Last week’s rainy weather had some Durango residents feeling down, including a red-tailed hawk hanging upside down from power lines.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife District Wildlife Manager Stephanie Taylor rescued the hawk on Thursday after receiving a call from someone living in the apartments next to the power lines on east 14th Street, where the bird was stuck.
CPW spokesman John Livingston said it is unknown how the hawk became stuck in the power lines. Whatever the case, the bird appeared unharmed.
“The hawk had no burns on its feet, so we aren’t quite sure what may have happened,” he said. “But it seemingly recovered and was in good condition overall and flew off with strength and good form, so we don’t believe it sustained any injury.”
One possibility is the bird clipped its wing flying by, receiving a jolt that momentarily stunned it, Livingston said. Another is that the bird may have clenched its talons around the line, shocking itself, and held on instead of falling to the ground. Livingston also pointed out that Durango experienced strong winds and rains last Thursday, which might have contributed to the red-tailed hawk’s predicament.
He said smaller birds occasionally hang upside down to feed on a tree or avoid predators, but this behavior is unusual for a hawk.
Yiyan Li, a professor at Fort Lewis College who received a Ph.D. in electrical engineering, said it helps to think of electricity like water when trying to understand why animals such as birds and squirrels can sometimes touch power lines without getting electrocuted.
Like water, electricity wants to flow down the path of least resistance. If a bird lands with both its feet on the same live wire, there’s no point for the electricity to take a detour through the bird, Li said.
However, if an animal touches two live wires, or touches a live wire while also touching something that’s grounded, such as a utility pole, it’s good news for the electrons that want to flow, and bad news for that animal.
nmetcalf@durangoherald.com
