'It's a Miracle'; Hawk Rescued From Half Moon Bay Apartment After Slamming Through Window

HALF MOON BAY (CBS SF) -- A red-railed hawk smashed through a second floor window of a Half Moon Bay apartment comnplex, triggering a rescue effort by firefighters, sheriff's deputies and animal care professionals.

According to the Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA the incident took place on the evening of Aug. 16. A couple on their way to get married were stunned when they saw he hawk crash through the window and called the SPCA.

"Our rescue staff received a call from a man and his fiancée who were outside with their three month old baby on their way to get married in San Francisco when they witnessed a hawk fly into a neighbor's window at their apartment building and crash through the glass," said PHS/SPCA's Communications Manager Buffy Martin Tarbox.

"The hawk was stuck inside the bedroom, and there was great fear he would attempt to fly out through the shattered glass and injure himself."

The resident of the actual apartment the hawk flew into was out of town. Authorities were able to contact the resident and got permission to enter the apartment.

"Coastside Fire Engine 40 raised their ladder to the second floor broken window and safely removed the damaged glass," Tarbox said in a statement. "They then entered the apartment and unlocked the front door, where our staff were waiting to provide the hawk with whatever help proved necessary."

Surprisingly, the bird was uninjured.

"Bird strikes are a common call we receive, but we have never had a hawk entirely break through a window," Tarbox said. "It's a miracle the hawk wasn't injured."