Environment: Watch It Like a Hawk

Toyota team members are creatures of habitat.
 
And a few who test vehicles for performance and reliability have become a part-time pit crew for red-tailed hawks at Toyota Arizona Proving Ground (TAPG) in Phoenix.
 
The situation took flight in June 2008 when a plumed pair built a nest on a utility pole at the facility. Unfortunately one of the adults died, leaving behind a chick.
 
“We called in the experts,” says Daryl Petry, TAPG senior specialist. “Liberty Wildlife brought the baby hawk to their rehabilitation center and nurtured it for six months then brought it back for release.”
 
Hawks often refurbish nests used in previous years, and team members hoped to entice the surviving parental unit to return. But for safety concerns – and to avoid power outages – team members put up a 15-meter pole and transferred the nest to it.
 
Giving the roost a boost worked. The high-traffic hatchery has been home to eight additional hawks, and team members continue to watch over them.  Earlier this year, they found a chick out of the nest, and again they called Liberty Wildlife, which rehabilitated the young hawk.
 
“Many thanks to the wildlife specialists for helping us make this a success,” says Petry.  “The hawks are amazing to watch.”
 
To see other ways Toyota and its people nurture nature, shake a tail feather over to Toyota’s 2015 North American Environmental Report.