Metro has had problems with Crocs getting snagged in its many escalators. But on Monday morning, a different animal altogether became trapped.
A large bird of prey — a hawk or possibly a falcon — got its talon caught in the bottom of the Benning Road Metrorail escalator around 9 a.m. in Northeast D.C.
Enter an unexpected array of animal rescue workers: transit riders, local residents, Metro employees and firefighters.
First, someone stopped the escalator from moving. Then a rider from the neighborhood held the bird, which firefighters say likely protected it from hurting itself further.
The bird was brownish with light markings and had both a “good-sized” beak plus a wing span of a couple of feet, said D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services spokesman Pete Piringer.
It’s not clear what morsel had attracted the bird to the Metrorail entrance in the first place; food and drink are banned on the train system so rodents and other prey aren’t supposed to be lurking around.
But the Metrorail station is located about one mile from the bird-friendly Anacostia River and close to both the wilds of the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens and the National Arboretum.
Fortunately for the bird, a fire station is also just about a block away.
The firefighters arrived quickly and consulted with animal experts at both the National Zoo and D.C.’s Animal Control.
Firefighters typically squelch fires, pull drivers from car wrecks and attend to the sick. They have rescued riders who have gotten stuck in the transit system’s escalators, usually when shoes, especially the popular plastic Croc sandals, have become trapped in the rising steps. Just last week, they pulled a girl unharmed whose boot got stuck. Usually the patients are human, though.
“We come to work each day expecting the unexpected,” Piringer said.
One firefighter took over holding the bird, while others dismantled an escalator stair to free the snagged claw.
The injuries did not appear significant, Piringer said, and the bird flew up as soon as it was free, alighting on a nearby Shell gas station.
The firefighters stayed to watch for a while longer to ensure the bird didn’t come back or “fall from the sky,” he said.
And then the bird flew away. Another surprise, Metro’s escalator was put back into service immediately.
