Hit a Hawk today.

I was on my way home from work tonight and I was barreling down a two-lane blacktop doing about 65. I all of a sudden saw a hawk start flapping out of the ditch on the opposite side of the road. When I realized he was crossing my path, I got on the brakes and tried to swerve.

No good.

He swooped up over my windshield and got clobbered by the ladder rack. Watched his lifeless body fall to the pavement in the rearview. I pulled over, assessed the damage (there was none). I threw on my strobes and backed up to where he was.

I pulled my shovel out of my van, scooped him up, and set him in the ditch.

Hawks are such beautiful birds to begin with and it just sucked to have hit one.

I was afraid you'd hit a motorcyclist.

Not your fault, they hunt for rodents or targets of opportunity and tend to have tunnel vision.

from my observations hawks are very thorough and efficient hunters and as paranoid as a fox... and these are roadkill I've never seen.. sorry to hear that, they are one of my favs

Sad, but here's a happier ending for one:

http://autos.sympatico.ca/weird-automotive-news/9994/hawk-rescued-from-lexus-adorable

In reply to Lesley:

wow, nice to hear that story

A couple of weeks ago, I was driving down a road in my town. Looked up and saw a hawk. Next thing I know, it swoops down a pounces on a critter on the ground next to the oncoming lane of traffic. It was pretty badass.

Sadly, I do see the occasional red-tailed hawk roadkill on the side of the highway. It sucks because they really have no chance to survive once they hit the blacktop- I-495 is a very busy stretch of highway.

It is rare to hit a bird. I was at Summit Point for Lemons and went on a parts run in Chrissy's Mazda3, blasting through some back roads a bird did the same thing, flew up from the ditch in front of the car and hit the bumper. I didn't see what happened to it, but I had a huge E36 M3 stain on the front bumper of the white car.

I hit a seagull once. I was driving my fiat spider with the top down. It was early early sunday morning and I was going to work in Atlantic City. It was in the middle of the road eating a clam it had dropped there to break the shell.

It took to the air as I hit the brakes.. but I still managed to tag it's rump with the windsheild. I looked up to see it do a complete sumersault over the top of the car and catch itself Mid-air.

It landed again to finish it's meal

i took out an owl with an 81 Malibu i had back in '94.. i came around a corner on a 2 lane country road, saw the eyes look at me from the middle of the lane, then the wings came out right before i hit it- the wingspan was as wide as my car.. all this happened over about 3 seconds, and it scared the crap outta me. but there was no damage to the car.

about 2 weeks later, same corner, same car, same time of night.. i took out a whole flock of sparrows. i had to pick dead birds out of every little square hole in the grille and found about 10 more dead birds a few weeks later when i took the radiator out.

i've almost hit a few hawks and a couple of bald eagles, but they always get out of the way.

I hit a bird while racing at Road America once--coming out of T14 going up the hill. Weird.

True story ... a few years back I was crossing a bridge and saw a flock of seagulls munching on roadkill. As I was aproaching all but one got away. I tagged the last one to fly and it bounced off the car coming the opposite lane. I was listening to the radio and the next song that played was by the flock of seagulls... I kid you not.

I bet hawks smell better than buzzards.

From the 2007 Big Bend Open Road Race: Imagine this thing banging on your navigators window at 180 MPH.

driver109x wrote: True story ... a few years back I was crossing a bridge and saw a flock of seagulls munching on roadkill. As I was aproaching all but one got away. I tagged the last one to fly and it bounced off the car coming the opposite lane. I was listening to the radio and the next song that played was by the flock of seagulls... I kid you not.

That sounds like a halloween ghost story for seabirds

Didn't Earnhardt hit a seagull at Daytona in 90 to cost him the race?

There's something about my Thunderbird that drives real birds crazy. I've had several birds fly straight into it--hit me head on, fly into the side of it, all sorts of weird stuff. Fratricide, man.

Driving along a main residential street last week. See some commotion on the road ahead. Brake lights where there really shouldn't be. Then I see a flock (8-10) buzzards in the street , trying to feast on a dead raccoon. Cars had to drive around the darn things. They WANTED that meat.

I hit a bird at 100MPH once. Didn't end well for the bird, though I'm 110% he cursed the car. It would really suck to hit a Hawk, they are such noble creatures. Good on you for trying to avoid him!

At The 12 Hours at Summit a few years back a Spec Miata caught a turkey. That was a sight to see driving into the pits. Huge hole in the windshield, turkey feathers all over the inside, and most of a turkey on the parcel shelf.

Mmmmm. Tastes like Bald Eagle.

I hit a crow that had been feasting on road kill. Came around a curve and he was in the oncoming lane chowing down. Bird brain flew into the oncoming lanes and whack! Problem was I was on a Kawasaki 500 Ninja at about 60 mph. I got him with my helmet. My ears rang and I had a headache for about 8 hours. I don't know how I didn't go down. The helmet had a small ding in the visor and feathers stuck in the vents.

mistanfo wrote: At The 12 Hours at Summit a few years back a Spec Miata caught a turkey. That was a sight to see driving into the pits. Huge hole in the windshield, turkey feathers all over the inside, and most of a turkey on the parcel shelf.

Yep, I remember that too!

I was at an EMRA enduro at Summit and a cow wandered onto the track.

When you see a turkey fly across in front of you all you can think is "I sure don't want to hit that thing".

Once I was flying down some back roads and as I come around a blind 90* turn, there were three vultures and two hawks fighting over a dead dear. I missed all of them, but it was pretty crazy to see them all that close!

My boss once hit a goose while doing 85 down the interstate. It caved in the windshield and half of the roof on his nearly new Ford Ranger.

All of you who have killed hawks are probably now Federal criminals.