The third-floor staff at Medical City Las Colinas have a front row seat to mother nature. A couple years ago two red-tailed hawks nested in the Bald Cypress trees just outside the Emergency Room.
"A lot of people will come in here and walk over to the window first," said Sheila Guidry, a registered nurse.
Medical City Las Colinas is in the middle of a $16 million expansion project that would add seven beds to the Emergency Department and expansions to the Lab and Pharmacy.
"It's been in several variations of design for the past 10 years," said Kyle Suthers who is the Director of Facilities.
Suthers climbed onto the roof to find three eggs in the hawk nest. News of the eggs spread quickly to the break room which we should mention is the Labor and Delivery Floor.
"I just think its comparable to what we do in here," Guidry said.
The hawk is a federally protected bird and once it lays egss, even more protected. Migratory Bird Treaty Act makes it illegal to disturb the nest any native bird without a permit with some exceptions.
"That tree is the birds until the babies leave the nest," said Suthers.
Suthers told WFAA that it could take 16 weeks for the baby hawks leave the nest. This means a portion of the project is at a brief halt. The hospital says there are still other areas of construction that can still be completed. The hospital says the full expansion should still finish by middle part of next year.
"This is the kind of progress-halter you'd like to see," said Suthers.