Woman relishes helping rescue eagle
NEWARK — Robin Guinsler said she felt chills as she watched a juvenile bald eagle released back into the wild near her property Wednesday morning.
The bird was rescued by Ohio Wildlife Center Rescue team volunteers in June after Guinsler noticed the bird sitting near her property. After being assessed at the center’s Wildlife Hospital in Columbus, the eagle was diagnosed with a broken wing that was possibly caused by a collision with a car.
According to Ohio Wildlife Center Assistant Executive Director Stormy Gibson, the eagle was estimated to be between 1 and 4 years old because the bird’s head and tail have yet to turn white. They have not determined whether the bird is male or female.
“Eagles are growing in number in the state of Ohio, so we are having the population come back. This is our first eagle release of this year,” Gibson said, adding they released two eagles in November last year.
The rescue group worked with veterinary teams to determine the eagle did not need to have a pin placed in the wing and allowed it to heal naturally.
“Due to COVID-19, we have not had volunteers into our wildlife hospital since March 10,” Gibson explained. “Our staff is very limited, so we worked with another wildlife rehabilitation center in Mansfield called Ohio Bird Sanctuary.”
Guinsler recalled she was in her backyard reading in June when she noticed the bird. As she got closer, she noticed the eagle wasn’t moving, so she decided it must have been injured.
When her neighbor came home, she said he figured out who to call. They “babysat” the bird until rescue volunteers arrived.
“I love birds and I was so excited to see him get rescued,” Guinsler said. “It was just one of the coolest experiences ever. And this makes me really, really happy. Dave (a rescue volunteer) and I stayed in touch. I kept checking on him (the eagle) and he’d send me pictures, so this is really to me, so amazing. It feels good to be a part of it, to have saved the eagle.”
One of the Ohio Wildlife Center’s volunteer rescue team members alongside Dave Wood was Sara Bachelor, who experienced her first eagle release on Wednesday.
“This was my first raptor catch, so that was a really big deal that it was a bald eagle. It was amazing,” she said. “Making sure we could get it to a safe spot before we caught it, it took a lot of time. It took a lot of teamwork (and) effort. It was a really cool moment.”
Three months after intake, the bird was released near Guinsler’s home — a moment that made it all worthwhile for the Ohio Wildlife Center team.
Referencing the organization’s founder, an advocate for wildlife, who died in 2014, Gibson said one of the most important things the group’s team can do is connect people with nature and make people feel empathetic.
“For me, it’s like a miracle to be able to release this animal back into the wild and have these folks care about wildlife, have them grouped together, have something joyous to celebrate — especially in this unusual, sad time,” Gibson said.
Bachelor said she thought it was amazing to be able to see the bird fly off into the wild where the animal belongs.
According to Gibson, the Ohio Wildlife Center has admitted 6,458 animals into its wildlife hospital this year, estimating that to be a 35% increase from last year. Because the organization is run on donations, she asked those who are interested to donate online to help them continue their work.