A tale of three eaglets

Mending after falling from their nests, By Linda Fields MILFORD — There are now three young eagles in the care of the Delaware Valley Raptor Center in Milford. These eaglets (one Milford resident and two from Milanville) all fell out of their nests before they could fly and now need the care and attention of trained raptor rehabilitators like Bill and Stephanie Streeter. There is good news about the Milford eaglet; Bill Streeter says “he’s doing great” after falling from his nest in the first week in June, landing twenty feet below on a limb of the lofty (80-100 foot tall) tree. He then fell to the ground four or five days later, on June 7, when Streeter rescued him. At eight weeks old, he did not have the feathers he needed to fly and was emaciated and dehydrated, but fortunately, as Streeter noted, “was without any fractures”. “He’s not flighted yet”, Streeter said. “He is still pushing his feathers in; it will take another week or two” [until he can fly]. Streeter then plans to start exercising his wings and he’ll be placed in a larger enclosure. Eventually, he will be able to fly. What about the two eaglets from the Milanville nest? One, a female, has a broken wing which requires surgery and so has been kept separated from the others. Streeter says he won’t know at least for a couple of months after the operation if she’ll be able to be released from captivity. But her brother, who suffered a sprained leg, is on the mend. The Delaware Valley Raptor Center in Milford is a private, not-for-profit, tax-exempt state and federally licensed rehabilitation organization dedicated to the rehabilitation and conservation of birds of prey. The Center also does public outreach to better appreciation and respect for all wildlife. Visit online at http://dvrconline.org .