Bald Eagle Buzzard

Today as I was driving, I saw what I thought was some road kill and a buzzard up in the distance sitting by the side of the road on a small bridge, that spans over a creek that I was about to drive over. As I got closer, I saw that it was a beautiful young bald eagle.

As I got even closer, it took flight and was flying off alongside of me, and I was able to get a great view of this majestic bird!

They are very rare here, and I've only seen a few in my whole life and these were all near larger bodies of water over 30 minutes away from my home. It was amazing to see this young bald eagle less than 5 minutes from my home. I hope they find a good place to live, and I hope to see many more for years to come.

I had a similar rare encounter and it was awesome! I had only seen one in my life and it was on a riverboat cruise....to see a bald eagle...so it was expected.

I was driving home about 3 hours away. It left a tree and flew toward my moving truck, then u-turned back away from the hiway.

Did i say awesome?

What a wonderful moment! Nature's sanitation crew at work, despite the hazardous conditions!!!  

Most raptors (eagles, hawks, falcons) we rescue that are hit by car were feeding on roadkill. This is why I stop for roadkill and move it a safe distance from the road, and encourage everyone else to do the same when safe to do so.

I encourage everyone to take the time today to find out WHO to call (and put in your cell) if you ever come across injured animals be they wild or domestic. It varies widely from state to state, country to country, and is rarely some government or municipal agency - but likely some private citizen or local volunteer society.

We also get a lot of "false alarms" as Birds of Prey feeding on roadside carcasses will mantle (spread their wings and hunch) over top a particularly tasty corpse they don't want to share. That said, I would ALWAYS prefer to go on a false alarm, then a rescue.

I also recommend grabbing one of those ugly pillow cases from the back of the linen closet (you know the one(s) I mean) and even use a sharpie to write the number of your local group (s) on it. Then roll it up and wrap a couple of those fat rubber bands (from the mail or broccoli) around it before putting in your glove box in case you ever need to contain something or need a blindfold for a larger injured animal.

Today we had the honor of releasing two Barred Owls, both collided with cars (one in Nov, one in Dec), from the same 2blk stretch of road, called in by the same finder!!! Now, to be fair, the Barred Owls rarely get hit by cars, but are more likely to run into cars broadside as they are hunting rodents etc. under the convenience of urban streetlights, oblivious to passing cars.

I am extraordinarily lucky to reside on the Wet Coast of Canada where eagles are one of the most common large birds seen around. But, I have noticed they do LOVE to congregate at river mouths and ironically, the dump! If there is a dump nearby, you may find you can view these birds, rare in your area, with ease as they scavenge and predate on rodents.

Accessing care for sick injured or orphaned wildlife:  Around here, a call to local law enforcement on the NON EMERGENCY NUMBER, or your local vet clinic can often point you in the right direction to get help for injured animals (Wild or domestic). Many states, provinces and/or countries have a list on line, just Google wildlife rehabilitators or wildlife rescue plus your locale.

IWRA (International wildlife rehabilitation association) is another good source. Don't be dismayed by a lack of "listed" local volunteers, most centers have a network of outreach folk that are not on the official list, just find the closest center and give them a call. In north America it is often illegal to take on the care of sick, injured and orphaned wildlife yourself, and may subject you to significant fines - this ensures the wild critters get the appropriate care and are not kept illegally as pets.

Thanks Lorinne, for sharing valuable info!


Awesome, Steve! Recently when visiting one of the regions where I grew up (NJ), I'm hearing people talk about eagles. They were unheard of when I was young, it's nice to think that maybe they are flourishing.