Search is on for injured hawk

SAN FRANCISCO – A wildlife rescue group spent a third day in a San Francisco park trying to capture and rescue a red-tailed hawk that appears to have been shot in the head with a nail gun.

A rescuer spotted the bird Wednesday in one of its usual haunts in Golden Gate Park, where it had captured and was eating a gopher.

“We know he’s gotten some nourishment, which is good because we know he’s in a weakened state,” said Rebecca Dmytryk, executive director of the Monterey-based group WildRescue.

At the same time, rescuers will have a harder time luring the hawk into their traps if it’s been eating, she said. “We need him hungry.”

Observers patrolling an area frequented by the hawk got close enough to the bird to see the nail extending from its cheek through the front of its head. They said the hawk appeared to be in pain.

Rescuers believe someone intentionally hurt the hawk, saying a nail gun can be fired accurately at a distance of several yards.