GENTRY, Ark. — Birdwatchers and families gathered in Gentry on Sunday, Sept. 24 afternoon to celebrate the release of a bald eagle who has been recovering from injuries and health issues for months.
Back in May, Northsong Wild Bird Rehabilitation (NWBR) consulted on an injured bald eagle after the bird was transferred to the nonprofit from Boone County.
"His prognosis didn't look good. I was actually very concerned that he would not make it to this point to be released again,” said NWBR Founder and Veterinarian, Dr. Emily Warman.
Since then, the medical team has been nursing the bird back to health, treating it for dehydration, emaciation and injuries to its wings.
After a months-long road to recovery, the nonprofit says that the eagle is ready to get back to the wild.
"He is now flying landing. He should be able to hunt appropriately, his body condition has gone back to normal, so all around he or she is doing great," said Dr. Warman.
Dr. Warman explained that the only way to tell the gender of a bald eagle for certain is by doing a blood test. While they weren’t sure of the gender of this bird, the team now suspects it’s a female, due to its larger size.
Dr. Warman says the eagle now weighs in at 11 pounds which is about 4 pounds more than when NWBR received it.
People gathered at SWEPCO’s Eagle Watch Nature Trail to watch the release.
SWEPCO environmental and lab supervisor Ivana Neigler says the electric company has been working with NWBR for two years now to support their efforts to preserve wildlife and provide their nature trail as the location for bird releases like this one.
“We did an owl the first year and we did a red-tailed hawk in the spring,” Neigler said. “It is a great spot because this is a place where all of those types of birds would love to stay."
Even though the NWBR team cared for the bird for months, they did not give it a name, referring to it only as “Patient 0046.” Dr. Warman says the reason behind that decision is important.
"We really try to avoid naming them so that people understand these are wild patients, and we want them to go back into the wild. We really want to minimize the human interaction as much as possible for their welfare,” Dr. Warman said.
After a Q&A session about Patient 0046's journey and a countdown from onlookers, Dr. Warman opened the crate, allowing the eagle to step onto the grass and take off into the sky.
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