Injured bald eagle rests on rocking chair as it sets off MD doorbell cam, photos show
This story was updated Feb. 8 to include the bald eagle was euthanized by wildlife officials due to the extent of its injuries, according to Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research Inc.
A man found an unexpected visitor — a bald eagle — perched on his porch when it activated his doorbell camera in Maryland, photos show.
It turns out the majestic creature was injured and struggling to fly, according to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
The Charles County resident was away from home when the eagle set off his doorbell camera on Feb. 2, DNR said in a Feb. 3 Facebook post. “Ding dong, delivery!,” the organization posted.
“When he arrived home, he found the eagle in his front yard, attempting to fly but unable to really get off the ground,” Wildlife Response Manager Jane Burgess, who responded to the man’s request for help, told McClatchy News via email.
By the time Burgess and another wildlife response staff member arrived, the eagle was sitting on the man’s fence, according to the Facebook post.
They gave it a field exam and discovered one of its wings was injured and slightly drooping, Burgess said.
“The cause of the injury wasn’t immediately apparent,” Burgess said. .
Bald eagles — the national bird of the United States — are found year-round in Maryland, mostly around Chesapeake Bay, according to the state wildlife department.
The injured bald eagle was brought to Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research in Newark, Delaware for rehabilitation and further assessment on its injuries, according to Burgess.
The bird arrived at the rescue clinic on Feb. 3 and “it was determined that (it) had a dislocated elbow and damage to the patagium, which is the skin that stretches across the front of the wing from the shoulder to the wrist,” Lisa Smith, the director of the rescue clinic, told McClatchy News in a statement.
“Due to the severity of the injuries, this eagle, unfortunately, would never fly in the wild again, and so she was euthanized.”
The eagle’s injury would likely have created “long-term discomfort, arthritis, and wing carriage issues in captivity,” Smith said.
“While we were not able to restore her to life in the wild, we were able to relieve her of her suffering, which would have been significant.”
This story was originally published February 7, 2022 at 1:10 PM with the headline "Injured bald eagle rests on rocking chair as it sets off MD doorbell cam, photos show."
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