Red-tailed hawk crashes through living room window, landing at dining room table

Credit: Family photo/Via Kiro 7

Credit: Family photo/Via Kiro 7

A family in Bellevue, Washington, returned home to find their front window shattered and a red-tailed hawk in their living room.

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The hawk flew around in the house, breaking vases and another window as it tried to escape.

Kani McKeague said when she came home, her boyfriend's mother was already in the house and pointed out the bird.

"I was like 'Oh my gosh.' It was standing there kind of like this, like a statue," McKeague said.

The family called the non-emergency number for police and was quickly connected to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The hawk was perched on a dining room chair when help arrived.

Sgt. Kim Chandler moved in to carefully capture the hawk as cellphone cameras recorded.

"The beak is pretty formidable but the talons are the business end, that's the most important part," Chandler said on Friday.

"You can absolutely tell by that video that bird was not happy."

Chandler was wearing thick gloves and grabbed the hawk by the talons. He put pantyhose over the head of the hawk and pulled it down over the wings to keep it contained, but to still allow it to breath and move.

He took the hawk home and put it in a box overnight. The next morning he put the hawk on his deck.

"She's posturing and her wings are out and her mouth is wide open. Like she was going to eat me, right now," said Chandler.

Instead, she flew away and was quickly chased by crows and landed in a nearby tree.

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