Huge crowd watches release

Rescued juvenile eagle flies into the wild

A juvenile bald eagle, rescued from the Etowah River near Kingston in July, put on a flight show for a huge crowd huddled in the cold at Red Top Mountain State Park to watch its release Saturday.

Following a short flight to a pine tree after it was tossed into the air by Auburn University’s Southeastern Raptor Rehabilitation Center student assistant Rachel Womack, the young eagle took off and soared in circles above a cove at the park, enjoying its new-found freedom.

The eagle was plucked from a logjam in the Etowah near the bridge on Hardin Bridge Road by Rome-Floyd ECO Center Director Ben Winkelman.

Winkelman was kayaking with his wife when other kayakers saw the eagle and called Winkelman for help. He was just a mile or so down river and turned around to go back.

After freeing a fishing hook from its beak, Winkelman called Kim Kilgore, a local, licensed wildlife rehabber, who was, it turns out, less than 10 minutes away.

“I think you could say it was divine intervention for this little eagle,” Winkelman told a large crowd that gathered to witness the release.

Dr. Seth Oster, an avian veterinarian with the Raptor Center, said the eagle had a lot of bruises and swelling, but no evidence of any underlying disease.

“We treated the bird for about six weeks, and kept monitoring its wings for range of motion to make sure scar tissue did not develop to prevent it from regaining a full range of motion,” Oster said.

The eagle was moved into a flight pen for about three and a half months before they were confident about releasing the bird.

Oster said that when the bird was taken to Auburn, initial examinations indicated the eagle had been caught up in the fishing line for less than 24 hours.

“If it had been tangled for more than 12-24 hours, it would have cut off the blood supply and caused serious tissue damage,” he said.

The eagle was released at Red Top Mountain in hopes that low water levels at Lake Allatoona might help the bird with its foraging for food.

Doug Walker / Rome News-Tribune Southeastern Raptor Rehabilitation Center student assistant Rachel Womack holds a juvenile bald eagle while AU avian veterinarian Dr. Seth Oster and Georgia DNR wildlife biologist Todd Schneider put a band on its talon.

Contributed photo by Gena Flanigen A juvenile bald eagle, rescued from a logjam on the Etowah River in July, flies free at Red Top Mountain State Park.

Doug Walker / Rome News-Tribune Auburn veterinarian Dr. Seth Oster (left) watches as Rachel Womack releases a juvenile bald eagle Saturday at Lake Allatoona.