At this time of year young eaglets are building their wing muscles by flapping them vigorously while in their nest. The long feathers that are needed for their support in flight grow longer by the day. Eventually the young are like a kite sitting high in their nest ready to sail off. It is almost predictable each year after a particularly windy day that we will get a call that a young eaglet has prematurely left the nest.
The call this time came from Thetis Island and the people had been watching the nest from egg on. The young bird sat on the ground and they didn't know what to do. I explained that although a tree climber can put the bird back up we should examine it first to ensure that it hadn't been injured from the fall.
With the heat of July the concerned eagle watchers wanted to know what to do until they could get to our hospital. I explained that minimal movement would be advisable and they should keep it in a dog carrier or confined space so that if there is a fracture it doesn't become any worse. Bird bones are thin hollow for lightness in flight. When they break they are quite sharp and easily cut through the bird's thin skin resulting in contamination.
I explained they could try and provide some food but that water wasn't necessary as the eagles receive all the water they need from the food that they eat. If one tries to force water down the water might end up in the eaglet's windpipe resulting in an aspiration pneumonia.
I explained how to feed the eaglet and they decided to give some red snapper a try. The next day when the eagle arrived they explained the difficulty of trying to get the eaglet to eat. At first they had some white tongs but the eaglet refused to take any food and fought back when they tried. They then had a brilliant idea and found some tongs that were bright yellow, the colour of an adult eagle's bill.
The young eaglet stared immediately at the new yellow tongs before it and began to eat voraciously. Settling the eagle in a crate after the feeding they were happy to know the eaglet had a good meal before being brought to our veterinary hospital.
