Baby eagle blown from its nest by storm Arthur on the mend
A young bald eagle, injured during post-tropical storm Arthur, is on the mend after undergoing surgery in Moncton last week.
The three-month-old bird fell about 24 metres after its nest was blown from a tree on Coles Island, killing its sibling.
A couple who witnessed the July 5 fall took the injured bird to the Atlantic Wildlife Institute.
The bird suffered broken bones in its wing and leg, said spokesperson Pam Novak.
But the veterinarian who operated, inserting pins to hold the broken bones together, says the eagle is doing remarkably well.
"We're very surprised he recovered so fast, and he's sitting up," said Dr. Gordon Vessey.
"It's very difficult to assess pain in a large bird like this, however he seemed to be very comfortable after surgery and did very, very well," he said.
The next month or so will determine if the eagle survives and is released back into the wild, said Novak, who rehabilitates a few eagles each year.
"It's going to be a tricky go of it," said Novak.
"It's a lot of R and R. Just trying to make sure he's feeding, He can't eat on his own and so that's a, you know, problem because we have to have, you know, constant contact with him," she said.
"I have to feed him with actually prongs and forceps because he can't use his feet to tear if we give him fish or give him chicks or something of a natural food source."
As the eagle's health improves, Vessey will remove the pins.
"It will depend on his wing especially. His leg seems to be doing fairly well," he said.
Once the young bird is out of the woods, therapy to help him learn to fly again will begin.
Bald eagles have an average life span of up to 28 years in the wild.
They typically have a wingspan of six to eight feet and weigh between three and 6.5 kilograms.
