A red-tailed hawk swooped into the hearts of some visitors at Mauch Chunk Lake Park on Wednesday.

The hawk, whose name is Katie, was part of the first of a series of Wild Wednesday presentations by environmentalists at the Carbon County Environmental Education Center.

The event was held at the beach pavilion of Mauch Chunk Lake Park and was presented by Cheyenne Meckes, a summer worker with the center. Katie is a resident of the center, having been brought there after being found with a broken wing.

Meckes held the brown-and-white bird on a gloved left hand while telling the dozen or more spectators who attended many facts about the raptor, including distinguishing a male and female species (it’s almost impossible to tell them about), how the female generally lays only one to three eggs, the importance of her sharp talons and how red-tailed hawks are found throughout most of North America.

The audience consisted of youngsters, adults and senior citizens. Meckes, besides sharing her knowledge of the bird, fielded questions from those in attendance. She mentioned that Katie is relatively new to such public presentations and the hawk verified this by periodically flapping her lone, healthy wing.

Besides the hawk, Meckes also brought pelts of various animals found in local woodlands, including bear, skunk and fox. She urged those attending - especially the youngsters - to touch the pelts and then answered questions about the various species.

The Wild Wednesdays will be held at 11 a.m. on Aug. 18 and 25 at the park pavilion. There is no charge and no prior registration is required.

Meckes said she usually brings different animals to each program.