Photograph by Francois Portmann, www.fotoportmann.com/
A tremendous sequence from Francois Portmann who said," The Thompkin's Square Park resident female juvy put on an aerial show yesterday despite the cold!"
F.
(Boy, he can say that again! Scroll down and feast your eyes. D.B.)
Photograph by Francois Portmann
I think this is the Norma Desmond shot.
Photograph by Francois Portmann
Photograph by Francois Portmann
Or is it this one?
Photograph by Francois Portmann
Photograph by Francois Portmann
Yet another contender for Sunset Boulevard.
Photograph by Francois Portmann
Photograph by Francois Portmann
Photograph by Francois Portmann
Photograph by Francois Portmann
Wow, that girl can really fly!
And from the superman of wildlife rehabilitators, Bobby Horvath--
This guy came in last week. Immature male shot, still has pellet in abdomen. Also suffering from mild lead poisoning from eating something killed with lead shot. Its duck hunting season now and he was found at the beach nearby legal hunting area . He was scavenging on undesirable fish caught and left on the beach by the surfcasters for over a month which probably saved his life .
We found pellets in the cage as well after he defecated . In addition he has an unknown sticky substance totally covering his feathers leaving him only partially flighted at the moment. Numerous baths in Dawn Dish Washing Liquid didn't have much affect so we soaked the feathers with warmed cannola oil first, leaving it on for 15 minutes and then a Dawn wash after and it worked much better.
I tried catching him a few times but he could glide from the tops of dune to dune while I had to run up and down them to no avail. Finally on the day I caught him he actually flew about 100 feet out 3 feet above the water till exhausted and ended up plummeting into and treading water just to keep his head above. I was able to net him when he got close to shore.
We did x rays, blood work , and a fecal sample so far. He's eating now and perking up and much stronger than last week. We hope his recovery is full and will be released upstate in an eagle wintering area where he can mingle with many others of his kind .
Bobby Horvath
P.S.- If anyone knows hunters with extra deer meat our patient would be appreciative. We already have his rodent fish menu covered.
Thanks Bobby! And once again, lead rears it's ugly head.
D.B.
I am so glad the eagle is in good hands.
ReplyDeleteDo eagles eat deer in the wild? Do they normally eat an animal that has died not by their catching it? I had the idea they mostly caught fish.
Hi Karen,
ReplyDeleteBald Eagles do eat a good many fish, and even have specialized feet to hold on to them but John Blakeman and others have observed that as the Eagle population has increased and territories aren't as accessible to fish filled waters as they might be, Eagles do avail themselves of road kill deer and the leavings of hunters. Eagles have no compunction about eating things they haven't killed. While nicely opportunistic, it unfortunately gets them into trouble when they find creatures (or leavings) that have been killed by thoughtless hunters and fisherman who still use lead ammunition.