Immature bald eagle hit by truck

This young bird came to us from the Anchorage landfill. There's easy picking for these guys when food is being a little hard to get. With all of the heavy equipment operating there, it's not the safest place for them to feed or hunt. This guy got hit by a truck. The accident banged him up pretty good. He got a cracked beak and a broken left humerus. Cindy fixed his beak right away, but he had to wait a day or so before his wing was repaired. He needed an operation.

Most operations are done after hours. That's when there's less traffic and interruptions. It's also when we can borrow some tools and equipment from Pet Stop, a local veterinary clinic where Dr. Todd Palmatier works. Most things we have available at Bird TLC, but some of the more expensive equipment we don't.

Not that long ago we had to take these birds elsewhere to operate on them. But with generous donations of equipment, there's not much we can't perform at TLC. X-ray's are the only thing we can't that I can think of off hand. Just preparing a room for the equipment is expensive. Both Pet Stop and PET ER help out with the x-ray's.

Here 4 stainless steel pins were placed in this guys humerus. They will be removed after the bone heals. Todd is putting on the bird what is called an external fixitor. The pins protrude through the birds bones and sticks out through the skin.

An epoxy putty is then mixed up. It's very flexible for about 3-5 minutes and then it dries really hard. It's placed on the pins to keep them from traveling up, down or all around during the healing process.

When the bones has healed, the putty can be broken off with wire cutters and the pins removed with out having to cut into the bird again.

The wing is now wrapped up to protect it from the bird, the bird from it and to hold the wing in position until it heals. Todd then uses a laser treatment to help the healing process.

As of the last report I got, the bird is standing and eating on it's own. X-rays will be taken in a couple weeks to make sure the bone has healed and the fixitor is removed.

For more photographs of the operation (a little bloody), go to the Bird TLC SmugMug operations gallery.

Setbacks for surviving eagle in death spiral

The surviving eagle from the death spiral in Valdez is being monitored for severe head trauma.

Andrea Gusty / KTVA Channell 11 News


ANCHORAGE, Alaska—The surviving eagle from the death spiral in Valdez is being monitored for severe head trauma.

In what experts believe to be a mating ritual gone wrong in Valdez, the female locked talons with a male mid-air, then both spiraled to the ground crashing head first.

The male died on impact.

The female eagle has been recovering at Bird Treatment and Learning Center but after making progress all week, yesterday she suffered a set back.

Staffers say the eagle got stuck after falling on her back while in her cage.

Given her injuries, experts say the incident is likely an affect of head trauma.

She's made it a long ways already from where she was when she started, but just like with any head trauma, even in humans, it can take a little more time even after you are up walking around. You may still have dizzy spells and I think that may be what we are experiencing with her,” said Cindy Palmatier Director of Avian Care.

Staff at Bird TLC will continue to monitor the eagle for head trauma and ligament damage in her wing.

If she can be released back into the wild, experts want to bring the eagle home to Valdez, otherwise the eagle will spend the rest of her life in a zoo or educational center.

Aerial courting goes awry for bald eagles

Two bald eagles crash into the ground leaving one dead and the other seriously injured after misjudging the distance during what experts believe was a mating ritual.

Andrea Gusty / KTVA Channel 11 News

ANCHORAGE, Alaska—It's a case of aerial courting gone awry that has one Anchorage facility helping an injured bald eagle recover.

The Bird Treatment and Learning Center in Anchorage works to help 800 injured birds recover each year—about 50 of those are eagles.

Usually when an injured animal comes to the center, workers must piece together what they think happened based on the injuries.

The case of this particular bald eagle is so unique in that experts know what happened and are able to use that information to help her recover.

The female eagle's ordeal began a few days ago in Valdez in what experts believe to be a mating ritual.

During their peculiar courtship, male and female eagles will lock talons mid-air as they both spiral towards the ground.

In this particular case, "they misjudged the distance to the ground and crashed. One was dead at the scene and the other one was really embedded in the snow,” said Cindy Palmatier Director of Avian Care.

The surviving female was transported to a vet, then to Bird TLC in Anchorage and is now on the long road to recovery.

"The one thing that we are concerned about is when she hit and went into the snow, the wings were pulled this direction really really hard as she broke through the crust, so we are definitely concerned about shoulder damage and the ability to carry the wings appropriately,” said Palmatier.

I don't feel anything broken and the vet in Valdez didn't feel anything broken, but she is definitely not holding them as well as she could.”

Palmatier and her staff will continue to monitor the eagle for head trauma and ligament damage in her wing.

If she can be released back into the wild, experts want to bring the eagle home to Valdez where she will likely find a new mate.

Otherwise, the eagle will spend the rest of her life in a zoo or educational center.

“I'm pretty confident she'll live now. But, releasable or not…I don't know yet,” said Palmatier.

Experts will decide what her future will be as the eagle recovers over the next couple of weeks.

1st 2 photos courtesy of Robert Benda, Valdez, AK

2nd 2 photo's Dave Dorsey / Bird TLC

Trumpeter Swan from Ketchikan

This young trumpeter swan was sent to us from the Deer Mountain Tribal Hatchery and Eagle Center in Ketchikan. After caretaking it for a few days, it seems that it had a toxic reaction to something.

It seems to be getting some strength back and got to play in one of our kiddie pools today.

Unfortunately we had to end the fun and tube feed him since he's not eating on his own yet. Hopefully he starts eating again soon.

Nisos

Nisos, the osprey, came to us over 2 years ago. Somehow he had a self amputation, either by flying into a cable or wire, or he had a situation with a airplane. He lost his left wing tip, so obviously he can't fly or be released.

Ospreys can be hard to care for in captivity. They are a migratory bird, so Alaska is a tough place to keep one year round. In the photos, he has bumper pads on his wrist so he doesn't bang them up in his kennel during shipping.

Nisos is headed to Sea World in San Diego. There he should be happy year round. With Sea Worlds reputation for caretaking birds, mammals and animals, he should be well taken care of.

Thanks for your time with us Nisos.

2nd series of photos by Sharon Larson / Bird TLC

Is it spring?

If it is, it'll be the earliest spring has started that I can remember. Not that I'm complaining. The eagles out at the flight center seem to think that it's here. They are strutting their stuff, getting their strength back, getting ready for release.

They're flying in between the post, hanging from the nets and turning around in short spaces. You can tell they are getting anxious.

We seldom do releases during the winter. The idea is that a bird should have its best opportunity on its first night out. It has been in captivity for a spell with food being brought to it and protected from all. For it to start out on its own again, it should have all of the best opportunities available.

So, spring is the start of release season. And I think these guys and gals can smell it.

"For the Birds" 2010 is over

The evening started with Eryn doing an AWESOME job playing the piano for our arriving guest. That little lady has a lot of talent.

Our education birds were out entertaining the attendees. Everyone got to see what Bird TLC has to offer for education programs.

Staff and volunteers were busy most of the night.

We had to add 2 more tables. The event turn out to be a huge success. The calculators will be clicking away on Monday, but early reports are that we made over $23K "For the Birds"

For the Birds 2010

This Saturday @ the Sheraton Anchorage from 6 -10PM. Tickets available at www.birdtlc.net or call 562-4852. Get some good stuff and raise some monies "For the Birds".

Development Directors position open

Bird TLC has a position open for a Development Director. If you are qualified and interested, review the following link. http://www.birdtlc.net/devdirector.pdf . If you're still qualified and still interested, call Cindy Palmatier, Director of Avian Care at 907-562-4852.

The Bird Treatment and Learning Center is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization dedicated to rehabilitating sick, injured or orphaned wild birds and providing avian education programs to the public. Dr. James R. Scott, an Anchorage veterinarian, now retired, founded Bird TLC in 1988. Dr. Scott, along with other Alaskan veterinarians and volunteers, donate their time to treat these birds in need. In addition to medical care, Bird TLC provides a variety of educational programs to increase people's awareness of the wild birds around them and to encourage preservation of their habitat. Bird TLC is supported by education program fees and contributions from individuals, private foundations, and corporations.

Juvenile Detention

Earlier this winter, we closed the flight center down for the first time in recent memory. We didn't have any eagles or large raptors to put out there. Things have changed around some this year. So far we have taken in 17 eagles at the Bird TLC clinic in 2010.

The majority of them have been immature bald eagles. So if you go to the flight center now, of the seven bald eagles out there, all but one is an immature bald eagle. Four of them are fully flighted and will be ready for release come spring. Two of them are partially flighted and are working on getting their strength back to be fully flighted. The last one is in question right now, but after a molt we'll see.

These guys and gals are practicing their flying skills everyday. They are feed fresh salmon and red meat. Sometimes they get a treat of chicken or turkey, depending how much we have donated.

Each one came to us for a different reason. One had a broken leg, another was caught in a avalanche and some were toxin birds. They ate what they should not have. But now they are being taken care of by dedicated volunteers.

Any ways, they are on the road to recovery and most will be released as soon as spring weather allows.

KTVA Channel 11 news story on Cyrano

Check out the latest story on Cyrano, our bald eagle by KTVA Channell 11
http://www.ktva.com/topalaskanews/ci_14506914

If you want to know how far around the globe this story has gone, go to Google and type in Cyrano eagle alaska.

New patients

This Great Horned Owl was hit by a car. He's in good physical condition, but he did hit his head hard. He's receiving some good TLC r&r, thanks to the young lady that brought it into PET ER.

This mature bald eagle came to us a few weeks ago interrupting a lunch date. It was very anemic and received a blood transfusion right away. Its coming along pretty good.

This immature was fished out of the water in Kodiak. Very young, skinny, over full crop, wet and cold. A very bad eagle day. As of yesterday she was improving well.

Sorry for the lack of post. I've been really busy.

Cyrano is getting a little well known

Cindy and I spent most of the morning on the phone with different newspapers, news stations, The Discovery Channel. BE 09-31, now affectionately known as Cyrano, is getting pretty well known. With his new beak designed and put into action by Cindy and Dr. Kirk Johnson, he's become quite the celebrity.

Unfortunately because of his injury, he'll never be released back to the wild. If he wasn't brought to Bird TLC, he would have faced a certain death. So he must start thinking about being an education bird. He'll be able to represent his proud species and hopefully educate people about the dangers they cause to wildlife when they recklessly leave trash in the wild.

Don't let the shoulder bumpers scare you. Those are only to protect his wings while in a small mew. They'll be removed soon. He was placed in a larger outside mew this afternoon.

If you would like to donate to help out, please click the donate button below.

Phoenix, Thanks for the visit!

In August of 2008 we received two osprey chicks that were recovered after their nest on a power line caught fire. They both were too young to leave nest. One had no injuries and one had severe burns to its legs and a broken wing. The one that had no injuries was placed in a foster nest a few weeks later.

The other took some time to heal. After healing he was so imprinted there was no chance of release. Cindy was told that it was impossible to keep an osprey in captivity. So that was her inspiration to have an education osprey. I spent a lot of weekends building an insulated mew that would stay heated above 32°f, with a sad light on timer and remote thermometer.

Phoenix as he became known was well accepted by all of the volunteers. He would readily squeal at you if you didn't talk to him as you went by his mew. He became so easy to handle on glove that several volunteers checked off on him and were doing presentations. Phoenix was getting well known.

A few weeks ago Phoenix was a little quiet. It was also noticed that he wasn't eating as well as he normally did. An exam and blood test should nothing abnormal. A couple days later he passed away. There wasn't a dry eye in the building.

Even though Phoenix life was short, he sure touched a lot of people. I'm a little late writing this post because I didn't want to get anyone more upset. I doubt he'll ever be forgotten.

Trapped Golden Eagle

On Thursday afternoon I received a call from our local USF&W Office of Law Enforcement requesting assistance recovering an eagle caught in a leg trap outside of Glennallen. After making a few calls to Bird TLC volunteers, no one was available on such short notice, so I decided to take a days vacation and make the trip.

Our USF&W agent was in Fairbanks and would travel down and meet me at the Eureka Lodge. His trip was about 5 hours and mine was about 3. We were to meet with an Alaska State Trooper and recover the bird. Because of our travel time, the local trooper recruited some help from the local Bureau of Land Management agent and they traveled about 8 miles by snowmachine in the -10°f mountain area to recover the bird.

We meet them on the roadside and transferred the bird into my truck for a trip back to Anchorage. It's right leg still had the trap attached just above the foot. The trap and foot were engulfed in ice, so at that time it was impossible to get the trap off.

In my Durango, the bird had a chance to warm up on the 3 hour trip back. As I got back on the highway I called PET ER and gave them a heads up that we were going to be there around 6PM and will need assistance. Dr. Doty who is their best avian DVM was off that day but decided to come in to assist.

When we arrived we got the bird out of the kennel and immediately stated running cold water over the trap and foot to thaw them out. It took two people to open the trap so I could pull the foot out. The wound was cleaned and x-rays were taken.

The x-rays showed the only bone damage was a broken hallux. The large gash above the foot was sutured closed and antibiotics and pain medication was given. Our main concern for the next few days is if there is blood circulation in the foot.

A grateful thank you to the Alaska State Trooper and BLM agent in Eureka, the USF&W Law Enforcement officer from Anchorage but who traveled down from Fairbanks. Their names I won't post because this might be a criminal case. Those guys went above and beyond in my opinion. Thanks also to PET ER who's always a big help and Dr. Doty from breaking away during her off time to help tend to this gorgeous bird. Also, thanks to the kind ladies at the Eureka Lodge who kept me entertained and full of coffee while I waited.

Dr. Doty and I checked in on our golden today. It's more alert and standing on its ow., but the injured foot is very cold still.