Eagle released on Wed Jan 20 (Short Hills NJ)

[Donna]

The prognosis is very good for a bald eagle that was rescued in the area of the Canoe Brook Reservoir in Short Hills on Dec. 17.
The young female has been recuperating from lead poisoning at The Raptor Trust and was scheduled to be returned to the wild Wednesday afternoon. The eagle will be released on he grounds of the New Jersey American Water Company on JFK Parkway in Short Hills where he was captured after water company workers spotted the raptor in distress.
To celebrate its rehabilitation and release, the company will donate $1,000 to the Raptor Trust.
“We named the eagle Brook as she was found by the Canoe Brook reservoir and are very pleased that she was brought back to health and will be released,� said Richard Barnes, external affairs manager for the New Jersey American Water Company. “We are a very environmentally conscience company and we appreciate The Raptor Trust’s ongoing efforts to aid native species that frequent our properties and elsewhere in New Jersey.�
Workers from New Jersey American Water Company alerted The Raptor Trust, a Millington-based wild bird rehabilitation center, after spotting the bird in distress. The Trust’s Groundskeeper Benjamin Montgomery and Chief Vetinary Technician Cathy Malok participated in the rescue that took several hours. “We had to corner the eagle using kayaks because it was between the flood plain and the reservoir,� said Montgomery. “And we had to do a little swimming which was quite an adventure on a 30-degree day.� Finally, the exhausted bird came to rest on a log long enough to be captured and brought to the Trust’s state-of-the-art medical infirmary.
Blood tests determined the young female was suffering from lead poisoning and resulting neurological issues caused it not to be able to fly. “It is fair to say that there is lead out it nature,� explained Montgomery. “If an eagle eats enough affected animals it can suffer lead poisoning from bioaccumulation.�
The eagle was put on chelation therapy and given medicine that binds with the lead, which allows the lead to be excreted in the bird’s urine. Montgomery said that therapy was completed last week and the eagle was transferred to an exterior flight cage for rehabilitation. “When the bird can demonstrate competent flight and continued positive eating habits, then we can release her back into the wild,� said Montgomery. Two other eagles, an adult and a youth, were spotted in the area of the reservoir so it is likely the female will be released back where it was found. Interestingly, bald eagles have a brown then mottled brown coat of feathers until they reach maturity around the age of five. It is not until maturity that the eagle will sport its majestic white feathered head. Montgomery estimated that the young female was probably born last spring due to its dark brown color.
For more than 30 years, the Trust has treated and released thousands of birds from eagles to Red Tailed hawks to Snowy owls and Peregrine falcons. Close to 100 birds are full-time residents including two bald eagles -- one in residence since 1980 and the other a three-year-old sent from a facility in Maine after he had been shot.
The Raptor Trust is a non-profit facility that relies on donations from visitors to its open aviaries and education center along with donations from businesses and corporations. It is open seven days a week during daytime hours. Non-monetary donations of items needed to keep the Trust running are welcome as well. For more information, visit theraptortrust.org.

[Donna]

Oh, here's her pic! 

[valhalla]

Great Story Donna!  I am VERY familiar with that stretch of road and water - part of the old commute to Pru.

[Donna]

Great Story Donna!  I am VERY familiar with that stretch of road and water - part of the old commute to Pru.

I'm glad Jersey gets in the news once in a while. 

[valhalla]

Great Story Donna!  I am VERY familiar with that stretch of road and water - part of the old commute to Pru.

I'm glad Jersey gets in the news once in a while. 

Me too!