The Wildlife Center of Virginia, a leading teaching and research hospital for native wildlife, will release an adult Bald Eagle on Thursday, September 10 at 11:30 a.m. at York River State Park in James City County. The eagle will be released by Dr. Dave McRuer, the Center’s Director of Veterinary Services.
The release is free and open to the public. Individuals who wish to attend are asked to RSVP to the Center at [email protected]. The address for York River State Park is 9801 York River Park Road, Williamsburg VA 23188. Release participants are asked to meet at the Park’s Visitor Center.
The Bald Eagle to be released on Thursday – an adult female – was found down on the ground, wet and unable to fly, by a park ranger at Riverview Park in Newport News on July 27. The ranger brought the eagle to a local emergency veterinary clinic, where staff took radiographs and stabilized the bird before transferring her to a local wildlife rehabilitator with Wildlife Response, Inc.
The Bald Eagle was transferred to the Wildlife Center in Waynesboro for continued care and was admitted on July 28 as patient #15-1667 [the 1,667th patient of 2015]. The eagle received a complete physical examination, including radiographs and blood work; Center vets found slight bruising on the eagle’s right wing. After a few days of indoor care, the eagle was transferred to one of the Center’s outdoor flight pen, where she continued to struggle to fly. A complete case history is available on the Center’s website, at:
http://wildlifecenter.org/critter-corner/current-patients/bald-eagle-15-1667.
The eagle has spent the past month in the Center’s outdoor pens, slowly building up strength and stamina. Center veterinary and rehabilitation staff have been exercising the eagle for several weeks; they have determined that the eagle is able to fly well and is ready to be returned to the wild.
It is estimated that the Bald Eagle population of North America numbered about half a million before European settlement. With the loss of habitat, hunting, and the effects of DDT and other pesticides, the U.S. eagle population plummeted. In 1977, for example, 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 1,000 active Bald Eagle nests in the Commonwealth.
Since its founding in 1982, the Wildlife Center has treated scores of Bald Eagles, 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 Center is currently treating nine Bald Eagles, including the bird to be released later this week.
Every year, about 2,400 animals – ranging from Bald Eagles to Black Bear cubs to hummingbirds and chipmunks – are brought to the Wildlife Center for care. The goal of the Center is “to treat to release” – to restore patients to health and return as many as possible to the wild.
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 65,000 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.
In July 2011, the Center launched Critter Cam, which allows wildlife enthusiasts around the world to watch a variety of Center patients, including the eagle to be released on Thursday. Patients that are currently “featured” on one of the three Critter Cam feeds, in addition to the Bald Eagle to be released on Thursday, are seven rambunctious Black Bear Cubs, and three Wildlife Center permanent residents – Buddy, a Bald Eagle; Buttercup, a Black Vulture; and Maggie, a Peregrine Falcon. A link to Critter Cam can be found at www.wildlifecenter.org.
York River State Park is a 2,531-acre property of the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. The park is known for its rare and delicate estuarine environment, where freshwater and saltwater meet to create a rich habitat for marine and plant life [the park has been designated as a Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve]. The park includes marshes, river shoreline, forests, and Croaker Landing, a Native American archaeological site listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Additional information about York River State Park is available at:
http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state-parks/york-river.shtml#general_information.
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