I recalled this experience after reading about the bald eagle that was rescued in Oregon this past week. He had been hit by a vehicle on I-84 and had to be euthanized due to the severity of his injuries. This story has a happier ending, but at the outset, you never know.
"There's a really big bird under some brush on our property and it isn't moving much. Another big bird comes and goes like it's visiting, but the one bird won't leave. Would you come and check it out?"
This was the message received at the wildlife center one late winter day. Our director was right on it. It turned out to be an injured female bald eagle. Her mate was bringing her food, faithfully returning each day with a fresh kill. It was lucky he did that, as it kept her alive until she was rescued.
Weak and hurting, but still very feisty, she was swaddled in a big, thick blanket and carefully transported back to the center. Initial assessment showed that one leg was bent at a very bad angle - no doubt broken.
In fact, it was so severely broken that after surgery, she had to wear an external fixation device on the leg for a period of weeks. Trips back to the vet who had done the surgery followed so that x-rays could track healing of the bone. Transporting an eagle in a giant dog kennel in the back of your truck is an interesting experience. You just hope that the bridge isn't closed and traffic is moving well.
Healing was a slow, slow process. More than once we feared that the bone wasn't going to heal properly. The bird looked as miserable as she was. Hunkered in her enclosure, she would scold us loud and long when we approached, even when we carried a nice fresh meal. We all had to keep the faith that she would improve and fly free again. She kept eating, which is a good sign. If a bird or critter stops eating, trouble probably lies ahead.
Over a period of months the bones did heal. It was a day of celebration when she was moved to the flight cage for increased activity. This is bird physical therapy. If you've ever been inactive due to a major injury or illness, you know how weak and wasted muscles can become. Same for birds and animals. She hadn't used her flight muscles for months. Her wings needed strengthening in order to allow her to fly sustained distances and to hunt.
The flight cage is narrow and long with lots of greenery: small trees, grass and shrubs inside. It has high, sturdy perches at each end. Heavy screening provides lots of fresh air, so it feels like outside even though the bird is still captive.
We watched her tentatively stretch her wings and make her first effort at flight in months. It was wobbly and short, but she did it. We put her food at the opposite end to where she liked to perch. And, as we cleaned the big area, she would fly from one end to the other in order to avoid us. This provided valuable exercise. We watched her get stronger and sleeker, and her in-your-face attitude increased too - if possible! But that was a good thing.
Rehab is a slow process. If a bird of prey isn't strong enough to survive at release, all of the bird's and caregivers' efforts will have been wasted. The eagle stayed in the flight cage for a period of weeks until she flew effortlessly and accurately (not missing the perch she was flying to). She ate her food with gusto, leaving just a few feathers and bones each day.
Release day finally came. We try to release eagles in the same area in which they were found when injured. Many months had passed and reports were that the male had found a new mate. This is understandable. His drive was to mate and create more bald eagles and his former mate had disappeared, despite his efforts to help her. We released the female one sunny, cold morning near the Lewis & Clark River.
All the caregivers gathered around, including the vet who had worked so hard to heal her. She was in the giant dog crate again, and one brave volunteer reached around, unlatched the door and quickly pulled it open. She burst from the opening, jumped into the air and quickly flew with strong, deep wing beats. She went quite a distance before wheeling and landing near the top of a big Doug fir.
High 5's all around and a few tears. There's nothing like giving back.
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