Bald Eagle Release on Saturday

**CanoeGuru** · 08-19-2009, 11:47 AM

Raptor Recovery has a female bald eagle they've been rehabilitating, and she's ready to return to the wild. They'll be releasing her on Saturday at 12:30 at Haworth Park in Bellevue.

She was found by a fisherman on the bank of the Missouri River, and was blind because of a large amount of lead found in her system. She's now regained her sight and strength and is ready to go home.

thedarkarcher · 08-19-2009, 01:17 PM

do they know what the source of the lead was? fish?

jarredbehrendt · 08-19-2009, 09:32 PM

That is pretty remarkable, great news! How long did it take to rehabilitate her, and how do they get the lead out

?

**CanoeGuru** · 08-26-2009, 05:27 PM

I was told the lead came from eating ducks that had ingested lead. They told me that even though waterfowl hunters no longer use lead shot, there's still plenty of it in the environment and when an eagle eats a duck with lead in it, the eagle absorbs the lead.

It took several months to rehab the eagle - they didn't give me an exact time. The treatment involved shots a couple of times a day, then a blood draw every so often to see where the lead levels were, and then more shots when they discovered the lead levels still too high.

Here's a photo of the release. Photo is by George Jones and is copyrighted, so please do not distribute it.

Alex T. · 08-27-2009, 12:47 PM

I saw that bird when we dropped off some snow geese about a month ago. Pretty cool to see some beautful birds up close.

Alex

tmn515 · 09-01-2009, 11:45 AM

AWESOME!!! Very awesome post!

Troy

08-19-2009, 11:47 AM	#1 (permalink)
CanoeGuru CanoeGuru is wishing to be outdoors. Moderator Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Lincoln Posts: 1,869 Thanks: 113 Thanked 214 Times in 143 Posts	Bald Eagle Release on Saturday Raptor Recovery has a female bald eagle they've been rehabilitating, and she's ready to return to the wild. They'll be releasing her on Saturday at 12:30 at Haworth Park in Bellevue. She was found by a fisherman on the bank of the Missouri River, and was blind because of a large amount of lead found in her system. She's now regained her sight and strength and is ready to go home. __________________ "Survival depends on being able to suppress anxiety and replace it with calm, clear, quick and correct reasoning..." -Sheck Exley

08-19-2009, 01:17 PM	#2 (permalink)
thedarkarcher thedarkarcher is thinking inside the box, the tackle box. 2008 Buck Bash Archery Division Champion Join Date: May 2008 Location: Lincoln Posts: 3,373 Thanks: 2,510 Thanked 1,408 Times in 642 Posts	do they know what the source of the lead was? fish? __________________ I still wish I could breathe underwater. -Ned Plimpton/Kingsley Zissou

08-19-2009, 09:32 PM	#3 (permalink)
jarredbehrendt jarredbehrendt is Dreaming of Paradise Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Omaha, NE for now.... Certified Youth Fishing Instructor Posts: 2,472 Thanks: 595 Thanked 403 Times in 301 Posts Blog Entries: 68	That is pretty remarkable, great news! How long did it take to rehabilitate her, and how do they get the lead out? __________________ Fish when you can...... Work when you have to.

08-26-2009, 05:27 PM	#4 (permalink)
CanoeGuru CanoeGuru is wishing to be outdoors. Moderator Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Lincoln Posts: 1,869 Thanks: 113 Thanked 214 Times in 143 Posts	I was told the lead came from eating ducks that had ingested lead. They told me that even though waterfowl hunters no longer use lead shot, there's still plenty of it in the environment and when an eagle eats a duck with lead in it, the eagle absorbs the lead. It took several months to rehab the eagle - they didn't give me an exact time. The treatment involved shots a couple of times a day, then a blood draw every so often to see where the lead levels were, and then more shots when they discovered the lead levels still too high. Here's a photo of the release. Photo is by George Jones and is copyrighted, so please do not distribute it. __________________ "Survival depends on being able to suppress anxiety and replace it with calm, clear, quick and correct reasoning..." -Sheck Exley Last edited by CanoeGuru; 08-26-2009 at 05:29 PM..

08-27-2009, 12:47 PM	#5 (permalink)
Alex T. Alex T. is kinda diggin' the brown stained waders Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: under the doors of a laydown blind Certified Youth Fishing Instructor Posts: 5,264 Thanks: 0 Thanked 591 Times in 393 Posts	I saw that bird when we dropped off some snow geese about a month ago. Pretty cool to see some beautful birds up close. Alex __________________ MUD........ A SQUISHY KINDA FUN

09-01-2009, 11:45 AM	#6 (permalink)
tmn515 tmn515 is fishing Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Lincoln, NE NEFGA Line Recycling Volunteer Posts: 1,812 Thanks: 848 Thanked 360 Times in 299 Posts	AWESOME!!! Very awesome post! Troy

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