5 minute read
FLY LIKE AN EAGLE!
A Special Bald Eagle Release
By: Ron Magill
On March 13th, I received a call from Lloyd Brown, founder of Wildlife Rescue of Dade County, saying that an Audubon Eagle Watch volunteer had called him regarding a bald eagle chick that had fallen out of a nest. A severe storm had come through the area and badly damaged the nest which caused two nestlings occupying it to fall over 80 feet to the ground. Sadly, the other nestling did not survive.
Upon arriving at the nest site, we met with the Eagle Watch volunteer, Jeanne Kaufman, and her husband, Bill, who walked us over to the nest tree. At the base of the tree lay the chick, still not yet fully feathered, and obviously weak and dehydrated. An initial examination also revealed an injury to the right wing. From the time we arrived, we were being carefully watched by the mother, circling over us, vocalizing her displeasure with our presence.
Lloyd and his assistant, Jemma Peterson, gave the eaglet fluids through a tube and contacted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to discuss what needed to be done. Permission was given to transport the chick back to Wildlife Rescue of Dade County where it would be further evaluated and brought to a veterinarian for a more in-depth exam. The sex was determined to be female through a special DNA test done on a feather.
After stabilizing the eaglet, it was brought to avian veterinary specialist, Dr. Don Harris at VCA South Dade Animal Hospital. Though underweight, it otherwise appeared to be in relatively good health. However, X-rays did confirm a fracture of the right wing that required surgery.
Though some experts said that this eagle would never be able to fly, the surgery was a success and over the next several months, she built muscle mass and developed her flying skills in a large free-flight enclosure as well as in an open field while tethered. She was also presented with a variety of food items that she might encounter in the wild. In addition to the fish that eagles are known to eat, she was also given rodents and iguanas, which have become common in South Florida and are now considered invasive. She was given both live and dead food items so that she could demonstrate to us that she could hunt on her own. She quickly learned to fish in an artificial pool and to our surprise, she appeared to enjoy the iguanas! This could be significant in the future as she may become a serious iguana predator and theoretically teach potential offspring to become the same!
After over 5 ½ months of dedicated care and rehabilitation at Wildlife Rescue of Dade County, it was decided that this eagle had fully recovered and was now ready for release! On Saturday, August 21st, she was brought to the border of Everglades National Park where Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava was given the privilege of opening the door to her travel crate to release her. After slowly stepping out of the crate, she looked around at her surroundings, and then majestically took off, flying beautifully
for several hundreds of yards right into a tall pine tree in Everglades National Park. The dozens of special guests in attendance applauded, many with tears in their eyes. It was the perfect ending to several months of hard work against some very strong odds.
During the time of the rehabilitation, I worked with Lloyd Brown to install a custom platform in the nest tree, close to where the original nest had been built. We planned this with the hope and belief that the adult pair would return since bald eagles usually nest in the same location each year, constantly adding to the original nest. Since their original nest had been destroyed by a storm, we hoped they would utilize the more secure platform to rebuild their nest. With a leap of faith, we worked closely with Daniel Montanez of Modern Day Tech Solutions, to install stateof-the-art cameras that would be able to live stream any activity occurring on the platform.
On September 3rd, we were wonderfully surprised to see that the pair had returned and were perching atop the nest tree! Each day after that, they were seen around the tree but did not go near the platform. They seemed to recognize that it was something foreign to them and we were beginning to think that they were not going to accept it and move on to another location. Though getting to this point is incredibly rewarding, there are still many challenges ahead. Stay tuned for a link on the Zoo Miami’s website to live stream the activity on the platform at any time! We hope and pray that this will provide viewers with an amazing window into the world of these majestic raptors, as they lay eggs, incubate them, and then raise the next generation of bald eagles!
