Each bird rescue or release is different. Breeds react and behave differently, and each bird has its own personality. I know this after about a dozen rescues/releases. Okay, so maybe I don't know so much, but my mentor, Jim Johnston, after more than 200 rescues alone, has much more experience. That's why they call on him for much of the rescue work, especially for eagles in distress. Eagles require special handling experience to keep the handler safe and the eagle from harming themselves during a rescue, or during a release.
So far I've handled and rescued owls, hawks, and even a turkey vulture (eeeeacchh, they can be a stinky, dirty bird). But an eagle is a different story. Jim has been taking me on calls to see how it's done. Recently, we went on my first baby eagle release. Baby's are different in that you don't release them into flight directly, as you do with adults. That's because they can't fly or fly well. This one was only 10 weeks old, so he needed to be returned as close to her nest as possible, and placed somewhere that mom or dad could easily reach for feeding.
We arrived at the large lakeside residence with it's own private eagles nest very high in one of the surrounding white pines. The mother and sibling peered over the edge of the nest and watched as we moved the carrier close to a stump in a clearing located next to the tree, within sight of the nest. The youtube link below is a video that takes it from there.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7LjCPNYHaQ
Everything you do with an eagle requires close attention to where its feet and beak are, keeping them sufficient distance from your face and arms. As you'll see in the video, the first and most important thing is to control their talons. Those sharp, powerful feet are their primary means of defense, as well as feeding tools. The beak, of course, is another means of feeding, as well as defense. In rescue, the aim is to capture their legs first, never looking them in the eye. At all times, they're looking at your face and eyes, looking for clues as to your intent. Jim says it's best to not give them those clues by staying focused on their legs or elsewhere during the capture. Once the bird is controlled, then the objective is to keep their head away from your upper body, and to fold their big wings back to their body. Wings are also used as a mechanism of defense, more to distract the "attacker." But their use is also a danger to the eagle. All raptors risk injury to their wings when they bat them against an object, since the bones and feathers in a wing are light, hollow and relatively fragile.
That's why Jim is concerned with flipping the bird to get its wings up above his head and, more importantly above the stump to protect the wings from battering. Then he simply plants its feet on the stump and backs away, knowing flight is not in the cards.
Learning about these birds and how they behave is the most fun part of the experience so far.
So far I've handled and rescued owls, hawks, and even a turkey vulture (eeeeacchh, they can be a stinky, dirty bird). But an eagle is a different story. Jim has been taking me on calls to see how it's done. Recently, we went on my first baby eagle release. Baby's are different in that you don't release them into flight directly, as you do with adults. That's because they can't fly or fly well. This one was only 10 weeks old, so he needed to be returned as close to her nest as possible, and placed somewhere that mom or dad could easily reach for feeding.We arrived at the large lakeside residence with it's own private eagles nest very high in one of the surrounding white pines. The mother and sibling peered over the edge of the nest and watched as we moved the carrier close to a stump in a clearing located next to the tree, within sight of the nest. The youtube link below is a video that takes it from there.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7LjCPNYHaQ
Everything you do with an eagle requires close attention to where its feet and beak are, keeping them sufficient distance from your face and arms. As you'll see in the video, the first and most important thing is to control their talons. Those sharp, powerful feet are their primary means of defense, as well as feeding tools. The beak, of course, is another means of feeding, as well as defense. In rescue, the aim is to capture their legs first, never looking them in the eye. At all times, they're looking at your face and eyes, looking for clues as to your intent. Jim says it's best to not give them those clues by staying focused on their legs or elsewhere during the capture. Once the bird is controlled, then the objective is to keep their head away from your upper body, and to fold their big wings back to their body. Wings are also used as a mechanism of defense, more to distract the "attacker." But their use is also a danger to the eagle. All raptors risk injury to their wings when they bat them against an object, since the bones and feathers in a wing are light, hollow and relatively fragile.That's why Jim is concerned with flipping the bird to get its wings up above his head and, more importantly above the stump to protect the wings from battering. Then he simply plants its feet on the stump and backs away, knowing flight is not in the cards.
Learning about these birds and how they behave is the most fun part of the experience so far.
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