Missing injured hawk found weeks after escaping from tree-damaged enclosure in Baltimore County

BALTIMORE — A partially blind red-tailed hawk named “Stella” is safe after escaping from a tree-damaged enclosure at the Oregon Ridge Nature Center seven weeks ago.

But this isn't the first time the bird has beaten its odds of survival.

Hopes of finding Stella were dwindling, according to Jessica Jeannetta of Baltimore County Recreation and Parks, until a sighting last Sunday.

“There were a lot of tears of joy,” Jeannetta said.

Residents of Perry Hall spotted Stella in their backyard, about 20 miles from Cockeysville Park where she ran the chicken coop.

Stella wears anklets, a clue used to confirm the bird's potential identity.

“She only found out about it after she did some internet searching on Google and searched for 'missing falcon in area' and that's when she found the nature center,” said Jeanetta.

The falcon was taken to the Phoenix Wildlife Center in Baldwin, a nonprofit rehabilitation organization.

Kathleen Woods, executive director of the Phoenix Wildlife Center, said an examination revealed that Stella had some minor injuries and, judging by her dramatic weight loss, she was surviving but not thriving.

“The most striking thing was the weight loss,” Woods said. “She weighed 2 pounds and she should weigh almost 5 pounds.”

Keepers will now work to help the falcon recover. However, this is not the first time that Stella has found herself faced with a terrible fate.

As a young bird in West Virginia, Stella was deemed unreleaseable and was brought to the Cockeysville Nature Center, according to Jeanetta.

“She had been hit by a car, she was blind in her right eye and as a result of that injury they also discovered that she had been shot and had shrapnel all over her body,” Jeanetta said.

Before escaping, Stella was used as an education ambassador; the title team hopes she will recover after a full recovery.

Woods roughly estimates that Stella's full recovery will take about six weeks.