An injured bald eagle rescued by Oxford-based Boy Scout Troop 366 was released back into the wild Thursday afternoon at Camp Agawam in Orion Twp.
‘He came out like a bullet. He walked out of the crate, took about two steps and immediately went to the air,? said Linda Bianco, the Rochester Hills-based raptor rehabilitator who cared for the bald eagle since he was discovered April 27 by scouts hiking through the state-owned Bald Mountain Recreation Area on their way to the camp off W. Clarkston Road.
‘It was neat to see him be able to fly,? said Troop 366 Scoutmaster Bill Cowles. ‘This was a great way for the Boy Scouts to practice stewardship (of the environment).?
Suffering from a fractured right wing, the 1?-year-old juvenile eagle had an 8-10-inch metal pin surgically inserted directly into the broken bone April 30. The pin was removed June 1.
Bianco has spent the last 3? months nursing the eagle back to health.
She ‘can’t even put it into words? what it was like to see the young eagle take flight.
‘I was close to tears on the way out here,? she explained. ‘Not out of sadness by any means, but out of joy because there were so many times I wasn’t sure he was going to be able to be released.?
‘It’s an overwhelming sense of joy to know you were able to help this wonderful creature through the recovery process and let it go,? Bianco noted.
Now that he’s back in the wild, in the same general area where he was found, Bianco said the eagle should readapt to the wild just fine.
‘He knows where he is,? she said. ‘He’s got the same chance (of survival) that he had prior to his injury. His injury healed very well. He’s not left with any type of disability at all. So he can get out there, do what he needs to do and enjoy his freedom.?
Usually birds have their ‘toughest time during their very first year? of life, but since this eagle was older, ‘he knows how to hunt, he knows how to fish, he knows where he’s going, he knows how to be an eagle,? according to Bianco. ‘He doesn’t have to relearn any of that.?
Despite his excellent recovery and survival chances, Bianco still wishes she had the ability to check in on him and see how he’s doing.
‘I wish they could send postcards and tell me how they’re doing once they’re out there, but we just never really know,? she said.
Bianco’s not sure whether the eagle will stay in the area he was found or head south. ‘He may not stay here because I believe he’s probably a migrating bird,? she said. ‘He may hang out for the summer, then migrate in September or October with the rest of the clan or he may take off right away.?
All the feathers the eagle lost as a result of the surgery and ‘stress? of the whole ordeal were sent to the National Eagle Repository in Denver, Colorado, which is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
‘That’s where the Native Americans get their feathers (for religious and cultural purposes),? Bianco noted.