This bald eagle was once part of the Decorah eaglecam nest, but now it has a new life

In 2014, one of the eaglets at the Decorah Fish Hatchery eagle's nest prematurely left the nest.  Raptor Resource Project Director Bob Anderson and another person rescued this eaglet from the creek below the nest on June 22nd.  They discovered the eaglet suffered a traumatic impact of some kind and had a fractured humerus bone as a result.

Here's what has happened to the eaglet since then.

Anderson contacted SOAR ("Save Our Avian Raptors") and took the eaglet to SOAR's facility in Manning, Iowa in Western Iowa, near Carroll.  A veterinarian in Manning concluded that the bone break had healed--but in such a way that the eagle could not extend that wing and flight would not be possible.

With that information, SOAR and the veterinarian determined the best outcome would be for this eagle to become an education bird.  Five years after hatching, the bald eagle--named "Decorah," of course--lives at the SOAR facility in Manning.  SOAR staffers say "Decorah" is learning to navigate being tethered to the bow perch during educational programs.  The eagle is also allowed into an outside weathering area at SOAR, but he is tethered or leashed to the perch.