Hawk trapped in T station returned to wild

Wildlife officials had captured the young Cooper’s hawk inside the Andrew T station Monday. It was caught behind netting meant to keep birds out of the rafters. A senior veterinary student at the Tufts University Wildlife Clinic released the hawk behind the facility late yesterday morning after it had recovered.

“It was just beautiful,’’ said Tom Keppeler, a spokesman for the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University. “. . . The bird took right to the skies and flew away.’’

It is unclear when the hawk first entered the station, with reports of sightings suggesting that the bird’s stay was a few days or up to a week long — but it is possible the bird flew in through an open window as it hunted another bird, said Danielle Genter, a senior rescue technician for the Animal Rescue League of Boston who aided in the hawk’s capture.

The bird probably then flew through a hole that had been cut through the netting recently in order to repair a pipe, she said. Once inside and stuck above the netting, the hawk flew around only occasionally, spending much of its time perched on a sprinkler pipe.

The roof in that part of the station is largely glass, probably confusing the hawk in its attempts to escape, Genter said.

“It was a situation that the bird couldn’t stay in,’’ Genter said. “It had no access to water, no access to food. We had to get him out.’’

On Monday, after a few days of attempting to lure the hawk out, animal rescue workers cut out a section of the netting for the hawk to fly through, she said. As workers began to cut out another section, the hawk, startled by the commotion, flew into a glass pane and fell about 30 feet to the ground, Genter said.

Genter then scooped up the hawk, which was in shock, put it in a carrier, and transported the bird to Tufts veterinary facilities in North Grafton, where it was treated for dehydration and scrapes to its right wing.

Though hawks are common in urban areas, this is the first time in memory that one has been caught behind such netting, which is meant for smaller birds, such as pigeons, Keppeler said. The hawk is lucky it did not suffer worse injuries, he said.

“We’re pleased to have a positive outcome,’’ he said. “This bird wanted to fly away.’’

L. Finch can be reached at lfinch@globe.com.