Zookeeper John Gilman and other members of the Bramble Park Zoo staff have spent the past several months caring for a pair of bald eagles that were sent to the zoo’s raptor rehabilitation center.
One of the birds had a broken wing, and the other was severely underweight and unable to fly. Their stay at the zoo ended Saturday when they were taken to Thompson’s Point State Lakeside Use Area on the southwest side of Pelican Lake and released back into the wild.
It was the first eagle release by the zoo in two years, but Gilman has cared for and released well over a dozen eagles during his time in Watertown. He said watching the eagles soar away its own reward.
“It’s awesome,” he told the Watertown Current. “It’s a great feeling, especially when they fly so well. It’s a little nerve-wracking until you let it go and see that the bird is flying well. Everybody at Bramble Park Zoo deserves some credit because everybody is involved. It’s really a group effort.”
The eagles were put in cages and taken by van to the release point, followed by a caravan of spectators. Gilman carefully took each bird out of its cage, passing one off to Zoo Director Stacy Plocher and keeping the second for himself. They birds had been fitted with hoods to help keep them calm, but it was still a bit of a struggle getting them out of their cages.
“You don’t handle eagles,” Gilman said, “they handle you.”
They toted the birds into the grass off the gravel road, removed their hoods and gave them a few seconds to look around.
Gilman then released the first bird, which was found in the Goodwin area in Deuel County with a broken wing. It left Gilman’s arms and flew east until it vanished from sight. The second bird, which was found at Custer State Park earlier this year, suffering from malnutrition and begging for food from campers, was released by Plocher. Now back to a healthy weight, the eagle left Plocher’s arms and circled the crowd of about 50 people gathered to witness the event before also heading east.
Gilman said he doesn’t expect the eagles to stick around the area.
“I think they’ll move on,” he said. “Eagles, especially this time of the year, are wanderers, so they wander, follow the goose migration, maybe.”
Both birds were banded, so their location can be tracked in the future.
The release day was marked by some strong winds, but Gilman said that wasn’t a problem for the eagles.
“With Smaller birds, like kestrels, they say you shouldn’t release them in heavy winds,” he said. “They’re such little birds, and the wind can spin them out of control. But with these larger birds, the wind can actually help them get some lift. You could see that today, especially with that second bird. He was really riding those winds.”
In addition to eagles, Bramble Park Zoo cares for other injured raptors like hawks, falcons and owls in addition to waterfowl. Once healthy, the birds are released back into the wild.