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Wildlife Center of Virginia Releases Three Bald Eagles on July 25
For the first time in its nearly 27-year history, the Wildlife Center of Virginia, the nation’s leading teaching and research hospital for native wildlife, released three Bald Eagles at the same event. The unprecedented triple release took place on Saturday, July 25 at the Visitors Center at Mason Neck State Park in southern Fairfax County, Virginia.
Participating in the release was Ed Clark, President and co-founder of the Wildlife Center.
Also participating in the event were:
- Representative Jim Moran, a Member of Congress from northern Virginia and Vice Chairman of the Interior and Environment Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee, who has worked for federal funding for parks, wildlife refuges, and a wide variety of projects designed to eliminate pollution and to protect the environment.
- Chief Kenneth Branham of the Monacan Nation;
- wildlife rehabilitators and others who were involved in the rescue and transport of these three eagles.
 Representative Jim Moran and Ed Clark, photo courtesy of Michele Fowler
 Chief Branham with Ed Clark, photo courtesy of Bill Bauer
The three eagles were all born earlier this year and were rescued from three different locations – New Kent, Prince William, and Stafford Counties. All have fully recovered from injuries and were cleared by Wildlife Center veterinarians for their return to the wild. All three eagles were banded prior to release.
 Photo courtesy of Duane Noblick The Wildlife Center is on a record-setting pace for Bald Eagles. Through July 30, the Center has admitted 32 Bald Eagles this year. The record was set in 2007, when the Center admitted 36 Bald Eagles during the entire year.
“This is certain to be a record year for admission of eagles to the Center,” Clark said. “While it’s disturbing that so many eagles are ending up in trouble, this trend is also evidence of Virginia’s rapidly expanding Bald Eagle population. This population expansion is proof that conservation initiatives like the Endangered Species Act work. When we really try, we can pull a species back from the brink of extinction.”
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 just 33 Bald Eagle nests in Virginia.
Today, the Bald Eagle population in Virginia is on the rebound. There are now more than 600 active Bald Eagle nests in the Commonwealth
Since its founding in 1982, the Wildlife Center has treated scores of individual Bald Eagles, has done extensive studies of environmental factors that affect eagles and other wildlife, and worked to reform laws and regulations to strengthen the protection afforded to Bald Eagles.
The Three Eagles
The three eagles released on July 25 were:
* #09-0856. This eagle was rescued from its nest, toppled by a storm near the Possum Point Power Station in Prince William County. The bird, the smallest and weakest of three nestlings, was rescued by Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries eagle biologist Jeff Cooper and admitted to the Center on May 27.
Upon admission, the eagle was thin and dehydrated, had a fractured left wing, and had trachial worms. The bird was treated with antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, fluids, and pain medication. On May 31, Center veterinarians operated on the bird and successfully pinned the fracture of the left wing.
These pins were removed on June 12. The bird has been moved to progressively larger outdoor flight pens at the Wildlife Center and demonstrated that it was ready for return to the wild.
Ealge #09-0856 was the third eagle released on July 25.
[Animals admitted to the Center are given sequential patient numbers – in the order in which they are admitted. Patient #09-0856 was the 856th patient admitted to the Center during 2009. Thus far in 2009, the Center has admitted almost 1,800 patients.]
 Release of #09-0856, photo courtesy of Mike Pollack
 Photo courtesy of Holly Smith * #09-1091. This eagle was found, on the ground near its nest and unable to fly, near the Coles Trip Girl Scout Camp near Brooke in Stafford County. The location is along Aquia Creek near the Potomac River. The eagle was rescued by US Fish and Wildlife agent Stacie Allison, Sara Allison, Michelle Long, and Daniel Long. After its rescue, the eagle was first taken to area wildlife rehabilitator Kent Knowles.
The eagle was admitted to the Wildlife Center on June 9. Upon admission, the eagle was thin; the Center veterinary staff found no broken bones and two old scabs on the bird’s legs [likely puncture wounds from siblings].
The young eagle spent time in the Center’s outdoor flight pens and demonstrated that it is now ready for return to the wild.
Ealge #09-1091 was the second Bald Eagle released on July 25.
 Photo courtesy of Henry Lapo
* #09-1148. This Bald Eagle was first seen during the week of June 8 on the ground near its nest along the Pamunkey River in New Kent County. It had a slight droop in its right wing and was unable to fly. Wildlife rehabilitators Barb Rondeau and Amber Kimmich rescued the bird and provided preliminary treatment; the eagle was transported to the Wildlife Center on June 13 by volunteers Barbara Monaghan and Mike Fowler.
Upon admission, the eagle was bright and alert. Radiographs found no fractures; blood tests results, including a test for exposure to lead, were all within normal ranges. The eagle was found to have parasites in its gastrointestinal tract – a common issue. The bird also had some damaged tail feathers. The bird was treated for parasites and with an anti-inflammatory drug.
Like the other two eagles released on July 25, #09-1148 “graduated” through a series of progressively larger outdoor flight pens at the Center. All three shared one of the Center’s largest flight pens; like its pen-mates, #09-1148 demonstrated to the Center’s rehabilitation and veterinary staff that it was now ready for release to the wild.
Ealge #09-1148 was the first eagle released on July 25.
 Photo courtesy of Mike Fowler
 Photo courtesy of Mike Pollack
 Photo courtesy of Holly Smith
About the Wildlife Center
Every year, nearly 2,500 animals – ranging from Bald Eagles to chipmunks – are brought to the Wildlife Center for care. “The goal of the Center is to restore our patients to health and to return as many as possible to the wild,” Clark said. “At the Wildlife Center, we treat to release.”
The Wildlife Center of Virginia is an internationally acclaimed teaching and research hospital for wildlife and conservation medicine. Since its founding in 1982, the nonprofit Center has cared for more than 52,000 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.
The Center’s work with Bald Eagles is supported in part by a grant from the SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund.
About Mason Neck
Mason Neck is part of the Virginia State Park system managed by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. The park is on a peninsula in the Potomac River and provides prime habitat for Bald Eagles and other birds.
The park connects with the 2,200-acre Elizabeth Hartwell Mason Neck National Wildlife Refuge – created in 1969 as the first National Wildlife Refuge specifically established to protect essential nesting, feeding, and roosting habitat for Bald Eagles. The refuge has been listed as one of the top 10 sites in the country for viewing Bald Eagles.
The Wildlife Center has used Mason Neck as a release site for eagles before; in addition to providing prime eagle habitat, park and refuge officials are able to keep an eye on newly released birds to be sure that their readjustment to the wild goes smoothly.
Eagles Soar Over Mason Neck State Park [video]
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