Port Monmouth woman attacked by hawk

BY KAREN E. BOWES
Staff Writer

MIDDLETOWN — A hawk attacked a 50-year-old Port Monmouth woman on Saturday morning, puncturing her head in three places.

“It felt like getting hit in the back of the head with a board of nails,” said Susan McGrath.

McGrath was taking her daily walk around Harmony School on Murphy Road when the bird attacked.

At first she thought it was a person who attacked her with a heavy object. But then she looked up a saw a large bird, later identified as a red-tailed hawk, landing on a nearby utility pole.

With blood running down the left side of her head, McGrath ran to a nearby friend’s home on Murphy Road for help.

Police arrived on the scene and located a nest with two chicks. Police then witnessed a second hawk “swoop down” near another pedestrian.

The Humane Society of Tinton Falls was contacted and soon a representative arrived on the scene. A male and female hawk, and two newborn hawks, were identified.

Dr. Leonard Soucy, a red-tailed hawk expert with the Raptor Trust, Millington, was then contacted. Soucy explained that the male and female hawk were attacking pedestrians because they were protecting their young from potential predators. He then confirmed that the nest needed to be removed.

The two adult hawks attempted to attack Soucy several times while removing the nest, according to police.

McGrath was treated and released from Riverview Medical Center. She received a tetanus shot, antibiotics and is now recovering at home.

“I feel bad for the birds,” said McGrath. “They were just trying to protect their territory in case I was a predator.”

The chicks were transported to the Raptor Trust, where they will be placed and later released back into the wild.