METHUEN — As he drove to his detail on Merrimack Street, Randy Haggar spotted the hawk near Riverside Farm.
Because he thinks they are beautiful he turned around, hoping to get a better look at the bird of prey. And he was able to get very close, but soon realized it was injured.
At one point, the hawk did try to fly but only got about 5 feet into the air “and then came right back down,” he said of the Wednesday morning encounter.
He was able to pick up the hawk, which weighed around 5 pounds, and snap some pictures without alarming the bird with long, sharp, curled talons.
Haggar, a retired deputy police chief who now is a special Methuen police officer, called Christopher Parsons, the city’s conservation officer.
Parsons, who has handled cases of injured hawks before, planned to contact Tufts Veterinary School for help.
Haggar said he is fascinated by hawks, notices them in the area frequently and has helped injured hawks in the past.
September is prime time for hawk watiching due to fall migration, according to Mass Audubon.
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