Trending
When a sick bald eagle was found last October, it was too weak to support its head, but, last week, after months of rehabilitative services, it was healthy enough to return to the Bellwood area.
The eagle, a juvenile male, was found by Norfolk Southern employees in October on the railroad’s property near Pinecroft, said state Game Commission Wildlife Conservation Officer William Brehun.
A deputy wildlife conservation officer, Tom Schirf, was able to retrieve the bird and transport it to Centre Wildlife Care in Port Matilda, where it was given medical attention and rehabilitated, said Brehun, who explained he was not involved in the eagle’s recovery.
Robyn Graboski, Centre Wildlife Care’s executive director, said the eagle was feeble when it arrived at Centre Wildlife Care.
“This bird, when it came to us, it was not able to fly,” she said.
“It was not able to walk, and it had trouble holding its head up,” Graboski said.
The eagle was also severely underweight, Graboski said, adding that medical tests were necessary to determine the bird’s illness, which was discovered to be West Nile virus.
“Typically when we get a bird with West Nile virus it’s not real obvious,” she said. “The only way we really know is to do a blood test.”
West Nile virus, which is commonly transmitted through mosquito bites, causes neurological symptoms and can quickly kill some birds like crows and ravens, Graboski said.
“They usually die very quickly,” Graboski said. “Most of them do not recover from West Nile virus.”
To abate West Nile, a bird is often given antibiotics and put on a liquid diet until it is healthy enough to eat solid foods, Graboski said, noting on average it takes about a week for birds to return to solid foods.
In the eagle’s case, the bird also had to be exercised to regain its flight muscles. At Centre Wildlife Care, this is achieved by allowing the bird time in a flight enclosure, Graboski said.
Graboski said the Centre treats about 1,500 common species, which are all given the same level of care, but some species, such as the Bald Eagle, require additional resources.
“It’s more expensive to rehabilitate a bald eagle, that’s for sure,” she said, explaining those cost stem from the additional medical procedures and food consumption associated with the large birds.
In his three years policing the area, Brehun said he’s aware of only one other injured bald eagle recovered by the game commission in this region.
“The nation’s symbol, the bald eagle, is not as common as some of the other species we see,” he said. “It’s a rare experience.”
According to a Game Commission news release, bald eagles have made a “tremendous comeback,” with recent surveys in south central Pennsylvania showing increased sightings and nesting sites.
Graboski said she’s worked to care for “several over the past few years” and added that the Centre is currently caring for a bird even more uncommon in this region – a golden eagle, which exceeds the large bald eagles in size.
Golden eagles do not have a nesting population in this area, so the one in Centre Wildlife’s care likely was migrating through when it fell ill, Graboski said.
The injured bald eagle was released last Friday near a reservoir in the Bellwood area, Brehun said.
“It’s kind of a safe area,” Brehun said of the strategically chosen area. “There’s not a lot of potential danger in that area.”
Also, the location near the water will provide the eagle with a good food source, as the like to eat fish, Graboski said.
“In the winter time, when everything is frozen over, they actually eat waterfowl,” she said.
The Game Commission news release said the bird immediately took to the skies upon release.
“It’s truly gratifying to see such a magnificent bird get a second chance, and I’m glad I was able to have a hand in it,” Schirf said in a statement.
Mirror Staff Writer Sean Sauro is at 946-7535.