Pennsylvania Game News - July 2011 - 21

would be able to regain her strength. To do that, though, we needed natural prey with a higher fat content than rabbit meat. I suggested woodchucks, as there are plenty around, they have a very high fat and protein content, and their tough hides would provide beak strengthening exercise which was also needed. I left with my new mission — provide woodchucks to assist in the eaglet’s recovery. Over the next six weeks I shot numerous woodchucks with my .22 rifle. As soon as I was able I placed the woodchucks in plastic bags and froze them in my large freezer. After accumulating a few I would load them up and take them to Victor’s place, where he would use them as needed. Initially he would thaw them out before serving, but the harsh heat wave that we experienced during June and July led to him serving the woodchucks still frozen. We called them woodchuckcicles, and from the eaglet’s response, they were a welcome summer treat. The eaglet continued to improve and was able to regain its strength and weight. In addition to the woodchucks, we provided the eaglet with catfish, carp and venison, all of which were recognized as food sources and completely eaten. Her final weigh in showed her at a healthy 12.4 pounds. The final part of her recovery was flight training. Victor would take her out to large private fields where he would exercise her wings, allowing her to fly on a lead for a while, increasing the length of the lead and her exercise time with each additional flight training session. Finally, in the second week of July, Victor told me that she was ready to be released back into the wild. He asked me if I knew any release sites we could use, places with large trees, open fields and a good water source. I told him that I had a site in mind, but wanted to get permission to
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make sure it was okay. We agreed that if possible we would release her on the following Friday. I then contacted Valley Forge National Park and explained to park officials what I needed. I told them that I could think of no better place for our eagle’s release than Valley Forge National Park. It had everything the young bird needed for continued recuperation: large trees, the Schuylkill River and the large open fields that George Washington’s Army camped in while fighting for our country’s freedom. It was perfect, and the park officials agreed and gave us their blessing. So the following Friday July 23, 2010, Victor and the eagle met Tom Scarpello, myself and several National Park employees in the parking lot of Washington’s Chapel in the National Park. We then travelled back into Montgomery County to the Walnut Hill area of the park near the river. Victor brought out our eagle, and after assisting him with her hood removal we said our goodbyes, and Victor gently tossed her up into the air, where she flapped her way up into the sky. We watched as she found the thermal current and rose up, soaring high, high above us and looking down upon the sacred ground of the park. Watching her return to the wild made me feel proud to be an American as well as a Pennsylvania Wildlife Conservation Officer. I was happy to have played a small role in this success story, but in true American fashion, this story involved many people banding together and each playing a small role leading to a much greater good. That, to me, is the true story of America. It was quite a beautiful sight watching the return of our nation’s symbol of freedom proudly soaring again above the home of the brave and the land of the free. 
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Pennsylvania Game News - July 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pennsylvania Game News - July 2011