DEC officer rescues turkey vulture
| 18 May 2018 | 06:35
Photo provided by the DEC Environmental Conservation Police Officer Melissa Burgess assisted with the rescue of a vulture that had been struck by a vehicle along Route 17M in Chester earlier this month.
CHESTER — Back on May 1, state Department of Environmental Conservation Police Officer Melissa Burgess received a call of a turkey vulture that had been struck by a vehicle on State Route 17M in the Town of Chester.
Two motorists had stopped to assist the injured bird, which suffered a broken wing.
Burgess arrived on the scene and met officers from the Chester Police Department. The officer grabbed the feisty bird and secured it in a crate.
The injured animal was taken to Flannery Animal Hospital, where the broken wing was treated and then placed with a licensed wildlife rehabilitator.
The DEC reported that the bird is expected to make a full recovery and will be released back to the wild when it is at full strength.