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Injured bird beginning to fly again
Published July 22, 2009
BELLVILLE — As Rebecca McKeever cautiously approached the ledge where the bald eagle perched regally Tuesday morning, it flew across the 60-foot flight enclosure in a self-protective measure before circling back around and resuming its careful watch on her rehabber.
A few weeks ago, that flight wasn’t possible because the bird’s injuries from gunshot pellets prevented it from flying well, McKeever said. She still tires after a few minutes of flying, but the bird has really recovered in the last few weeks, McKeever said.
“My gut feels because of the type of injury it is — which is a radius and ulna injury — those heal up pretty well, so I wasn’t worried that she wouldn’t recover,” said Dana Simón of Gulf Coast Wildlife Rescue.
Once the bald eagle is able to fly back and forth in the 60-foot run for longer periods without tiring, she’ll be moved to a 100-foot run with higher ledges to simulate trees.
“A lot of times, the problem is getting off the ground, that vertical movement,” McKeever said of wing injuries.
The higher ledges will test the eagle’s ability to make those movements, she said.
“We hope to release her in the fall,” McKeever said. “It’ll be exciting and I can’t wait for that release.”
Two men fishing on the Brazos River in southern Brazoria County saw the bald eagle fall from its nest April 3 and contacted Simón to help care for the bird.
From there, because Simón doesn’t have a federal permit to care for bald eagles, the bird was taken to McKeever, founder of Lonestar Wildlife Rescue Inc. in Bellville.
“When she came in to us, we stabilized her, which is usually a lot of fluids because they’re dehydrated by the time we get them,” McKeever said. “Then we stabilize the wing fracture because what hurts is bone on bone, so we stabilize that with a wrap that we do on wings.”
The 14-pound bird can exert about 1,400 pounds of pressure with its talons, so it requires two people to handle the bird safely, she said.
Once the bald eagle was stable for a few days, she was taken to the Texas A&M zoo clinic and
evaluated to see if surgery on the injured right wing was necessary, McKeever said.
The bald eagle’s injuries didn’t require surgery, and it was taken back to Bellville for rehabilitation.
“The eagle was also lead-poisoned because of all the pellet shots in her, so she had to go through two rounds of chelation therapy because one round wasn’t enough,” McKeever said. “That meant catching her up twice a day and giving her injections just under her skin.”
The bald eagle appears to be the same one Simón cared for in 2001 after it was found in Holiday Lakes with a left wing fracture. That time, it was rehabilitated in San Antonio and was tagged before being released in December 2002.
“The 2002 wing didn’t drop as much as this one has, but that’s what she’s got now,” McKeever said as she watched the bird begin her awkward flight in the enclosure, favoring the right wing injured in April.
Left behind in the eagle’s nest along the Brazos River were two eaglets, but the male took over their care when the female was injured, McKeever said.
“The male has been able to successfully raise them up, so that’s been good,” she said.
Shooting a bald eagle is a federal misdemeanor unless it’s the second or more offense, in which case it’s a felony, said Marty Hernandez, a special agent with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Houston.
“Eagles get shot all the time, and sometimes we’re able to solve the case and sometimes
we’re not able to because of the remote areas that these occur,” Hernandez said.
Conviction on the misdemeanor charge can carry six months in federal prison, Hernandez said.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife officials are hoping someone will come forward with information about who might have shot the eagle, he said.
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call (281) 876-1520.
Erin McKeon is a reporter for The Facts. Contact her at (979) 237-0152.
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