PA wildlife center helping to care for 3 wounded Bald Eagles

Schuylkill County, PA — The Bald Eagle holds a symbolic place in American history, but what happens when an eagle is injured? Who makes sure they are nursed back to health?

The Bald Eagle soaring across the United States stands as the image of our freedom, but sometimes, these magnificent birds need help spreading their wings.

Red Creek Wildlife Center, in Schuylkill County, has been treating animals since 1991 and they have recently seen a rise in some patriotic patients.

“The first 15 to 18 years that I did this, we took in one eagle. Now we are getting multiple eagles at a time.”

The center recently welcomed three mature bald eagles that had been injured.

One remains in their flight enclosure while recovering from suspected lead poisoning.

“We did do a little bit of treatment with it and, as you can see, has made a full recovery.”

The other two birds were temporarily transported to Radnor Veterinary Hospital, just outside of Philadelphia, to be treated for wing and head traumas.

Red Creek says that once these eagles are nursed back to health the next steps will be decided on an individual basis but the end goal for these birds is always freedom.

“The end goal is release. That is always our goal is to get them back out into the wild so they can help increase population we have in the United States and just keep their numbers growing.”

The center takes many factors into consideration before allowing their patients to fly free again.

“Where they came from. Are they nesting birds, and can we take them back to where they came from. Juveniles we often release right here at Red Creek. Safety is also a big factor.”

Red Creek protects eagles by not releasing them into another eagle's territory.

It is important to remember that these are birds of prey and can be dangerous.

“A lot of the eagles we get in, they use their size against us. They are very strong and formidable animals to deal with.”

If you do find the nation's bird with a wounded wing.

“We don't recommend that people go and capture wounded eagles because they are quite dangerous. So, I would say if you have any kind of wild animal that is down and injured and you are not sure, give us a call.”

Red Creek accepts more than just eagles. They will help any injured animals from hummingbirds, to bunnies, to white-tailed deer fawns.

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