Daily Sitka Sentinel

Eagle Finds Freedom on Independence Day

By The Associated Press
and Sentinel Staff

A bird symbolizing America’s freedom had to be liberated on Independence Day after becoming stuck in a tree in Juneau.

A small, male bald eagle was hurt but alive Saturday after being untangled from a spruce tree in Juneau, Sitka Raptor Center Avian Director Jennifer Cedarleaf said in an interview today.

She noted that the bird required two stitches for a cut on his wing, but there were no broken bones.

“We gave him some pain meds and some antibiotics… He did take a short little flight, but I’m sure the wing is very sore,” she said.

While the bird seems set for recovery, Cedarleaf said, there’s a wrinkle.

The bird has a brood patch, a small bald spot on the stomach.

Freedom, an injured eagle, stretches its wings at the Alaska Raptor Center this morning. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)

“Because it’s nesting season, we check every eagle we get this time of year for a brood patch. It’s an area on their lower belly that they pluck the feathers from so their skin has direct contact with the eggs to keep them warm enough. It puts direct contact between the skin and the eggs and it keeps them warmer. It looks like he had a brood patch but it’s growing back in, so he probably has a nest with babies out there,” she said.

Cedarleaf said that baby eagles need feeding from both parents in order to survive, and their odds of fatherless survival are not high

“If he’s not back out there in three or four days, it’s probably not going to happen,” she said. Its recovery will likely take a month, she added.

The Juneau center received the report of the stranded eagle around 10 a.m. Saturday. The bird was stuck in the tree near the historic Ernest Gruening Cabin in Ernest Gruening State Historical Park, the manager of the Juneau Raptor Center, Kathy Benner,  said.

Steve Lewis of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ascended the tree using climbing spikes on his shoes and carried the eagle down in a bag around 3 p.m.

Wildlife officials initially believed the eagle’s wing had become tethered to a tree branch by fishing line, but closer inspection revealed a cable or wire had restrained the bird, Cedarleaf and Brenner confirmed.

The eagle appeared to be alert and “feisty” before the flight to Sitka Saturday evening, Benner said.

While bald eagle rescues are not rare, Benner couldn’t recall a previous instance of the U.S. national bird requiring assistance on the Fourth of July.

“We feel pretty good about the rescue, especially on Independence Day,” Benner said.

Cedarleaf added that the eagle has since been given the name “Freedom.”

What struck Cedarleaf most was the particular beauty of this small eagle.

“We all did have a comment on it when we got it, that it’s a really beautiful eagle… this bird is just gorgeous. It has a pristine white head and white tail. It’s one of those eagles that really catches our eye,” Cedarleaf said.