Police responded to a report this month that a fledgling red-tailed hawk had flown through a screen and onto a porch—a practice that Animal Control officials say typically happens in New Canaan when the birds see food they want, including domestic pets.
This incident happened around 2 p.m. on July 7 up at Shadow Lane, a dead end off of Carter Street behind Hoyt Farms.
In this case, the mother hawk probably kicked the fledgling out of her nest, according to Animal Control Officer Maryann Kleinschmitt.
“Of course, it’s learning to fly so it hasn’t quite mastered the flap your wings thing yet, and it kind of dive-bombs,” Kleinschmitt said.
A hawk often if it sees food on a porch will fly toward a screen claws first and zip right in, she said.
“We had one that into a screened-in porch after a Chihuahua once,” Kleinschmitt said, referring to an incident off of Jelliff Mill Road. The bird didn’t catch the Chihuahua, which escaped inside the house, where the hawk wouldn’t follow, she said.