Return to the wild

Every once in a while what could be a tragedy becomes a win-win situation — but the dominoes have to be lined up just right to make it happen. That’s the way it was for an American Bald Eagle rescued in northern Lake County at the end of January this year.

A rancher near Silver Lake discovered the eagle lying on the ground, and when he started to pick it up, the first thing he noticed was the bird gave no resistance. Its feet and talons were drawn into a tight “fist” — so tight they couldn’t move. Domino 1 was about to fall…

Having a bald eagle on your hands for any reason can be troublesome — both legally and physically. Therefore, the rancher called wildlife biologist Amy Markus at the Forest Service Ranger Station in Silver Lake, who responded immediately — and domino 1 tumbled into 2…

Amy knew of Gary Landers, a raptor rehabilitator who lives near Sisters, and the USFS transported the eagle directly to him. Domino 2 hit domino 3…

Gary said, “My initial exam showed a well-fed eagle with no outward signs of injury. Because there was (very) little body movement from the neck down I considered the possibility of a spinal injury.”

Then Gary knocked domino 3 into 4…

“I called Dr. Little Liedblad at Broken Top Veterinary Service and she wanted to see him immediately.”

Radiographs taken at the clinic showed no skeletal or spinal injuries, but both Gary and Little noted the eagle was suffering from some kind of muscle paralysis.

To Little, it looked like some kind of poisoning.

Dr. Liedblad’s decision to begin immediate treatment for poison was the last domino to tip over and probably the most important.

Liedblad, veterinarian Karen Laidley and the staff at Broken Top kept the eagle on a constant IV drip for two days to flush out what they suspected to be unknown chemicals in the blood and treated the bird with calcium EDTA for lead poisoning. Gary says the eagle responded immediately after the first injection of EDTA.

With the eagle showing improvement almost hourly, Gary and his wife, Kellie, got the okay from Dr. Liedblad and the Broken Top staff to transport the eagle to Gary’s rehab facilities and continue treatment there.

Five days of shots, hand-feeding, and considerable TLC from Gary and Kellie kept the eagle progressing toward recovery, and hydrotherapy on the eagle’s feet and legs helped to stimulate nerve and muscle activity. This paid off as the bird began to slowly unfold his toes and talons and stand on his own. Four days after being found paralyzed, the eagle was well on its way to recovery and flying back and forth in Gary’s flight cage.

It is a popular thought that eagles mate for life and I choose to believe that it is true. That means that when discharge time came, the bird had to be released at the spot near where it was found — his mate was probably waiting for him to return. Gary and Kellie were hoping that was the case as they watched the eagle climb into the clear blue sky near Silver Lake last Sunday.