2006 eagles
T h e w i l d l i f e c e n t e r o f v i rg i n i a
the wildlife center of virginia
The Wildlife Center of Virginia is an international leader in the field of wildlife
medicine. Each year, the Center treats about 2,500 wild animals.
During the Center’s 25 years of service to wildlife, the Center has treated more than 47,000 animals,
representing some 200 species.
The Wildlife Center is also the only facility in Virginia licensed to treat Bald Eagles.
During 2006, the Wildlife Center admitted 29 Bald Eagles – a record in the 25-year
history of the Center.
Back in 1985, the Wildlife Center admitted a Bald Eagle from King George
County – an eagle that had been poisoned. From that one bird the Center
learned about the dangers of carbofuran, a potent pesticide used extensively in
Virginia and across the nation in corn and soybean production.
It’s probable that the poisoned eagle had not consumed carbofuran
directly; it’s more likely that the eagle was sickened after eating
another bird or rodent that itself had succumbed to carbofuran
poisoning.
After six years of intensive work by the Center, the Commonwealth
of Virginia banned the most common form of carbofuran (trade
name Furadan), and within three days the manufacturer pulled it
from shelves nationwide. According to Environmental Protection
Agency estimates, that action alone saved the lives of two million
birds – annually.
In 2006, 21 years after the Center first admitted that one Bald
Wildlife Center of Virginia President Ed Clark and
Eagle, all forms of carbofuran were banned in the United States, Skyler (see page 3)
which means that the chemical can no longer be manufactured here or sold Photo: Lynda Richardson
to any other country with which the U. S. trades. The ban will save
potentially tens of millions of birds each year around the world.
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The record number of cases in 2006 is in part a reflection of the
resurgence of the Bald Eagle population in Virginia. In 1982, when the Center
was founded, it is estimated that there were only about 50 active Bald Eagle
nests in Virginia. Today, there are more than 400.
That growth is a reflection of the preservation and protection of critical eagle
habitat, bans on DDT and other chemicals, and the work of the Wildlife Center
and other conservation organizations.
The growth in the eagle population also reflects a change in public attitudes
about eagles, hawks, and other raptors. In the early days, the Wildlife Center
regularly admitted eagles, hawks, and owls that had been shot. A key compo-
nent of the Center’s environmental education programs is the important role
that these raptors play in our ecosystem – that these birds should be respected,
not hunted or harassed. Since 1982, the Center’s programs have reached about
1.4 million children and adults. Today, gunshot wounds in animals that come
to the Center are far less common. In 2006, none of our 29 Bald Eagle patients
had been shot.
Of the eagles admitted to the Center during 2006, 26 came from Virginia, two
came from West Virginia, and one special bird came from Florida.
As this map notes, most of the Virginia birds came from on or near the
Chesapeake Bay, where the Virginia Bald Eagle population is concentrated.
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A Tribute to Skyler ...
For more than 20 years, Skyler the Bald Eagle was one of the
Wildlife Center’s most popular and familiar public personalities – an icon of
wildlife conservation and endangered species preservation efforts.
Skyler appeared on nearly every major television network, in magazines
and newspapers nationwide, and in venues ranging from the White House,
Pentagon, and the U.S. Capitol to rural elementary schools and civic club
dinners.
In April 2006, Skyler passed away, at the age of 25.
... and a Welcome to Justus
While there’s no way of replacing Skyler, the Wildlife Center recognizes the
symbolic importance of having a Bald Eagle “on staff” as one of our resident
education animals. Skyler was originally rescued by the Audubon Center for
Birds of Prey in Maitland, Florida. Almost at the same time as Skyler’s death,
the Audubon Center admitted a juvenile Bald Eagle, born in the spring of
2006, that had suffered wing injuries in the nest – injuries that prevent this
bird from flying.
That eagle, named Justus, is now a resident of the Wildlife Center and is
being trained in preparation for a new career as an education ambassador on
behalf of wildlife and the environment. It is hoped that Justus, like Skyler,
will touch the hearts and lives of people of all ages for decades to come.
For now, Justus lacks one important attribute that we all associate with a
Bald Eagle – the distinctive white head. Those feathers will not fully appear
until Justus matures, when she reaches age five.
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The causes that bring Bald Eagles to In other cases, treatment requires an extensive and often
the Wildlife Center are varied. In 2006, two of our expensive regimen of drugs and medicines. Center veter-
patients were brought to the Center because their nest inarians generally treat all Bald Eagles (along with many
was destroyed in a spring thunderstorm. Another eagle other raptors and large shore birds) with Itraconazole,
was attacked by a dog; one was hit by a car, another by a drug which is very effective in treating and prevent-
a train. One eagle hit an electric line; two of our 2006 ing lung infections that are so commonly found in these
patients had ingested fish hooks. Many eagles had old patients. For an adult Bald Eagle, the cost of a daily dose
wounds of unknown causes; some birds were dehydrated, of Itraconazole totals $14.
emaciated, and unable to fly.
In other cases, treatment may require surgery – the
Upon admission, each bird receives a full medical insertion of small pins to repair a fractured bone, for
work-up by the Center’s veterinarians – including a example, or the implantation deep into an eagle’s wing of
physical examination, blood and fecal tests, other lab beads impregnated with antibiotics.
work, and x-rays. Occasionally, other health-care
resources are brought in to help. One young eagle admit- And nearly all of the Center’s Bald Eagle patients
ted to the Center during 2006 was twice taken to Virginia undergo some form of physical therapy – flight
Tech in Blacksburg for an ultrasound examination … and rehabilitation in one of the Center’s large flight pens.
then went to the Augusta Medical Center (a “human”
hospital) for an after-hours MRI. In some cases, the eagles brought to the Wildlife
Center cannot be saved. Some birds have suffered massive
All of these tests help shape a treatment plan that is injuries; in other cases, the birds’ injuries had occurred
tailored for each individual eagle. The ultimate goal of many days (or perhaps weeks) before the eagles were
the Wildlife Center is to “treat to release” – returning our rescued and brought to the Center, and difficult-to-
patients to the wild as functioning and healthy animals. treat infections had set in. Not surprisingly, the general
rules of first-aid and emergency care that we know for
In some cases, particularly for young birds, the humans apply to eagles as well – getting timely treatment
Wildlife Center provides “r-and-r” – the quiet care is critical.
and feeding that can give an eagle time to regain its
energy and strength. That quiet time in a protected
environment offers a “second chance” for these birds.
Here are the stories of some of the eagles treated at the Wildlife Center during 2006.
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Case #06-013 n Halfway, Virginia
On New Year’s Day 2006, a large adult female Bald Eagle,
unable to fly, was rescued from a vineyard near the crossroads community of
Halfway, Virginia – halfway between Middleburg and The Plains – in Fauquier
County. The eagle was admitted to the Wildlife Center. Center veterinar-
ians did a complete diagnostic workup, including x-rays, blood work, and
ophthalmic exams – all of which turned up negative. The bird was treated
with anti-inflammatories and given cage rest. She was then transferred to one
of the Center’s large flight pens, where she demonstrated that she was able
There’s a new girl heading for Prince
to fly.
George County. And it’s not at all un-
likely she’ll find love here, settle down
To give this eagle its best chance of survival, the bird was not taken back for
release in Fauquier County where, for whatever reason, it was not thriving. and raise her family in the top of a James
Instead, the bird was taken to the grounds of Westover Plantation (c. 1730) River tree.
on the north shore of the James River for release. The Plantation is across the – Hopewell News, February 9, 2006
river from the James River National Wildlife Refuge. This 4,200-acre refuge
was created in 1991 to protect nesting habitat for Bald Eagles and hosts one of
the largest eagle roosts on the East Coast.
The eagle was released back to the wild on February 7. Participating in the
release were Ed Clark and Colonel W. Gerald Massengill (middle photo), then
Interim Director of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.
Photos: Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries
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Case #06-542 n Accomack County, Virginia
On May 3, the Center admitted an adult eagle from Accomack County,
on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. The bird had an eye injury and was in a weakened
state.
Center vets gave the bird a thorough check, some “r-and-r”, and then started
physical therapy in a flight pen.
On May 5 – the bird’s first day in the flight pen – the eagle showed very little
stamina. The next day, the bird flew the length of the flight pen a few times,
but labored.
A week later, the eagle flew the length of the pen 10 times. And by May 23, the
bird’s patient record states, “Exercise 14x p-p (perch to perch) still improving.
Keeping height and flies on own. Hits both perches. Soars well, gets lift eas-
ily.”
Dr. Paula Cameron, DVM, of the Eastern Shore Animal Hospital in Painter,
who had helped provide initial treatment to the bird, made the long drive to
Waynesboro to pick up the eagle, took the bird back to Accomack County, and
successfully released the eagle on May 27.
The Wildlife Center, located
just off of I-64 south of
Waynesboro, treats animals
from all over Virginia.
The Center is open from
9 a.m. until 5 p.m., seven days
a week; one of the Center’s
three veterinarians is on-call
24 hours a day. The Center’s
building is itself a model of
conservation -- heated and
cooled through a geothermal
system, with energy-efficient
lighting and insulation, and
built with heavy reliance on
recycled materials.
Photo: Suzanne Carr Rossi n The Free Lance-Star
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Cases #06-804 and 805 n Lake Manassas, Virginia
In May, the Wildlife Center received a telephone call about
two Bald Eagles near Lake Manassas in Prince William County. A windstorm
had blown down the tree where they had been nesting. Although the birds
weighed about eight pounds each, they were flightless and defenseless.
Two of the Center’s veterinarians happened to be in Washington, D.C. at a
National Zoo program when the call came in. Arrangements were made so that
they could pick up the eaglets on their way back to Waynesboro.
The plan was to capture the eagles, one at a time, by trapping them in an old
Army blanket. Although too young to fly, the birds were able to swim (using
more or less a breaststroke) across one arm of the lake. One of the Center’s vets
waded in after the birds – and both eaglets were safely corralled, crated, and
carted to Waynesboro.
Once admitted, the birds received a complete diagnostic workup. X-rays on
one of the birds indicated a fracture in one leg – an injury that may have been
sustained during the storm, but that was not considered serious.
The birds were fed a diet of mice, rats, and fish – similar to the diet they would
have had in the wild – and were examined weekly by Center vets. The eagles
spent time in one of the Center’s flight pens and by August had demonstrated
that they were able to fly and ready for release.
On August 11, Ed Clark took the two eaglets back to the shores of Lake
Manassas. As Ed prepared to release the first bird, a somewhat larger female,
she turned her head and bit him soundly on the cheek – a superficial but bloody
wound.
The release of the second bird went off without incident.
Photos: Peter R. Cihelka n Potomac News and Manassas Journal Messenger
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The Washington Post Sunday, August 13, 2006
Born to Fly, and Finally Fleeing Nest
Nature Center Releases Rescued Eagles into Wild
by Theresa Vargas
It’s as if she couldn’t get to freedom fast enough.
Acting like an ungrateful child, a rescued eaglet that was released into the wild Friday bit her
handler on the face and flew away before he could count to three.
“In case you’re wondering if they appreciate what we do for them, the answer would be no,”
Edward Clark, president of the Wildlife Center of Virginia said, joking and wiping a bit of blood
from his cheek.
Clark’s pride was greater than his pain. That the eagle was so aggressive, he said, was testament
to its strength and its chances of survival. Her smaller brother, eight pounds compared with her
12, took off seconds later with much more grace and even looped around once to the awe of the
dozen people gathered near Lake Manassas.
Among those gathered to watch yesterday were a French couple with two children who had been
visiting Dan Price, who has a house on the lake. The family postponed a trip to North Carolina to
see the release of the eagles.
“It was very emotional, very nice,” Pascal Pradines, 45, said. “We didn’t want to miss this.”
In France the national bird is the rooster.
“It’s a backyard bird. Everyone can outrun it,” Pradines said. “With a bald eagle you have to wait
and be very patient to see it.”
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Case #06-1805 n Westmoreland County, Virginia
Ruth and Gary Daiger were returning from an afternoon of
“counting eagles” on the Rappahannock River when they spotted another one
– in their own yard.
There, on the ground, was a young Bald Eagle, looking malnourished and
unable to fly.
The Daigers called Diana O’Connor, a wildlife rehabilitator from their area who
has been involved in many eagle rescues. Diana provided the Daigers with some
tips on catching the bird and helped arrange for the eagle to be transported to
the Wildlife Center.
While the bird was dehydrated and had lice, Center vets found no broken
bones or other injuries, and the bird’s bloodwork was normal. The bird ate
well, steadily gained weight, and quickly demonstrated that it was able to fly.
On September 4, Ed Clark took the eagle to the Land’s End Wildlife
Management Area near Port Conway – not far from where the bird was first
found. The Area, a 430-acre site managed by the Virginia Department of Game
and Inland Fisheries, is situated on the Nanzatico Bay of the Rappahannock
River, and hosts the densest Bald Eagle breeding population in the lower
48 states.
Joining Ed for the release (in addition to the eagle) were the Daigers, Diana
O’Connor, and a number of local Boy and Girl Scouts.
Just moments after the release, the eagle had found a buddy – another juvenile
Bald Eagle. Ed told the crowd that he hoped that the “buddy” would serve as a
mentor for the just-released eagle and help teach him eagle skills, like stealing
fish from an osprey – a teenage rite of passage for Bald Eagles.
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Case #06-2111 n Kingstowne, Virginia
Not every eagle was found in the countryside or along a major
waterway.
On September 26, Melissa Martinez, whose suburban home in Fairfax County
is only about two miles from the Capitol Beltway, heard a loud squawking in
the front yard and was surprised to see a Bald Eagle.
The bird, although unable to fly, was still capable of running – fast. Melissa
brought in reinforcements – her husband Keith and Fairfax Animal Control
Officer Enna Lugo.
Ultimately, the bird, an adult female, was captured and brought to the Wild-
life Center. X-rays revealed that the eagle had an enlarged heart (about twice
the normal size), enlarged kidneys, and lung abnormalities, all consistent with
aspergillosis, a serious and potentially life-threatening lung infection.
Center vets began treating the eagle with an aggressive array of antibiotics,
antifungals, and anti-inflammatory drugs. The bird responded well to the
medication, started eating, and steadily gained weight. Subsequent x-rays
revealed that the eagle’s heart and lungs looked normal.
After a month of treatment, the bird was taken to Mason Neck State Park,
Photo: Cliff Otto
not far from the Kingstowne neighborhood where it had been found. A pen-
insula in the Potomac River that provides prime habitat for Bald Eagles and
other birds, the park connects with the 2,000-acre Mason Neck National
Wildlife Refuge – established in 1969 as the first Refuge specifically set up to
protect essential nesting, feeding, and roosting habitat for Bald Eagles.
Photo: Linda Davidson n The Washington Post
Joined by Melissa and Keith Martinez and Officer Lugo, Ed Clark released the
bird back into the wild.
Dr. Pete Black examines the eagle at the
Wildlife Center (top photo).
Middle and bottom photos:
The eagle on Release Day
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for the future ...
The expenses associated with providing state-of-the-art
medical care for more than two dozen Bald Eagles brought to the Wildlife
Center of Virginia during 2006 are considerable. The costs for medical services
(e.g.¸ drugs and medications, blood and pathology work, and radiographs) and
food and shelter for these patients totaled more than $40,000.
Providing state-of-the-art health care for Bald Eagles and other patients also
requires state-of-the-art equipment. If the Wildlife Center, now entering
its 25th year of service to wildlife, is to continue to be on the cutting edge
of wildlife medicine, the Center must acquire new equipment and technolo-
gies – equipment and technologies that will increase the Center’s success rate
with a wide range of patients, including Bald Eagles and other raptors, allow
the Center to continue to develop techniques that may be used by others in
wildlife medicine, and in some cases shorten the time that animals spend as
patients at the Center. This new equipment includes:
Cautery Unit (HiFreCuter 950 ESU). An increasing number of eagles are
admitted to the Center with infections or traumatic damage to their wrists.
Without surgical intervention, the wrist bones can fuse together, and the
bird can no longer flex or extend the wing. The corrective surgical proce-
dure is often risky, as the bird can lose a great deal of blood in the process.
A cautery unit would allow Center veterinarians to stop the flow of blood
from damaged vessels during surgery, increasing the birds’ chances of
survival. Cost: $1,750.
Ultrasound (HP Ultrasound Sonos 1800 U/S Echo Cardiac S/H) and
Pediatric Endoscope. Ultrasound technology significantly increases
the ability to diagnose soft-tissue injuries and to locate foreign bodies,
such as fish hooks, in eagles. Eagles often scavenge dead fish with attached
fish hooks; these hooks can remain within the eagle’s stomach, but more
often puncture through the stomach and damage other vital organs. An
endoscope is an essential tool needed to locate and capture hooks still
lodged in the stomach. Through the use of an ultrasound, Center vet-
erinarians can determine where the hooks are located and how best to
remove them. Cost: $15,000 for each unit.
Surgical Drill/Pindriver. During orthopedic surgeries, pins are placed
into the bones of an eagle to stabilize a fracture, thereby allowing the
bones to heal. Traditionally, manual hand drills have been used in
avian medicine to repair these fractures, but current research shows
that these devices themselves create micro fractures around the insert-
ed pins. These small fractures compromise pin placement, sometimes
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jeopardizing the entire surgical apparatus. Handheld power pin drives, in
contrast, decrease torque when placing pins, allowing a stronger repair, a
shorter healing time, and a minimal hospital stay before release back into
the wild. Cost: $3,500.
Bair Hugger. While under anesthesia for surgical procedures, birds are
less able to maintain a constant body temperature than when awake.
This induced hypothermia impairs the eagle’s ability to recover from
surgery; as a result, many animals die in this critical post-operative
period. A Bair Hugger is a medical device used to blow warmed air into a
cushion beneath the patient during surgery. Unlike some devices and
techniques that are created to maintain the body temperature of mammals,
the Bair Hugger may be set to 41 degrees Celsius (about 106 Fahrenheit)
– the normal body temperature of birds, but two degrees above mammals.
Cost: $6,000.
Multi-Function Anesthetic Monitors (Dinaman). This anesthetic
monitor is connected to the patient while under anesthesia and is used
to observe various physiological parameters. This monitor has the
ability to measure heart rate and function; the efficiency and capability of
the respiratory system to deliver oxygen to the body’s organs and to
remove waste gas; core body temperature; and pulse and blood pressure.
With this information, Center veterinarians may respond quickly to slight
but telling deviations in these parameters, before permanent damage to
the body occurs. Cost: $8,000.
Orthopedic Instrument Pack. Bald Eagles are larger than almost all
other avian patients treated at the Wildlife Center. As such, they often
require specialized surgical tools or unique tool sizes that are expen-
sive to obtain. The complexity of surgical fixation is also unique to Bald
Eagles, as the surgeon must compensate for the immense strength of these
birds to yield positive results. An orthopedic pack would provide Center
veterinarians with the range of tool sizes needed to successfully operate
Dr. Dave McRuer (top) and Wildlife
on Bald Eagles. Cost: $1,300.
Rehabilitator Tracy Marshall.
Tonover. A Tonover is a tool to measure pressure within the eye. This
tool is specifically designed for animals, including Bald Eagles, and is very
useful in measuring the degree of trauma to an injured eye. As eyes are
often damaged during collisions with vehicles and other manmade struc-
tures, and are critical to a bird’s ability to live in the wild, a thorough
ocular examination is essential when determining the release potential
of the patient. Cost: $2,500.
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An important part of the rehabilitation With the Center’s increasing Bald Eagle case-
process for any Bald Eagle or other raptor admitted load, both of the Center’s current flight pens are
as a patient to the Wildlife Center is the ability to often ocupied, which means that other eagles
fly. With compromised flight skills, a Bald Eagle may not be exercised – often to the detriment of
would be unable to survive, and thrive, in the wild. their recovery. The construction of a third flight
Eagles that have been kept in relative confinement pen and updates to the current pens would give
during convalescence and recovery from surgery the Center the ability to provide better reha-
relatively quickly lose muscle tone and, much like bilitative care for Bald Eagles and other raptors.
human patients, must undergo physical therapy and Cost: $5,000.
conditioning before release.
Creance Equipment
Flight Pens A creance is a device used by falconers for thou-
The Wildlife Center has a specially designed 200- sands of years; it is a long, wire-thin cord that
foot long flight cage, built primarily for eagles. The allows a wildlife rehabilitator to exercise a bird in
L-shaped cage can be divided into two if extra hous- flight while securing it with a tether. Creancing
ing is needed. The L-shape allows staff to evaluate equipment strong enough to use with a Bald Eagle
not only the eagle’s ability to fly in a straight line but would provide flight opportunities that are not pos-
also to corner and maneuver. It is one of the largest sible within the confines of a flight pen (turns at a
such cages in the nation. variety of angles, for example) and would provide
Center staff with vastly expanded rehabilitation
opportunities and flight-skill testing. Cost: $2,000.
Photos: Suzanne Carr Rossi n The Free Lance-Star
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I wish that the Bald Eagle had not been chosen as the Representative of
our Country. He is a Bird of bad moral character. He does not get his Living
honestly. You may have seen him perched on some dead Tree near the River,
where, too lazy to fish for himself, he watches the labour of the Fishing Hawk,
and when that diligent Bird has at length taken a Fish, and is bearing it to its
Nest for the Support of his Mate and young Ones, the Bald Eagle pursues him
and takes it from him. … Besides the Eagle is a rank Coward: the little King
Bird not bigger than a Sparrow attacks him boldly and drives him out of the
District. He is therefore by no means a proper Emblem for the brave and hon-
est … of America who have driven all the King birds from our Country.
-- Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin’s objections notwith- Today, the Bald Eagle population in Virginia and across
standing, the Bald Eagle has been an important symbol of the nation is on the rebound. While the eagle continues
the American Republic since its earliest days. The eagle to serve as the symbol of our nation, it also has come to
was included in the Great Seal of the United States, ap- serve as a symbol for wildlife conservation and efforts to
proved by Congress on June 30, 1782. In 1787, the eagle was protect threatened species.
selected as the official emblem of the U.S. The Bald Eagle
appears on U.S. currency, U.S. government buildings and As a wildlife hospital, and as a center for environmen-
passports, and is on the logo for the U.S. Postal Service. tal education, the Wildlife Center of Virginia is proud
to have played an important part in the resurgence of
It is estimated that the Bald Eagle population of the Bald Eagle.
North America numbered about half a million before
European settlements. Despite its status and symbol- With the help of a network of loyal supporters, the
ism, the U.S. eagle population plummeted, due to loss of Wildlife Center will continue this vital work.
habitat, shooting, and the effects of DDT and other
pesticides.
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the wildlife center of virginia
P.O. Box 1557 n Waynesboro, VA 22980
540.942.9453
www.wildlifecenter.org