In their first rescue of the new year, volunteers with Chicago Bird Collision Monitors (CBCM) safely brought a bald eagle to shore after it was observed floating on ice in the Waukegan Harbor.
"It was just so exciting because there were so many things that could have gone wrong," said CBCM director, Annette Prince.
Bird watchers noticed the despondent-looking eagle floating on a piece of ice on New Year's morning. They called the volunteer rescue group's tip line for help.
The tip line receives almost 10,000 calls a year for birds who need assistance, according to CBCM.
"We were very apprehensive about how things were going to turn out. We never know until we get out there how the bird is going to react and behave," said Prince.
Another volunteer, Jim Tibensky, jumped in his kayak and paddled to the bird.
"When he got out there, he realized the bird was floating on movable ice, which he could gently continue to nudge across the harbor to where I was on the dock, "said Prince.
Local
She used a net to bring the bird out of the water and into a warm, waiting vehicle.
They then transported the eagle to the Willowbrook Wildlife Center in Glen Ellyn.
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter here.
"When it got here, it was pretty easy to tell this bird was not feeling well," said lead veterinarian, Dr. Sarah Reich.
The bird was extremely underweight and tested positive for lead.
"When we see cases like this, and unfortunately we see them all too frequently, it’s usually due to secondary anticoagulant rodenticide exposure, which is rat bait basically," said Dr. Reich.
Dr. Reich and her team are treating the bird, who they anticipate is about three years old, with antibiotics, fluids and vitamin K to promote blood clotting. The goal is a full x-ray before they move the bird to a bigger, outdoor enclosure, and eventually back into the wild.
"The treatment for rodenticide is a minimum of a month," said Dr. Reich. "It basically is a process of them rebuilding flight muscles they’ve lost because they’re so skinny."
Coincidentally, the first patient at Willowbrook in 2022 was also a bald eagle.
"We don’t see a lot of eagle patients," said Dr. Reich. "The one in 2022 also came in with rodenticide, also came in with lead. That animal, after about 40 days, was released. We’re really gunning for this patient to go the same direction."
They don't know the gender and the bird was not given a name because staff wants to remind the public the eagle is a wild animal, not a pet.
"It was a great way to start off 2023, being able to bring this bird to safety," said Prince.
