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story from beginning
part 1
We have some news regarding SE21. She is no longer with her parents in the reserve, the result of a nasty accident last night, when she was trapped by her wing in a tree fork. This is a not something that can be explained in a couple of sentences; please read all the information supplied before replying.
Friday 23rd – around 7pm. The cameras were about to come back online, a small group of us (cam operators) were watching. SE21 had been eating and jumped up to the far side of right hand perch branch (RHPB) – she was there for a while. She flew off, possibly intending to arc around back to the nest – Dad had just arrived with another prey item. We “think” a gust of wind may have blown her off course, during the short flight and she ended up trapped, by the wing, lower down the camera tree.
We could hear her calling, but had to wait for adjacent camera to come back up so we could see what was going on (blind spot main camera). Photo in the set supplied. What we were seeing looked very bad, SE21’s wing appeared broken. Both parents were down there with her, responding to her calls – trying to help? Lady stayed there very close by until the rescue team arrived.
“It takes a village” – Very appropriate wording for what happened next. Phone lines were running hot trying to find someone able to assist us. Judy managed to secure express intervention approval from National Parks and Wildlife and Sydney Olympic Park Authority. At the same time Geoff and Shirley were calling everyone we could think of that could assist. The rescue team got into the reserve at 10:33pm and left with SE21 at 11:07pm.
Saturday 24th November – We all breathed a sigh of relief this morning to hear that SE21 had made it through the night ok. She had a lengthy car trip this morning to a vet recommended by the rescue team. Unbelievably her wing is NOT broken. The vet said it was a miracle that she survived (she was hanging partially upside-down for 4 hours). There is muscle damage and SE21 will require rehab. No idea how long.
Please note: We've always said, no climbing at night. Most importantly, we don’t intervene with the nesting process. SE21 has been on the wing for 5 weeks. If SE21 was trapped at nest height, we may be talking about a different outcome. Fortunately she was only about 6 metres (20 feet) off the ground. Just above the first fork in the tree (where we have existing support lines).
Judy will post a few words later on, sharing her experience with the events of last night.
EagleCAM Team
part 2
The rescue: it was dark, though fortunately the wind had dropped by this stage. Even though I am really familiar with the area. it is easy to get disoriented in the dark. Not too far to walk in though. Our wonderful climber connected his ropes and gear really quickly, He was able to "rest" in a fork as he struggled to free SE21 and contain her safely. It is the talons that must be watched. I must admit initially I thought she was dead. as there was little movement. On the ground, wrapped firmly and with head covered, 21 remained quite calm. One of the adult eagles was seen nearby when we first arrived, but left. We did not see them at all during the climb. Our friends calmly handled our eaglet and we walked out to our cars. They had a long drive then for the trip, and the vet in the morning.
How wonderful to hear that 21 is not as injured as we first thought. Hopefully recovery will be possible and even release again later. However, our eaglet does not have Life Skills yet and will require training and encouragement to catch and deal with prey.
Life will not be easy.
As Gandalf wished his friends the eagles "May the wind under your wings bear you where the sun sails and the moon walks"
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each day is full of endless possibilities (bev)
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