JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – If you’ve paying close attention over the past month, you know we’ve been watching a red-tailed hawk fledgling perched atop our tower for four weeks.
The hawk, whom we’re now calling Radar, has been getting bigger and stretching its wings more and more with each passing day. So we thought it was time for an update on its progress.
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You might recall that when Radar was just a baby, its mother was regularly dropping off meals and looking after its fledgling. But since then, we’ve seen less and less of the mother hawk.
On Tuesday, we caught up with Larkin Johansen, senior bird keeper at the Jacksonville Zoo & Gardens, who said the hawk appears to be in great condition and now has all of its adult feathers.
Johansen suspects Radar has begun taking short flights to build up its muscles before it will finally leave the News4Jax tower cam for good.
On Friday, Radar was up on the railing of the tower getting a feel for the wind under its wings. At times Radar lifted into the air, but never more than a few inches from its perch.
You can follow along with Radar's progress below: