Hawk Creek Wildlife Center is one of New York State's leading rehabilitation centers for native wildlife.  Each year we have cared for as many as 450 injured and orphaned patients.  Our ultimate goal is each of these cases is to release the patient back into the wild.  Through the care and treatment of our native wildlife, we gain valuable insight into the environmental problems that are affecting both wildlife and man.  The information that we learn about in our "natural laboratory" is used in our education program.  Our hope is to inspire a greater reverence for all living things, and to foster kinder attitudes toward our natural environment, hopefully lessening man's impact on this planet. Hawk Creek takes in 200 to 500 patients each year, 90% of which are birds.  Expert veterinary care is provided by Dr. Matthew Dunaif, DVM, and Dr. Carl Tomaschke, DVM.  Those animals that are not releasable are used for our educational and breeding programs.   Dr. Matthew Dunaif tends to a black bear cub brought to our facility. The American kestrel (Falco sparverius) is just one of hundreds of species that Hawk Creek has rehabilitated over the last two decades, an important effort that helps keep local wildlife healthy in the face of human encroachment. Matt Zymanek and a group of Hawk Creek volunteers release several American kestrels (Falco sparverius) on a warm day in August. They will fan out and eventually come to inhabit fields, like the one you see in this picture, all over the surrounding region. For more information, be sure to also visit other sections of our site, The Talon, and meet the animals!