Essex County Bald Eagle

PATIENT:  Bald Eagle, #11-2088 LOCATION OF RESCUE: Essex County, Virginia CONDITION: Very thin ADMISSION DATE: August 21, 2011 OUTCOME: Euthanized October 4, 2011 On August 19, a mature Bald Eagle was spotted on a pier on the Rappahannock River in Essex County, Virginia.  At first, the bird didn't attempt to move when approached.  When it tried to fly away, the Bald Eagle fell short of its target -- and fell into the water.  After swimming to shore, it climbed up an embankment.   Despite the bird's general weakness, it managed to evade capture. The following day, a Wildlife Center supporter rounded up some additional help -- and multiple people set out to capture the bird.  The eagle was finally contained and was taken to permitted rehabilitator Sarah Streetman.  The eagle was transported to the Wildlife Center on August 21. Dr. Adam Naylor examined the Bald Eagle when it arrived and found it to be very thin, dehydrated, and covered in lice.  Blood was taken for an emergency panel, which indicated the eagle was anemic.  The bird also tested at the "subclinical" level for lead [meaning no treatment given]. Dr. Adam couldn't palpate any fractures or other injuries and only found an old, small retinal tear in the bird's right eye -- something that shouldn't compromise its vision.  Dr. Adam started the bird on fluids and gave it an iron injection.  Radiographs will be performed when the eagle is more stable. Despite the eagle's very thin body condition, the blood work was not consistent with the Wildlife Center's technical definition of an "emaciated" patient.   While the bird's red blood cell count [or packed cell volume] is low, it isn't at the low "emaciated" level.  However, dehydration often influences initial blood work results.  For this reason, the staff are treating this bird as an emaciated one and will begin tube-feeding the eagle with an easily digested diet. The veterinary staff will continue to tube feed the Bald Eagle twice a day and will perform repeat blood work regularly until it is stable.

August 24 update

Dr. Miranda reports that the Essex County Bald Eagle is taking its tube-feeding well.  The bird continues to be bright and alert -- and encouraging sign, though the bird is not "out of the woods" yet.  If all continues to go well, the vets may try slowly transitioning the bird to whole foods this weekend.

August 29 update

The Essex County Bald Eagle is continuing to do well -- the veterinarians are cautiously optimistic, though the eagle still has several days of transitioning to whole food. Over the weekend, the eagle was transitioned to what the Center vet staff call "clean meat" -- that is, piece of rat/mouse with no fur and bones.  Since these components of prey are harder to digest, this is the next step in the transition from a tube-feeding diet. The eagle received several small meals of "clean meat" over the past few days and will soon receive food with fur and bones.

September 1 update

The Essex County Bald Eagle has been continuing to slowly recover from its emaciated status.  The eagle seems to be adjusting well to a regular diet of rats and mice.  Additional blood work was performed on August 30 and showed that while the eagle is still slightly anemic, the red blood cell count had improved since the bird's arrival.  There was some signs of a possible infection or inflammation -- so a course of antibiotics was started. On September 1, the vet staff deemed the eagle stable enough to be anesthetized for radiographs.  Dr. Adam noted that the images of the Bald Eagle's left shoulder looked a bit "fuzzy" -- meaning there were some bony changes there.  The findings could be consistent with old coracoid fracture that already started to heal and remodel.  Currently, Dr. Adam reports that the eagle's joint looks good and its range of motion is fine.  There is also suspected nerve damage on the bird's wing, judging by how the muscles look on the radiograph -- but the eagle has not be drooping its wing at all, which is a good sign. A course of anti-inflammatories will be given over the next two weeks.  The Bald Eagle will receive another set of radiographs then to further monitor the injury.  

September 8 update

On September 7, Bald Eagle #11-2088 was moved into a small outdoor enclosure.   The eagle continues to eat well and has gained weight -- since first arriving nearly three weeks ago, the bird gained 0.5 kilograms.  The eagle is still on a course of anti-inflammatories for its shoulder injury and is bright and alert.  Additional blood work will be performed later this week.

September 16 update

Improvements were noted on Bald Eagle #11-2088's blood work this week.  The veterinary staff will continue with the antibiotics for another week, just to be on the safe side.  The last dose of anti-inflammatories were given on September 15.  The staff will monitor if there are any changes noted in how the Bald Eagle moves around its outdoor enclosure.  The eagle is scheduled for a set of radiographs and additional blood work during the week of September 19.  The bird continues to eat well and is currently enjoying meals of rats and fish.       

September 19 update

Bald Eagle #11-2088 received its scheduled radiographs this morning and they revealed that the suspected fracture in the eagle’s left clavicle has healed and formed a “good” callus. Staff veterinarians are now optimistic that #11-2088 will soon be able to fly again. With this in mind, the eagle has been moved into one of the larger flight pens at the Wildlife Center.  #11-2088 is also still receiving antibiotics and will continue to do so until the Center’s veterinarians have the results of the blood work that taken this morning.

September 29 update

#11-2088’s stay in the large flight pen at the Center was, unfortunately, a short one. A day after being transferred to the new pen, staff members noticed that the Bald Eagle was sporting a significant droop in its left wing. Center veterinarians have prescribed an anti-inflammatory for the eagle and have had it returned to its smaller enclosure for further observation.

October 4 update

Another set of radiographs were taken on September 30, and sadly, the news was not good.  The three staff veterinarians met on Monday October 3 to review the radiographs in detail – and found changes to the end of the eagle’s humerus.  It appears that the Bald Eagle has significant abnormal wear and arthritic changes to the bones in its shoulder. The veterinary team suspects that during the Bald Eagle’s initial injury, its shoulder joint cartilage was damaged – something that would not show up on the radiographs.  Over the course of a few weeks, the bones in the shoulder began grinding together, causing permanent damage, and causing the eagle to have a more pronounced wing droop. Because this injury is painful and not fixable, the veterinary team has decided the best course of action is humane euthanasia. September 1 radiographs September 30 radiographs.  Note how the humeral head has deteriorated. Your special donation will help the Center to provide state-of-the-art medical care to this Bald Eagle … and to the 2,300+ other patients the Center will admit this year.  Please help!

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