BERNARDSTON — A dehydrated and injured male bald eagle with a fractured wing was rescued near the Vermont state line over the weekend.
Wildlife Rehabilitator Tom Ricardi was called for by local police on Sunday after the eagle was seen on someone’s property for a few days in a row. Ricardi took the injured eagle back to his raptor rehabilitation sanctuary in Conway.
“Around 1:30 p.m. yesterday, officer Dan Larvey received a call about an injured bald eagle on Route 5,” relates a news statement posted on the department’s Facebook page. “With the assistance of our animal control officer, Art Johnson, they were able to rescue the eagle and transport it to the proper facilities for care.”
Police Chief James Palmeri said Larvey found the eagle “on the north end of Brattleboro Road, the 800 block.” He said a state Environmental Police officer was also called.
While not certain, Ricardi said he thinks the raptor sustained its injuries by flying into a limb or a wire.
“It’s got a bad wing, dehydrated,” Ricardi said, noting that he brought the eagle to South Deerfield Veterinary Clinic to receive emergency care.
Ricardi on Monday reported the eagle is “holding the wing up OK. I don’t know if this bird is releasable or not. If not, he has a good home here.”
Currently, the eagle is about two pounds under its typical weight of seven pounds. Ricardi said that’s a significant change as “they’re pretty hardy birds, they can live pretty well for a couple of weeks without a noticeable change in body weight.”
“You can feel his breastbones real good — but he ate well last night, about a half-pound of quail, which is unusual,” he added. Ricardi now has eight injured or recovering bald eagles at the sanctuary.
As far as treatment goes, Ricardi said Dr. Robert Schmitt — who recently received an award from a statewide nonprofit agency for his work with injured wildlife — prescribed antibiotics. The wing, he added, might not be able to be reset.
In case of a wildlife related emergency, Palmeri said calling police “is a really good route, seeing as we know the correct services to notify from there.”
You can reach Andy Castillo
at: acastillo@recorder.com
or 413-772-0261, ext. 263
On Twitter: @AndyCCastillo