A red-backed sea eagle became entangled on an overhead power line recently on the Queensland's Gold Coast in Australia because of a fishing hook and nylon line that had become embedded in it's talon. This has become a huge problem for our wildlife including birds, marine animals and other wildlife that eat fish.

The poor stricken eagle, who at one point was used as a perch for a passing bird, had been spotted by concerned passers-by, who called the authorities. A four hour operation then took place, involving everyone from the police and marine rescue to wildlife rescuers and power workers.

Once the eagle was freed (also known as Brahminy Kite) it was taken to the Currumbin Wildlife Hospital for antibiotics and observation. After freeing the bird, the rescuers said such scenarios are all too familiar in Australia's Gold Coast in Queensland, because of the careless disposal of such fishing equipment.

Rescuer Rowley Goonan urged people to think about how they get rid of fishing hooks and lines. "I typically do more than 100 rescues a year - the majority caused by entanglements." The eagle is expected to recover from it's ordeal, hopefully never to experience this again.

Red-backed Sea Eagle -

The Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus) also known as the Red-backed Sea-eagle in Australia, is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards and harriers. They are found in the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and Australia. They are found mainly on the coast and in inland wetlands where they feed on dead fish and other prey. Adults have a reddish brown plumage and a contrasting white head and breast which makes them easy to distinguish from other birds of prey. In flight the rounded tail and plumage of adults is very distinctive.


The Brahminy Kite is distinctive and contrastingly coloured, with chestnut plumage except for the white head and breast and black wing tips. The juveniles are browner, but can be distinguished from both the resident and migratory races of Black Kite in Asia by the paler appearance, shorter wings and rounded tail. The pale patch on the underwing carpal region is of a squarish shape and separated from Buteo buzzards.

The Brahminy Kite is about the same size as the Black Kite (Milvus migrans) and has a typical kite flight, with wings angled, but its tail is rounded unlike the Milvus species, Red Kite and Black Kite, which have forked tails. The two genera are however very close. Their call is a mewing keeyew.

Source - Wikipedia