The other day we recieved a call in the middle of the nite from a homeowner that had a giant bird in her back yard tangled up in some trees and she didnt want the neighbors dog to be able to get at it and it appeared that it was having trouble trying to fly with its wings remaining wide open when we showed up she quickly showed me where the bird was and as i approached the tangle of trees i could see we would be dealing with a mature Eagle we moved our holding cage as close to the bird as possible and with the use of our net and a towel to drape over its head to try and keep it from stressing out we were able to transfer the giant bird to the cage we held the bird overnite in one of our rehab kennels that had perches and a pool of water
the next morning i then transported the bird to the wildlife div of the spca and when i returned to pick up my cage they assured me that the bird had been hydrated and that someone from Cornel had made the trip down to west seneca ny to retrieve the eagle for rehab
the next day i recieved a call from the US fish and wildlife div they wanted to know more in detail about what had happened and to just let me know that the bird was still alive and from the xrays that were taken showed clearly that someone had shot the bird with a bb gun
im not sure how that could happen and why someone would want to shoot one of these birds they exsplained that the bird was at least 5yrs old and had a 71/2 ft wingspan they had thanked us for getting that guy out of trouble and assured me that he was doing well

Maybe it was going after chickens or someone’s pet?

I like how we didn’t see them when I was young to now they are fairly common. I still see it as a treat when I get to watch one.

Great job Bob, hoping for a great recovery.

Almost commonplace here on the rivers, but still a real treat to see.

Tastes like otter….

Black market for eagle feathers is strong.

Good Job handling it Bob