Injured Bald Eagle Gets Mouth-to-Beak CPR

Raptor, Newly Named 'Patriot,' Doing Better; Fate Uncertain

By Barney Lerten, KTVZ.COM

BEND, Ore. -- He’s still not out of the woods, so to speak, but a badly injured bald eagle is still recovering well, a Bend veterinarian said Friday – despite a scare two days ago in which he had to perform mouth-to-beak CPR on the raptor, newly named “Patriot.”

Two La Pine women found the bald eagle, apparently hit by a car, near Crane Prairie Reservoir last month. Three weeks later, about halfway through a hoped-for recovery period, the bird’s fractured wing is healing, as is his dislocated elbow and wrist, said Dr. Jeff Cooney of Bend Veterinary Clinic.

After a contest in which NewsChannel 21 assisted, the eagle has been named Patriot – quite fitting for America’s national symbol. More than 20 names were submitted, from “Spirit” to “Bend Franklin,” and while it was close, “Patriot” received the highest number of votes, Cooney said.

“He has gained 10 percent of his body weight and is eating fish like crazy,” Cooney said Friday. “His attitude is greatly improved, and he’s starting to act like a normal, rambunctious bald eagle.”

But there are still worrisome signs.

“The dislocated shoulder and his paralyzed right leg are his major problems right now,” Cooney said.

Then there was the frightening moment during Wednesday’s exam and physical therapy when, under anesthesia, Patriot stopped breathing.

Cooney stepped in and performed “mouth to beak” resuscitation to get the bird breathing again.

Still, at this point, Cooney says he’s not sure Patriot will ever be able to return to the wild.

And if he’s unable to fully recovery, Cooney said they could be forced to euthanize him, rather than continue living in pain.

“I kind of like the guy,” the vet said. “If he could get his foot back, a little better,” the odds would improve markedly, thus a protective blue “bootie” that completed a red, white and blue outfit, only fitting.

But “his shoulder is really badly damaged,” Cooney said. “It’s not a surgical repair, so if he was going to live forever in pain from the shoulder injury, I’d have to euthanize him.”

The next three weeks should tell the tale.

“If he could live, any facility (for raptors) would like to have him,” Cooney said. “He was just hurt so bad.”

http://www.ktvz.com/news/28568847/detail.html

Great Outdoors: Bald eagle sighting worth the odds

4:09 AM, May. 14, 2011

The more you go out there, the more you will see. It's a matter of playing the odds. The odds of encountering a bald eagle at 50 feet? Not so good, if you go out one time. If you go out 1,000, or 10,000 maybe, at least you just might get a shot.

I'm in that 10,000 group to be sure. And by sheer repetition, I'd actually seen a bald eagle that close on one occasion before getting lucky again late last week.

The first up-close sighting took place in a kayak, when I floated near the riverbank underneath a low-hanging tree branch. Oblivious to the fact a bald eagle perched on it, I practically capsized when the eagle took off right above me.

Fast forward three years to a fine sunny morning this May. I am walking a path 50 yards from the banks of the Chenango, a river I love. I'm not thinking bald eagles. I'm not thinking at all. I am sniffing the air. I am seeking wildflowers. I am listening for vireos singing their spring breeding songs.

A wetland pool by the trail also gets my attention. I scan fallen logs jutting out of the water, hoping turtles have clambered up on them to bask in the sun. I've also seen wood ducks here. I've seen herons and plenty of frogs.

So much to sense and drink in on this morning. Not much room for a thought of bald eagles. But wait. What is that, 40 yards up the trail, in a spruce at the edge of the wetland? Reflecting the sun, like a brand new softball, a disc of bright white offsets deep green spruce needles, on a branch 15 feet up the tree.

It cannot be, can it? It most certainly can — that softball is a bald eagle's head. Viewed through binoculars, it looks wet from a recent downpour. But the sun blazes down. Not a raindrop in sight. Has the eagle just dived for a fish or a duck in the pool?

That question, once posed, swirls around me like thick river fog. "Perhaps," is the answer, but whatever took place several minutes before takes a back seat to what happens now. I can't turn around. I must walk toward the eagle if I want to return to my car. And the eagle will fly when I take my first steps. They don't let people walk up to see them.

So much for what usually happens. Next thing I know, I am standing directly across the small pool from the eagle. Thirty yards away, the snoozing bird barely can keep its eyes open. I watch while that white head, magnified through field glasses, morphs from a softball to beach ball in size.

Last year in New York, 173 breeding pairs of bald eagles produced 244 young. A fair number of those birds fledged here in Central New York. Take a walk by a river, a wetland, a lake. The odds just might be in your favor.

Marsi is a freelance writer from Vestal. E-mail him at rmarsi@stny.rr.com

http://www.stargazette.com/article/20110515/LIFE12/105150311/Great-Outdoors-Bald-eagle-sighting-worth-odds?odyssey=nav|head

Walkers spot missing bald eagle Pilgrim in Perthshire

Pilgrim has a 7ft wingspan and was hand-reared in captivity

3 May 2011

Fears are growing for a bald eagle, described as a "big softie", who has been missing from a falconry in Perthshire since Saturday.

Nine-year-old Pilgrim has been sighted by walkers in the Sherriffmuir hills, a few miles from his home at Phoenix Falconry, near Auchterarder.

He was chased from there at the weekend by a pair of wild buzzards.

Staff at the centre have been unable to catch him and said it was now "a race against time" to rescue the eagle.

Pilgrim, who has a 7ft (2.1m) wingspan, was hand-reared in captivity and does not know how to hunt and feed himself in the wild.

It was feared that he had flown hundreds of miles away but several sightings over the weekend suggest he has remained closer to home.

Head falconer Adrian Hallgarth said: "Some walkers spotted him on Sunday on Sheriffmuir, and we had several reliable sightings on Monday evening.

"On each occasion these people were alerted by him being beaten up by buzzards.

"In the air he presents a large target for these aggressive birds, so he'll be driven to ground to keep a low profile and that's making it harder to find him. It is a race against time now."

Mr Hallgarth said he was convinced Pilgrim remained in the area and said he was worried the bird of prey could be mobbed to death by other birds, killed on a road or even shot.

He added: "He can't hunt and my greatest fear is that in desperation he will go for road kill on the nearby A9 and be run over. Or he could be shot by someone trying to protect their sheep.

"It is also possible he could be mobbed to death as buzzards and crows are protecting their nests at this time of year and will see him as a threat."
Tracking equipment

This is the third time Pilgrim has gone missing from the Perthshire falconry.

Tracking equipment used to locate him after previous escapes failed to register anything over the weekend.

The eagle is used to being handled by hundreds of visitors at the falconry, but inexperienced members of the public were warned not to approach him.

Staff at the centre are continuing their search.

Mr Hallgarth added : "I am his 'dad'. If he sees me he will come straight to me. I just hope it is not too late."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-13268112