Rescued bald eagle on road to recovery

An immature bald eagle hit by a truck along Highway 200 two weeks ago is expected to make a full recovery following surgery to repair a bone in her left wing.

A truck driver stopped at the Lincoln Ranger District, Thursday Feb. 20 to report that he'd hit the eagle near Arrastra Creek, about 13 miles west of Lincoln.

Pat Shanley the District wildlife biologist, and Beach Hastings, the District's minerals administrator, headed down the canyon and found the bird alive and "ready to tangle." Shanley and Hastings managed to capture the bird and took it to the Wild Skies Raptor Center in Potomac.

Brooke Tanner, who runs Wild Skies, told the BVD the eagle is doing well following a successful Feb. 24 surgery to realign and repair a major bone in her left wing

"The humerus had several fractures," said Tanner last week. "We got a really good external fixation on it, good alignment, a solid fix. Now we just hope she's cooperative and heals up."

Tanner said if the eagle's recovery goes well, she should be able to fly again and expects her to be successfully returned to the wild. But first, she's facing six to eight weeks of recovery followed by rehabilitation to get her back in shape to survive after she's released

"She's a young, healthy bird and they tend to heal up really well," Tanner said. Over the weekend the eagle appeared to be in good shape and cackling at Tanner, which she said is a good sign she's feeling better.

Tanner, a veterinary technician who has been rehabbing both raptors and songbirds for 14 years with her partner Jesse Varnado, said they see a lot of vehicle collisions with birds along Highway 200 and Highway 83. She explained the raptors are attracted to food sources along the highways, which includes roadkill as well as the rodents that are drawn to garbage along the roadways.

According to Shanley, the number of deer that are hit along the Blackfoot Canyon contributes to quite a few golden and bald eagle deaths along highway 200. "The eagles tend to gorge themselves to the point their crop is so laden with meat that they can't lift off easily, and often when they try it is right into the path of oncoming vehicles."

Visibility along the winding roads compounds the issue, for both the birds and vehicle drivers.