The Wild Birds Recovery Centre (CRAS) is rehabilitating a juvenile hawk (Buteo buteo rothschildi) that was rescued on Terceira Island with injuries on the wing. The specimen was then treated by a local veterinary, who referred it to the island of Corvo.

During a visit to CRAS on Thursday, the Regional Secretariats for the Sea, Science and Technology and for Agriculture and the Environment were informed about the rehabilitation of this bird. The specimen still evidences lack of primary and secondary feathers, which is the probable cause for its inability to fly.

An initiative developed by two Corvo islanders and supported by the Regional Government, the CRAS has provided the Azores with a centre designed to recover and rehabilitate wild birds. Currently, it is the only of its kind in the archipelago.

The centre also develops important actions in the area of environmental education and preservation of species.

It also comprises an area with suitable conditions for the treatment of birds and an outdoor space that provides the adequate conditions for the recovery and rehabilitation of species.
The space is designed to rehabilitate specimens in the transition process between captivity and their subsequent release into the wild. However, this species is not native to Corvo and Flores.

The bird will be returned to nature on one of the islands where it occurs, preferably in the same geographical unit where it was found.

This bird of prey, whose subspecies is endemic to the Azores, breeds in forest areas or in small groves in the vicinity of meadows, pastures, agricultural fields. It is an important structural element in the terrestrial ecosystem of the Central and Easter Group islands.

The CRAS may be visited by the public. Those who are interested may schedule a visit at the services of Corvo Natural Park.