July 15, 2008

The Wildlife Center of Virginia, the nation’s leading teaching and research hospital for native wildlife, will release a Bald Eagle on Wednesday, July 16 at 1:30 p.m. at Westover Plantation, on the James River in Charles City County.

Participating in the release will be Ed Clark, President and Co-Founder of the Wildlife Center.

The Bald Eagle to be released is a yearling [hatched in late winter/early spring 2008]. The bird was found on the ground near a dead adult eagle in York County, Virginia and was admitted to the Wildlife Center on May 5. The eagle was given a complete diagnostic examination, including radiographs and tests for exposure to lead and organophosphates. The bird had no visible injuries or broken bones but was dehydrated and in poor body condition. The bird was started on a regimen of antibiotics and given anti-toxicity drugs through an intraosseous catheter. Test results received on May 8 confirmed exposure to organophosphates.

The young eagle was initially tube-fed; on May 13, the bird began eating on its own and gaining weight. In early June, the bird was moved to a flight pen and started being exercised. During the week of June 23, the yearling eagle was moved to the Center’s largest flight pen, where it has demonstrated that it can now fly and is ready for return to the wild.

The eagle to be released on Wednesday is one of eight Bald Eagles currently being treated at the Wildlife Center. Among the other current eagle patients is a baby Bald Eagle, hatched at the Norfolk Botanical Garden, that has created a worldwide following through its online appearances on “Eagle Cam”. That eagle, hatched in late April, was admitted to the Wildlife Center on May 22 with a severe case of Avian Pox. The eagle underwent surgery on Saturday, July 12 to remove remnants of a pox lesion and to correct a significant misalignment in the bird’s beak.

It is estimated that the Bald Eagle population of North America numbered about half a million before European settlement. With the loss of habitat, shooting, and the effects of DDT and other pesticides, the U.S. eagle population plummeted. In 1977, there were fewer than 50 Bald Eagle nests in Virginia.

Today, the Bald Eagle population in Virginia is on the rebound. There are now more than 500 active Bald Eagle nests in the Commonwealth.

During 2007, the Wildlife Center admitted and treated 36 Bald Eagles – a record in the Center’s 25-year history. Thus far in 2008, the Wildlife Center has admitted 17 Bald Eagles.

Every year, about 2,500 animals – ranging from Bald Eagles to opossums to chipmunks – are brought to the Wildlife Center for care. “The goal of the Center is to restore our patients to health and return as many as possible to the wild,” Clark said. “At the Wildlife Center, we treat to release.”

Since its founding in 1982, the nonprofit Center has cared for more than 50,000 wild animals, representing 200 species of native birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians. The Center’s public education programs share insights gained through the care of injured and orphaned wildlife, in hopes of reducing human damage to wildlife. The Center trains veterinary and conservation professionals from all over the world and is actively involved in comprehensive wildlife health studies and the surveillance of emerging diseases. Additional information about the Wildlife Center is available at www.wildlifecenter.org.

The Bald Eagle will be released on the grounds of Westover Plantation [c. 1730] on the north shore of the James River. The Plantation provides expansive views of the James and is across the river from the James River National Wildlife Refuge. The 4,200-acre refuge was created in 1991 to protect nesting and roosting habitat for the Bald Eagle. The refuge hosts one of the largest eagle roosts on the East Coast. Additional information about Westover Plantation is available online at www.jamesriverplantations.org/Westover.html.

[+] the Bald Eagle is removed from its carrying case after the 2+- hour trip from Waynesboro		[+] Ed Clark with the Bald Eagle. The ‘bumpers’ on the bird’s wings and tail guard helped protect the eagle during transportation from Waynesboro down to Westover Plantation. All were removed before the eagle was released
[+] Ed Clark, President and Co-Founder of the Wildlife Center of Virginia, preparing to release the York County Bald Eagle	[+] Greeting the Wildlife Center of Virginia eagle-release team at Westover Plantation was this banner from NEST International – an informal organization of individuals who have been following the story of the baby Bald Eagle hatched earlier this year at the Norfolk Botanical Garden. A number of NESTers attended the Westover eagle release on July 16
[+] Ed Clark, President and Co-Founder of the Wildlife Center of Virginia, preparing to release the York County Bald Eagle	[+] The Bald Eagle perched up in a tree after the release
[+] Ed Clark, President and Co-Founder of the Wildlife Center of Virginia, preparing to release the York County Bald Eagle. Photo courtesy of Merrilyn Prucha.	[+] Ed Clark, President and Co-Founder of the Wildlife Center of Virginia, releasing the York County Bald Eagle. Photo courtesy of Merrilyn Prucha.
[+] The York County Bald Eagle in flight. Photo courtesy of Merrilyn Prucha.