After a near-disastrous fall in early June, a young bald eagle returned to its home at Lake Allatoona Wednesday morning.
"Our National symbol and yes, we're holding it. Just crazy. This doesn't happen but once in a lifetime or a hundred lifetimes. And who rescues an eagle? Not many people," said Dieter Finke, owner of D'Finitive Foto in Marietta.
On a Saturday in early June, Finke and amateur photographer Victor Vliet ended up taking more than just photos of a bald eagle; they saved its life.
"The fact that it landed in a tree on a horizontal branch and fell right off immediately, we knew something was wrong," remembers Finke.
"We heard a loud snap, looked up, saw this eagle fly across the water, try to land in another tree, fell and hit the water … So we beached the boat, jumped in the water, went into the trees, watched the eagle and noticed some things weren't right," continues Vliet.
Its leg was fractured. Finke and Vliet made a phone call to Chet Powell, director of the Georgia Wildlife Rescue Association, who instructed the men to cover the bird with a towel, a task easier said than done.
"It took about 10 attempts to get the towel on his head," remembers Finke.
"I think once we threw the towel over his head he calmed down," says Vliet.
Holding the eagle, Finke and Vliet boated back to camp where they waited for the next step.
"There was a time I just couldn't hold it anymore. I had to give it to Vic for 30 to 45 minutes for him to hold on to, and then he got the same way and passed it back to me. It was a very tense moment. You realize how much your muscles are tensed up just maintaining the bird," recalls Finke.
Charlie Lowry, a volunteer with the Georgia Wildlife Rescue Association, retrieved the bird from Finke and Vliet late that night. The bird was then assessed at a local veterinarian and transported to the Southeastern Raptor Center at Auburn University.
Seth Oster, associate Clinical Professor at Auburn University and Primary Veterinarian at the Raptor Center, explained to Channel 2 meteorologist Katie Walls that after assessing the fracture and confirming it was healing properly, the eagle simply needed rest.
"It wasn't a functional problem. He just needed to learn to compensate with his injury. That leg is actually a little shorter, so it was more just a learning curve for this guy. He just needed more or less rehab, cage rest and slowly working him up to flight condition," says Oster.
After nearly two months of rehabilitation, the majestic bald eagle, too young for its white just yet, spread its wings and took flight.
"He probably has a mate in the area. They do mate for life, so that mate is probably still around waiting for him. That's why we try to bring these eagles back to where they were originally found," says Oster.
There are 211 documented bald eagle nests in the state of Georgia, two at Lake Allatoona.
If you're interested in becoming a volunteer for the Georgia Wildlife Rescue Association, please visit their website http://www.georgiawildliferescue.org/ or Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Georgia-Wildlife-Rescue-Association/237800706338587?fref=photo
