It's time to look at another one of our memorable patients from 2022. Cooper's Hawk 22-459 arrived at ORC on June 9 from our partners at Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network (SBWCN). This nestling hawk had severe facial swelling around the right eye. He was diagnosed with severe infraorbital sinusitis and conjunctivitis. The infraorbital sinus in birds sits just under the eye, and sinus infections can lead to infection around the eyes (and vice versa) simply due to their close anatomical proximity. Luckily, radiographs of the skull did not reveal any evidence that the infection had invaded the bones of the skull, and the young bird was otherwise uninjured, though in thin body condition. Our patient was treated with two different kinds of antibiotics to treat the infection, as well as with multiple pain relievers and an antibiotic eye drop. This young hawk also needed to be tong-fed by our staff multiple times daily because of his age. The Cooper's Hawk responded incredibly well to antibiotics, and by July 1, all facial swelling and evidence of infection had completely resolved. He was soon moved in with our other young Cooper's Hawks, conditioned in one of our outdoor pens, and released on July 24! There are still a few hours left to make your tax-deductible donation to Ojai Raptor Center for 2022. Click link in bio to donate. #Raptor #birdsofprey #raptors #conservation #2022 #hawks #birds #wildlife