The hawk downed at City Hall by falcons, returns to the wild — with a new name

His head clear and eyesight keen enough to spy a scurrying mouse, Dilworth the red-tailed hawk flew to his new home Wednesday morning.

Wherever that might be.

The 1-year-old raptor downed March 25 during an attack of peregrine falcons at Philadelphia City Hall, was released at the Fairmount Park Horticultural Center.

He bolted straight into tree canopy, quickly lost from sight.

The staff at the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, who treated the bird, named him after Dilworth Plaza where he had been found amid a busy lunchtime crowd.

The bird was helped by workers with the Center City District (CCD) when he was initially downed in March and stood stunned just outside the Dilworth Plaza Cafe until finally attempting to take off.

» READ MORE: Red-tailed hawk downed at City Hall is safe, but with some trauma

But Dilworth was again bombarded by the two falcons who were likely defending a nest. He crashed to the café’s roof, where he remained stunned. CCD workers climbed a ladder to monitor him until help arrived.

Normally, staff at the nonprofit Schuylkill Center try not to name the 3,000 animals they help each year, for fear of getting attached. But Dilworth’s story reached such a large audience that he became a local minor celebrity.

“When he came in, he sustained some head trauma that also left some ocular damage,” said Sydney Glisan, interim director of the Schuylkill Center’s wildlife clinic. “He received NSAIDs pain medication to help with the swelling in the brain, and also got medicated eye drops.”

The drops helped with hemorrhaging in the back of Dilworth’s eye.

Wildlife clinic staff tested the eye with light and it did not constrict as it should have.

“That was like a telltale sign that some of the neurons were not firing off properly,” Glisan said.

Glisan said the recovery took some time.

“But you could really see his attitude switch from when he was hurting, and feeling down and out,” Glisan said. “He wasn’t even standing up when he first arrived, and then he really, really perked up.”

Vets at the center gave the OK to allow Dilworth outside to regain strength.

From then on, recovery came quick.

“He was with us in a smaller space. So once we got him outside, he was fast. He immediately started flying. He showed that he was strong and independent. He was definitely ready to go.”

Glisan said workers at the wildlife clinic tested Dilworth by releasing mice to see his reaction and whether his eyes were working well enough for him to return to the wild.

“He did great,” Glisan said. “He was able to catch them, no problem.”

Glisan said the hawk was hatched sometime in 2024, so he still very young. It’s not clear where he’ll end up.

Red-tailed hawks are partial migrants and very territorial. So he could remain in Philadelphia. He was not banded because he was not part of a regular program set up to do so.

Dilworth won’t reach sexual maturity until he’s about 4. And that’s about when his now-brown tail will turn red.

“He needs to establish his own space,” Glisan said. “That’s probably what led him to Center City and then ultimately getting hurt.”

Mae Axelrod, a spokesperson for the Schuylkill Center, said the center has the only staff licensed to operate a wildlife clinic in the city. The center operates as a nonprofit without direct government support.

It’s seen the number of animals that it handles swell.

“If you’re looking in the city of Philadelphia for a place to take an animal, we’re the only one, and we’re not supported by city, state or federal funding,” Axelrod said. “We’re entirely supported by individual donors and gifts.”

She said the number of animals they take in has been on the rise. Development and climate change have prompted animals to change behaviors and breeding, and have caused more interactions between them and humans.

Dilworth is one of many animals the wildlife clinic has helped in recent months.

He was lucky, Glisan said, to be spotted by those who helped him at City Hall.

“He found the right people at the right time,” Glisan said. “I always say wildlife finds the people it needs.”