Idaho Eagles Returned to the Wild

Birds of Prey NW is pleased to announce the release back to the wild of two Bald Eagles.  Two young Bald Eagles from the Birds of Prey Northwest rehabilitation facility in northern Idaho were released on July 1, 2009. Two young Golden Eagles are currently undergoing rehabilitation and will be released in their respective habitats in the Fall.

These eagles are quite special youngsters who were all brought to our facility for rehabilitation and are now rejoining their wild brethren. Never before have so many rehabilitated birds been released in a short period of time. They are also special as they exemplify the three goals of Birds of Prey Northwest: Rescue, Education and Research.

Baby Bald Eagles in their ‘floating’ nest before rescue

RESCUE – Two starving baby Bald Eagles were found in their nest which had fallen and was floating in flood waters last year. Their parents had abandoned this brother and sister pair. Wildlife officials intervened and brought the eagles to the Birds of Prey facility, they were given to a ‘foster mom’ – an adult female Bald Eagle. A foster parent prevents the young birds from becoming imprinted on humans and fosters appropriate social development. The birds were housed in a large aviary that allowed them to practice flying. Prior to release the eagles were banded with USFWS leg bands and fitted with radios to monitor their movements.

Birds of Prey NW volunteers with the two baby Bald Eagles and the surrogate adult eagle (left).

The two immature Golden Eagles

One of the young Golden Eagles, a female, was found by several off-duty FBI agents in a field. The bird was unconscious and may have collided with a small airplane. As a result of her injuries, she has experienced a difficult and lengthy recovery. Our hope is that she will be ready for release in the Fall. The other Golden Eagle, a young male, was found at the bottom of a cliff, starving, in shock and with internal injuries. This bird was in the eagle equivalent of an ICU for a lengthy recovery and hopefully will be ready for a Fall release.

EDUCATION – these magnificent birds provide a compelling story of their plight due to the impact of human activities, and their subsequent rescue and release in the hands of caring humans. Humans can have an often devastating impact on wild eagles… but through human compassion and effort we can undue these adverse effects as witnessed in these four birds.

Osprey modeling satellite transmitter

RESEARCH – this is where you come in. Each of the four eagles is fitted with transmitters so that we can track their travels following release. With most releases the birds are banded (as will these birds) in an attempt to determine their fate upon release. Sadly, through banding we only learn the fate of a small percentage of released birds. These four eagles will be fitted with solar powered satellite transmitters that will allow us to track them anywhere in the world for up to five years. We will display their satellite tracking data on our website, providing valuable information about where they go and how they are faring. This information will guide our future releases and assist federal officials in monitoring the now delisted Bald Eagle.

Birds of Prey Northwest experienced the benefits of satellite tracking devices while assisting Dr. Wayne Melquist of the University of Idaho as young ospreys were monitored over the last several years in South Dakota reintroductions.

The map indicates the  positions of the two young Bald Eagles shortly after their  release on July 1, 2009.  The transmitter on the male failed in the Fall of 2009 for unknown reasons.  To see the current location of the female (named Halie) CLICK HERE.

YOUR ROLE

The transmitters, devices, and satellite tracking time are expensive. Each custom fitted solar satellite transmitter costs $2500 and satellite tracking costs $1000/yr/bird.

You can help by contributing to one of the following:

This is your opportunity to support the release back to the wild of four eagles to fly free over Idaho.

We hope you can help us in this historic Eagle release.