An officer with Montgomery County’s Animal Services Division helped rescue an injured bald eagle in Potomac on Thursday morning. This incident began when a resident called the Emergency Communications Center after watching the eagle walk into a wooded area in the area of River Road and Riverwood Drive.
Officer Jennifer Gill responded to the call, and located the injured bird in the woods. Police said the eagle appeared unable to fly. Gill wrapped the bald eagle in towels, with the assistance of Maryland Department of Natural Resources Officer Danny Thomas.
The eagle was then transported to the Owl Moon Raptor Center, a wildlife rehabilitation center in Boyds, that specializes in birds of prey. Suzanne Shoemaker is the founder and director of the Owl Moon Raptor Center, and she said an initial evaluation indicates the eagle has a soft tissue injury in the left shoulder. The eagle is at a healthy weight, 4.75 kilograms or about ten pounds, so the injury is believed to be new.
“I don’t feel any fractures,” said Shoemaker, who said the eagle is “improving.”
Shoemaker said she believes the eagle is at least five years old and a female. In the coming days, Shoemaker plans to transport the eagle to a vet for a complete check-up, including some x-rays. She said she believes the eagle may have been feeding on a deer carcass when it was injured. She wants to raise awareness of this issue because she says birds that are feeding on the roadway are often injured by passing vehicles. She said it is important to slow down, and to report the carcass to police so that it can be removed from the roadway.
As for the eagle rescue, Shoemaker said, Officer Gill “did a good job of protecting it from further injury.”
Officer Gill named the eagle, “Trust.”
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Officer Jennifer Gill responded to the call, and located the injured bird in the woods. Police said the eagle appeared unable to fly. Gill wrapped the bald eagle in towels, with the assistance of Maryland Department of Natural Resources Officer Danny Thomas.
The eagle was then transported to the Owl Moon Raptor Center, a wildlife rehabilitation center in Boyds, that specializes in birds of prey. Suzanne Shoemaker is the founder and director of the Owl Moon Raptor Center, and she said an initial evaluation indicates the eagle has a soft tissue injury in the left shoulder. The eagle is at a healthy weight, 4.75 kilograms or about ten pounds, so the injury is believed to be new.
“I don’t feel any fractures,” said Shoemaker, who said the eagle is “improving.”
Shoemaker said she believes the eagle is at least five years old and a female. In the coming days, Shoemaker plans to transport the eagle to a vet for a complete check-up, including some x-rays. She said she believes the eagle may have been feeding on a deer carcass when it was injured. She wants to raise awareness of this issue because she says birds that are feeding on the roadway are often injured by passing vehicles. She said it is important to slow down, and to report the carcass to police so that it can be removed from the roadway.
Photos Via Montgomery Co Police
As for the eagle rescue, Shoemaker said, Officer Gill “did a good job of protecting it from further injury.”
Officer Gill named the eagle, “Trust.”
Source
Photos Montgomery Co Police
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Anyone else notice her middle initial is E, E Gill = Eagle