Pensacola---
A month-old orphaned bald eaglet has been adopted by two non-releasable adult
bald eagles at the Wildlife Sanctuary of Northwest Florida (WSNF) since
attempts last week to reunite it with its original parents were unsuccessful. This eaglet is now being cared for by foster
parents, Apollo and Winnie, who are permanently injured adult bald eagles and
residents of the WSNF. The eaglet’s
sibling is also currently recovering at WSNF from a fractured leg and wing, and
will be placed with foster eagle parents, Amelia and Junior, as soon as
medically stable. Both eaglets are off
display to the public due to the need to keep them wild and will be reunited
later when they are ready to be released.
Video cameras at the Sanctuary allow viewing of the eagle family without
any disturbance.
The
amazing story of these eaglets begins on St. George Island with eagle
“neighbors” Kevin and Chantel Burdett along
with Lauren Levi and Kenny Piotrowski, who rescued the two fallen eaglets in
the hours after a severe January storm that toppled their nest tree. The eaglets were transported separately to
wildlife rehabilitator Chris Beatty of the Florida Wild Mammal Association
(FWMA) in Crawfordville for emergency care. Initially, Chris stabilized both eaglets,
offered them food, and applied a splint to Eaglet 2’s leg, which was fractured
in the fall. She contacted Dorothy
Kaufmann at the WSNF for her expertise in managing bald eagle rehabilitation
cases, and the eaglets were transported the next day.
Jenna
Harper, Manager of the ANERR FL Coastal Office/DEP, commented, “In Franklin
County we are blessed to live within pristine natural surroundings with
wildlife at your back door. It is so special to call these creatures
‘neighbors’ and it is difficult to see them struggle. This was such a unique opportunity for the
community to come together and help out their neighbors in need.”
Eaglet 1
was uninjured, so planning began to try returning this healthy eaglet to a
replacement nest built and secured in an adjacent tree by a coordinated effort
between 3 state agencies, 2 wildlife rehabilitators, 1 veterinarian, the
largest electric utility in the country, 1 bucket truck, several concerned
citizens, 1 retiree, and 1 federal agency to attempt to reunite this eaglet
with its parents: the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural
Sciences Franklin County Extension (UF/IFAS); the Florida Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Commission; the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; several neighbors
living in sight of the original nest; the retired director of Audubon
EagleWatch (AEW); the FWMA and the WSNF.
“When
Chris called I immediately thought of an acquaintance who worked as a lineman
for Duke Energy. He put me in touch with his Supervisor. It wasn’t long before we had our ducks (or
eaglets) in a row for a coordinated effort to try and reunite parents with
chicks”, said Erik Lovestrand, Director, UF/IFAS Franklin County Extension.
Attending
veterinarian Dr. Tommy Knight of Westside Animal Hospital determined Eaglet 1
was healthy enough to attempt a reunion with its parents. The new eagle nest
site selection was determined between Erik Lovestrand of UF/IFAS, Lauren Levi
of ANERR, and Lynda White of AEW, who also provided guidance for the design of
the replacement nesting platform. Supplies for the platform were provided by
Jenna Harper of ANERR, and the platform was constructed by local carpenter
Kenny Piotrowski. The nesting platform
was secured in the new nest tree and Eaglet 1 placed in the new nest by Duke
Energy representatives. Eagle neighbor Kevin Burdett also played an important
role in encouraging the adult eagles to remain in the nesting area by playing
taped audio calls/vocalizations of their eaglets. Others attending the attempted
eagle reunion monitored the activity and remained in an inconspicuous location
awaiting the adult eagles return.
“Duke
Energy is proud to have been part of the effort to find these baby eagles find
a new home,” said Daniel Collins, government and community relations manager
with Duke Energy. “Our company is dedicated to being good stewards of the
environment and we support local programs that help protect and restore
wildlife and natural resources in Franklin County and throughout the nation.
This is just one small way we were able to serve that mission.”
Weather
seemed to dictate the little eaglet’s destiny. Just as the storm that blew both
the tree and the nest that it had fallen from last week, the reunion day turned
out to be very cold and rainy for all involved. Unfortunately, efforts to
reunite the eaglet with its original parents were unsuccessful and Plan B was
formulated to return the eaglet to WSNF so it could be raised by experienced
eagle foster parents to have the best chance at a later release back to the
wild.
“Though I know we are all very disappointed
that the parents did not return, we all pulled together to try to help this
young eaglet which was a very awesome experience. We were so honored to be
amongst such a wonderful and caring group of people.” commented Chris Beatty,
Florida Wild Mammal Association.
“I’m
very glad Dorothy was able to take Eaglet 1 back to WSNF. Of course, we were
all hoping the parents would return to the nest, but having such a qualified
and experienced center with adult foster parents is the next best thing for
this little guy. I know they will do their best to raise him correctly so he
has the best chance for reintroduction to the wild.” said Jessica Beatty of
FWMA.
Baby
eagles are the fastest growing bird in North America, eating over a pound and a
half of food daily, and remaining with their parents for 3-4 months after
hatching. Within 3 months, both eaglets will be bigger than their adoptive
parents, weighing up to 12 pounds, with a wingspan of 6 ½ - 8 feet and will
have molted in over 7, 000 feathers. That staggering growth rate is why they require
so much food intake!
“How amazing that what seemed to be just a day
about a single family of eagles…is actually an ongoing lesson in caring,
awareness, and community”, said Dorothy Kaufmann, Director of the Wildlife
Sanctuary of Northwest Florida, Inc., located in Pensacola.
Special thanks to everyone
involved and especially for Giving Wildlife a Second Chance:
·
Kevin
and Chantel Burdett, neighbors
·
Lauren
Levi, Environmental Specialist, Apalachicola NERR FL Coastal Office/DEP,
neighbor, Lauren.Levi@dep.state.fl.us , (850) 670-7710
·
Kenny
Piotrowski, neighbor and platform builder
(Contact through Lauren)
·
Dorothy
Kaufmann, Director, Wildlife Sanctuary of Northwest Florida, Inc., (850)
433-9453, ws@wildlife.gccoxmail.com
·
Dr.
Tommy Knight, Westside Animal Hospital, (850) 453-3463.
·
Jenna
Harper, Manager, Apalachicola NERR FL Coastal Office/DEP, (850) 670-7700 Jennifer.Harper@dep.state.fl.us
·
Kim
Wren, Stewardship Coordinator, Apalachicola NERR FL Coastal Office/DEP, and Kennedy
Hanson, Communications Coordinator, NERR FL Coastal Office/DEP, (850) 670-7700
·
Danny
Collins, Government and Community Relations Manager, Duke Energy, Daniel.Collins@duke-energy.com (850)
251-1425
·
Tim
White, Local Supervisor and Chase Millender, Lineman, Duke Energy
·
Michelle
vanDeventer, Eagle Plan Coordinator, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Commission, Michelle.VanDeventer@MyFWC.com
·
Resee
Collins, Rehabilitation & Eagle Permit Coordinator, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service Southeast Region, Resee_Collins@fws.gov
http://live.oysterradio.com/
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