Rehabilitated Bald Eagle Returns to the Wild with New Feathers

This blog appeared on the Audubon Society of Portland’s Wildlife Care Center Blog. I wrote this while interning in Communications for the organization. Please enjoy this incredible story and visit audubonportland.org to find out how you can help injured, native wildlife!

Have you ever heard of an avian rehabilitation technique called imping? Most people, unless they’ve cared for injured birds, have never heard of this falconry practice dating back several thousand years. 

Imping, short for implantation, is a process in which “donor feathers”, usually of the same species, replace broken or missing feathers, enabling the bird to fly safely again. The imping process is much the same as humans getting hair extensions or fake fingernails. 

Wildlife rehabilitators pay careful attention to neurological and physical signs an animal exhibits while in their care. Poor feather condition can be just as detrimental as a broken wing when considering a bird for release. If a bird has broken feathers, rehabilitators will assess the number of feathers that need to be replaced, how the bird uses its wings and tail, the season of their molt, and the size of the animal before deciding to imp. For smaller birds, lighter materials like toothpicks and tiny wooden dowels can be used to attach the new feather to the existing feather. With bigger birds, like an eagle, needles without the tip or pieces of metal and glue can be scored and used for imping. The most structurally sound way to imp is to carve out the shaft of the replacement feather so that it fits into the shaft of the old feather that it’s glued to, reinforcing the weak point.

In late March of this year, Portland Audubon’s Wildlife Care Center took in an adult male Bald Eagle whose tail and legs were severely punctured, injuries sustained from a territorial dispute with another eagle. Territorial disputes are one of the most common reasons Bald Eagles are brought into the care center and this eagle was no exception; he was really beat up—he had severe wounds on his inner legs and damage to his tail feathers, but had no broken bones or internal injuries.

Before there was any thought of imping, this Bald Eagle needed surgery to clean out the dead tissue if he was going to make a full recovery. A long and complex procedure, the bird’s surgery had to be performed at the Oregon Zoo’s veterinary clinic.  The eagle needed to be sedated for the hour long procedure on both legs, where large amounts of tissue in his muscles were cut out and then sewn back up. 

The Oregon Zoo has been a wonderful resource to Portland Audubon’s rehabilitation efforts, sharing their veterinary staff and services. Veterinarians Kelly Flaminio and Mitch Finnegan from the zoo assisted our Wildlife Care Center with the Bald Eagle’s remarkable recovery. 

He returned to the care center shortly after the surgery and spent the next eight months healing. Wound cleaning, bandaging, antibiotics, and pain medication were part of his daily healing process. New pockets of dead tissue would open up all the time, so it was a long road to recovery for the bird. And because of his condition, he suffered some wing damage during the healing process. 

“During his stay, because he was not able to stand for an appreciable amount of time, he would use his wings to help support him,” said Lacy Campbell, Wildlife Care Center Operations Manager.

“Birds in captivity are prone to feather damage,” explained Lacy. "We try to limit it as much as possible, but when you have an animal, especially a larger animal, in a cage, that possibility of feather damage is going to be there because they aren’t meant to live in cages.”

Lacy imped two primary feathers on the left wing to give him the best possible chance of success in the wild. 

Eventually, the Bald Eagle will lose the borrowed feathers and grow his own new ones. 

On November 10 at Jackson Bottom Wetlands Preserve, after months of intense treatment at Portland Audubon’s Wildlife Care Center, the Bald Eagle was released back into the wild at a time when salmon are spawning and threats of territorial battles are low.

The Early Bird Catches the Bird

It's still, but not stagnant. It is noiseless, yet humming. A palette of soft grays, apricots and corals, and shades of pale indigo work to decorate the day as the sun begins to wake up. This is the narrow window of time that photographers alike refer to as the golden or "magic" hour.

This teeny time frame of unsullied light occurs twice per day: an hour or so after sunrise and an hour or so before sunset. The illumination is soft, colors enhanced. We're all too familiar with the phrase, "the early bird catches the worm." When it comes to bird photography, this statement rings even truer. Though golden hour is a double occurrence each day, it is the sunup spell that devoted and avid birders seek.

Early mornings are the most productive for photographing birds because that's when they're the most active. The birds have fasted all night and they must obtain a high caloric intake to fuel their elevated metabolism. Flight is energetically expensive, therefore birds must procure enough sustenance to carry on with their day, especially during migration when travel time can last for hours. This enchanting arrangement of avian energy and garish, glowing light is remarkable in that it brings alive the spirit of every living organism; it breathes light into your soul and your pictures.

Bird photographers know that the golden hour is the best time to capture our feathered friends on film, but it's the feeling of being in nature, amongst the chorus of warbles, standing under a blushing sky, sharing a cup of coffee and chirps that motivates even the sleepiest night owl to wake up and appreciate their relationship to the environment.