One injured bald eagle has healed and is released

Photo courtesy of David Lynch. Click on photo for larger image

Some good news concerning a bald eagle.

Last March Raptor Resource Project Director Bob Anderson was contacted by Decorah resident Darwin Melcher, who reported a bald eagle on the ground near his house.  Darwin was convinced that something was wrong with the bird. 

The bird was so weak that it allowed Anderson to easily pick it up.  Anderson put it in a large sky kennel and took it to Kay Neumann from SOAR ("Saving Our Avian Resources"), a non-profit Iowa raptor rehabilitation facility that works with injured and/or sick birds of prey.

Neumann discovered that the eagle had high levels of lead in its system, most likely caused by consuming lead shot. The lead caused the eagle's brain to swell, resulting in blindness.  She treated the bird for several months and it not only recovered its eyesight but also regained lost weight and strength.
 
On Saturday Neumann, Anderson and Melcher were able to release the eagle back to the wild.  Says Anderson, "The bird flew directly to a nearby tree before taking flight and soaring...What joy to see an eagle that was so near death power into the sky again!"