The Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center reported on Monday, November 9, 2026, that an adult female hawk was found grounded in a driveway near Roanoke, Virginia. Rescuers determined the bird was physically unable to fly due to excessive body weight resulting from a diet of domestic poultry.
Wildlife experts initially conducted a series of medical examinations to identify the cause of the bird's inability to fly. The center tested for issues such as broken bones, lead poisoning, head trauma, and eye injuries. According to a Facebook post by the center, the hawk showed no signs of these conditions but possessed a heavy layer of fat that prevented staff from feeling its keel bone.
The hawk weighed more than 910 grams, which the center noted is significantly higher than the typical weight range of 450 to 680 grams for red-shouldered hawks. A neighbor near the discovery site informed the center that their free-ranging chickens had been disappearing over several weeks. Rescuers concluded the hawk had been preying on the chickens and resting nearby between meals until it became too heavy to take off.
The hawk exceeded its typical maximum species weight of 680 grams by at least 230 grams. In practical terms, this rendered the hawk "extremely vulnerable" because it could no longer use flight to escape other predators. For the wildlife center, such cases require the use of diagnostic resources—including testing for lead toxicity and bone fractures—to determine that the cause of impairment is nutritional rather than traumatic or environmental.
The center stated that the bird will remain in their care until it reaches a weight that allows for safe flight. The center advised the public not to feed wildlife directly or indirectly to prevent similar health issues. The bird will be monitored at the facility near Roanoke until it is fit for release back into the wild.