Sheriff's investigator rescues baby hawk stranded on busy Chatham County intersection

BENNETT, N.C. (WTVD) -- A baby hawk is recovering after authorities found it stranded on a busy road in Chatham County.

On May 15, Chatham County Sheriff's Office investigator Jon Murray was headed home after his shift. He noticed a baby hawk sitting motionless in the road near the intersection of NC 22 and NC 42.

"It wasn't trying to fly away," Murray said. "It just sat there while cars went right by it."

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Recognizing the bird was likely injured or too young to fly, he secured the raptor in a blanket and contacted the sheriff's office animal resource center. The hawk appeared to have fallen from its nest, the sheriff's office said.

Animal Resource Officer Justin Green took the hawk to Holly's Nest Animal Rescue, where it will stay until it's old enough to survive on its own.

"We're grateful Jon spotted it when he did," Green said.