“The best-laid plans o’mice and men…”

Oh, we had SUCH plans for this past week, and BOY, did they “gang aft agley…”

Remember the juvie eagle that went to CNC for flight conditioning and live prey testing? Well, she (yeah, the general consensus now is that she’s female) did great at CNC and it was time for her release last week. DNR wanted to release her in Laurens County and had located what appeared to be a great area where eagles had been documented, so we knew it would provide support (i.e., have food and roosting areas) for her.

So Monday my niece and I met DNR head biologist Bob Sargent and his assistants at the designated release site. All looked good; the eagle was restless in her crate; and dang, it was HOT… We quickly worked out a game plan and then the crate was set on the ground and opened…and she sat there, talons latched in the door. Bob pried her talons loose, and she more or less braced her feet and legs against the inside of the crate. This really should have been our clue this wasn’t gonna end well, but noooo, we’ve all seen reluctant releasees before, so we chalked it up to that.

Sure enough, within ten minutes or so, after Bob encouraged her to get out of the crate, she decided to show off her flight skills. It was glorious…until it wasn’t…

She took off, circled back behind us, and landed in a bush mere inches above the water, where she sat until Bob tried to snag her again, as this wasn’t going well. She THEN decided to go for a swim…It took nearly 45 minutes for her to get close enough to shore for Bob to wade in and net her; meanwhile, we had two people searching the nearby residences for someone who might have a boat we could borrow…

Since she was now waterlogged, stressed and angry, we decided to wait a couple of days and try again. Meanwhile, Bob and I agreed it would be less stress on “Swimmer,” as we were now calling her, if she just hung out at LWR in the interim rather than making the three-hour trip back to CNC. Since she and “Wing-wrap” are both juvies, there should be no territorial issues.

Well, at least THAT went well. Both birds sorta huffed and postured a bit but then decided having a fellow “inmate” wasn’t so bad.

A couple of days later, having located an alternate release site near the original site, we tried again. This was to be a release from private property, and the landowners were thrilled to be of assistance. When we got ready for release, we warned them it might not be a sight to write home about. Thinking that maybe the crate had upset her last time, we tried using my old standby of a cardboard box this time. Initially it looked promising: she gathered herself, launched to the side of the box, perched for a second, and took off…right back into the drink…

This time, though, we were near a dock on the landowners’ property, and Swimmer was at least smart enough to head for the dock. Bob stretched out flat on the dock and netted her, and we discussed our options. Given her apparent lack of confidence in her flight skills, Bob said he’d check with FWS and seek permission to transfer her to the Center for Birds of Prey in Awendaw, SC. I suggested we also send Wing-wrap, as he needs extended rehab and possibly placement as an ed bird.

Bob agreed, and by the end of the day FWS had granted permission for both birds to be transferred to Awendaw as soon as practicable. Since they were still recovering from the aftermath of Debby and the resultant influx of birds, a tentative date of the last week of August was set for the transfer, and FWS granted me authorization to keep both birds until they can be transferred.

Meanwhile, both the juvie and second-year red tails are doing great and just hanging out, awaiting their turns in the main flight once the eagles have been transferred.

There will be no update next Sunday, August 25.