Hawk crashes through Brasschaat school window, VOC rescues it

Brasschaat (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – A VOC Brasschaat/Kapellen volunteer rescued a hawk that flew through a Brasschaat school window. Coordinator Dafne Van Mieghem said the bird had minor eye damage and was released after a week.

As VRT News reported, a volunteer from the VOC Brasschaat/Kapellen, a wildlife rescue centre in the province of Antwerp, Belgium, had to respond to a remarkable call at a school. A woman who was painting inside the school suddenly heard a hard bang and the sound of glass breaking. 

She first thought someone was trying to break in. When she went to look, she saw that a hawk had flown through a window and ended up inside the building. She immediately contacted the rescue centre for assistance.

According to coordinator Dafne Van Mieghem, a volunteer arrived to catch the bird safely.

“The hawk was in the stairwell, and our volunteer went to capture the animal and take care of it. That went pretty smoothly.”

What happened when a hawk crashed through a Brasschaat school window?

The bird was taken to the VOC for a full check-up and monitoring. The rescue centre explains that such accidents happen regularly because birds of prey do not recognise glass and are misled by reflections that appear like open space.

“The bird only suffered minor eye damage, but that healed quite quickly with eye ointment. After a week at the sanctuary. We were able to release it again last weekend,”

said Van Mieghem.

Birds colliding with glass has been documented for years, but it became more visible during the 1970’s due to an increase in buildings with large window areas; thus, the number of birds colliding with them increased. It wasn’t until the 1990’s that wildlife organisations in Europe began closely monitoring the incidents of birds colliding with glass. They attributed the increase in bird collisions with glass to expanding urban areas and buildings with reflective surfaces, such as office buildings and school buildings.

Beginning in the early 2000’s, wildlife rescue facilities recorded a substantial increase in the number of call-outs related to birds being stunned or injured after colliding with glass, including raptors. The problem was formally recognised by legislation regarding the protection of wildlife around 2010.