Monday was pretty typical for Chris Hatfield, except the part when he had a hawk in his Jeep.
The ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ native spotted the soggy, dazed-looking bird in the center median of Interstate 10 near Valencia Road and went back to rescue it.
The foot-and-a-half tall red-tailed hawk spent the night inside Hatfield’s house and hung out on his dining room table all day Tuesday while he was at work.
Then, with the surprisingly calm bird perched on his arm, Hatfield drove it to the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Wildlife Center, where it is now recovering nicely from a possible head injury.
Day in the life of a small cross-section of creatures that come and go behind Daily Star reporter Henry Brean's house in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥. Video by Henry Brean / ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, produced by Rick Wiley (2020)
“That gentleman made a heroic rescue,†said Lisa Bates, co-founder and executive director of the licensed animal rehabilitation facility near the east end of Speedway. “That poor hawk was probably going to freeze to death or die from shock.â€
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Hatfield said he was driving home from work on eastbound I-10 about 5:30 p.m. Monday when he spotted the hawk about 8 feet from the pavement.
After debating what to do for several miles, he got off at Rita Road and took the interstate west until he could turn around again at the Palo Verde Road exit.
It was getting dark and the rain had turned to sleet by the time he circled back to where he’d seen the hawk.
Hatfield pulled into the dirt median of the busy highway and flashed his headlights at the bird. When it didn’t move, he got out for a closer look.
“She was on her feet shivering with her head down,†Hatfield said, so he used an old blanket as a net.
“I threw it over her and grabbed her like a football,†he said. “I did some Steve Irwin stuff.â€
Hatfield was a little worried about what might happen if the wild animal he just picked up suddenly decided it didn’t want to be there anymore, but the bird sat quietly with its head sticking up out of the blanket throughout the ride home.
It spent the night in a cloth nest Hatfield built for it on his dining room table. It still seemed a little dazed the next morning, but Hatfield could see the fog in its eyes beginning to lift.
He got the bird to drink some water and left his teenage son to look after it while he reported to his job as the maintenance supervisor at a ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ apartment complex.
Hatfield returned home Tuesday afternoon to find the hawk still hanging out peacefully in the house, so he loaded the bird into an old wooden Budweiser crate for the drive to the wildlife center.
As soon as they were on the road, the hawk hopped out of the crate and tried to perch on the dashboard before finally settling onto Hatfield’s right arm — the same right arm he uses to work the stick shift. “She was like 10 inches from my face. She could have taken my lip clean off,†he said.
Instead, the bird spent the drive grooming itself and looking out the window at passing cars. Hatfield said he saw people gawking at the two of them as they drove by.
The hawk never even dug its long talons into his skin. “She wasn’t aggressive or anything. She kept it easy on me,†he said.
None of this is particularly out of character for Hatfield, who is the sort of guy who will stop to shoo a rattlesnake off the road so it doesn’t get run over.
Hatfield said he has previously helped rescue and release a roadrunner and a Cooper’s hawk, and used to raise birds when he was in 4-H as a kid.
“Red-tailed hawks are a little different. They’re a little bigger,†he said with a laugh. “I can’t leave animals behind. I feel bad.â€
Bates said head injuries in birds can be tricky, but the hawk’s progress looks promising so far. As of Thursday, the bird was eating and drinking on its own and seemed to be regaining its strength.
“She’s looking good, like she’s going to recover,†Bates said.
The center will likely keep the hawk for a week or two to make sure the head injury is resolved. Then the bird will be returned to the wild.
Bates said she hopes Hatfield can be there when the time comes to help send the hawk on its way.
Gallery: Wildlife babies in Southern ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥:
33 photos of wildlife babies in Southern ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥
Backyard bobcats

David Burford snapped some photos of a mama bobcat and her three kittens in the backyard of his Oro Valley home.
Backyard bobcats

David Burford snapped some photos of a mama bobcat and her three kittens in the backyard of his Oro Valley home.
Southern ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Wildlife Babies

Steve and Sandy Sutherland caught this fawn outside their far east-side home. Mark Hart, spokesman for the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Game and Fish Department, says the animal could be a mule deer.Â
Southern ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Wildlife Babies

Bobcat kitten on the wall
Mom with her 3 owlets

Great horned owl in midtown with her 3 baby owlets
Quail Chicks

One week old quail chicks run with their mother at amazing speed even in 100+ ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ temperatures.
Southern ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Wildlife Babies

Bobcat kittens in a tree
Southern ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Wildlife Babies

Linda Wallace-Gray took this photo this spring at her home in the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Mountains. "This female javelina had twins although only one is in this picture. If you look closely this baby was just born as it still has its cord. ÊShe is a very attentive and caring mother. ÊThe herd comes by regularly and are very fun to watch." Submitted by Linda Wallace-Gray.
Southern ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Wildlife Babies

Mom and Baby Mourning Dove
Southern ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Wildlife Babies

Bobcat kitten in a tree
Mama and baby

A female Bobcat and her cub rested in the shade of a shrub for an hour or so, in a patio yard in Green Valley, AZ
Southern ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Wildlife Babies

Carrie Robin took this photo Tuesday, April 24, 2018.
Southern ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Wildlife Babies

This is one of 14 quail that I rescued after opening my front door and seeing a bobcat, on our front patio, eating the mother who sat on her eggs for weeks...that night I came home and 9 were hatched. I fed them then took them and the remaining eggs to the wildlife sanctuary...with one hatching in the car on the way!!! Just thought it was cute!!! and this baby is not even 24 hours old!!!! look how big already!!!Â
Southern ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ snakes

A tiny baby snake the size of a quarter
Southern ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Wildlife Babies

Bobcat kitten on the ground
Southern ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Wildlife Babies

Came home from a short trip to find this mama raising her family in our courtyard right outside front door! She had triplets but one of the babies got stuck in our gate and died. She was fiercely protective of her remaining two and put them in the tree every morning as she hunted. They spent the heat of the day sleeping and playing in the cool, right at our front door!
Southern ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Wildlife Babies

Bobcat kitten napping on our porch
Southern ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Wildlife Babies

Baby Javelina with mom
Southern ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Wildlife Babies

Baby bunny taking refuge behind flower pot.
Wildlife, babies, Mexico

Ocelot pair near Divisaderos, Sonora
Wildlife, babies, Mexico

Ocelot pair near Divisaderos, Sonora
Wildlife, babies, Mexico

Puma kitten near Nácori Chico, Sonora
Wildlife, babies, Mexico

A pair of pumas near Divisaderos, Sonora
Wildlife, babies, Mexico

A pair of pumas near Divisaderos, Sonora
Wildlife, babies, Mexico

A Panthera near Granados, Sonora
Wildlife, babies, Mexico

A Panthera near Granados, Sonora
Wildlife, babies, Mexico

White-tailed deer and fawn near Divisaderos, Sonora
Wildlife, babies, Mexico

White-tailed deer and fawn in Sonora
Wildlife, babies, Mexico

White-tailed deer and fawn in Sonora
Wildlife, babies, Mexico

White-tailed deer in Sonora
Wildlife, babies, Mexico

White-tailed deer near Divisaderos, Sonora
Wildlife, babies, Mexico

White-tailed deer near Divisaderos, Sonora
Wildlife, babies, Mexico

Coatis near Divisaderos, Sonora