this year.

SW Virginia Wildlife says after passing flight school and mouse school, they are ready to release him back into the wild, where he has never flown before.

The community is invited to come to the Greenway on Friday at 6 p.m. to watch the bird take flight into the skies for the very first time.

For more information on the SW Virginia Wildlife Center or to donate to the non-profit, visit their website .

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC.