Sharp-shinned Hawk

Oakland Animal Services called for help with this adult female Sharp-shinned Hawk, which had dropped down a 15-foot deep by 6-inch wide gap between a long, high produce cooler and a structural wall, in the storage area of a very large grocery store. There was no space for her to flap her wings to fly out, and each end of the gap was blocked by structural columns. I climbed a 15-foot high pyramid of beer cases to get on the roof of the cooler, and leaned over with a net with an extended handle to reach down nearly two stories, catch her, and pull her up along the wall hand-over-hand, while an Oakland Animal Services Officer shined a light down the gap so I could see how to bring her up. She was in good condition and upon release outside flew into a nearby stand of trees, and will hopefully do her future grocery shopping elsewhere. Note her garnet-red eye characteristic of adult accipiters (forest hawks).