Injured bald eagle takes flight again in Eastern Iowa

URBANA - When Brad Zieser found a female bald eagle in a ditch about one month ago, the bird was unable to fly away.

'It wasn't acting right,” said Zieser, 28, who owns a 160-acre farm between Urbana and Center Point.

On Saturday morning, after weeks of rehabilitation, that same bird took flight again after being treated by volunteers from Raptor Advocacy, Rehabilitation and Education - or RARE - a not-for-profit group that helps rescue wild birds in Eastern Iowa.

The release took place just outside of Urbana in rural Benton County, near where she was found.

'I'm kind of speechless by it,” said Zieser.

After finding the eagle, Zieser called Michele Nigg, a RARE volunteer and member of the organization's board of directors. Nigg caught the injured bird and brought it in for treatment.

The eagle - an adult female, estimated to be at least five years old - had some heavy bruising in her pectoral muscle on her chest, mostly likely from flying into a telephone pole or being struck by a vehicle, Nigg said, adding the eagle also had a broken right toe and minor lead poisoning, which is common for bald eagles, most likely caused by eating carcasses of deer shot by hunters.

On Saturday, the eagle showed no signs of injuries as Ben Nigg, Michele's husband who also works as a RARE volunteer, released the bird. She took off immediately, her wings carrying her along the barren field just behind Zieser's home.

'She looked good,” Ben Nigg said. 'That kind of flight is what we want to see right away.”

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, bald eagles were no longer considered a threatened or endangered species as of August 2007. However, they are still protected by the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, a law that makes it a federal offense to take, possess, sell or purchase a bald eagle, alive or dead.

In rural Benton County, bald eagles are making a comeback, Zieser said.

'When I was younger, you've never seen an eagle,” he said. 'Around here, if you see an eagle, everything stops.”

Michele Nigg echoed Zieser's statements about the rising prevalence of bald eagles in Eastern Iowa, saying the increase in education has helped ensure the birds' protection.

'Their numbers are increasing and they're doing quite well, but we still have things going against them like lead poisoning from hunting or fishing,” she said.

Founded in November 2015 after the Macbride Raptor Project eliminated its rescue and rehabilitation program, Michele Nigg said RARE was created to meet a need in Eastern Iowa. It's an entirely volunteer-run organization that rescues wild raptors, songbirds and water fowl when they are injured, and nurses them back to health so they can be released into the wild.

'We felt we couldn't walk away, because there's too many birds who need it,” Michele Nigg said.

Last year, Michele Nigg said RARE volunteers took in 130 raptors, nearly 80 songbirds and about half a dozen waterfowls. About a third of the birds treated by the organization are released back into the wild.

Donations and volunteers are always needed at RARE, Michele Nigg said. More information on the organization and how to help can be found online at theraregroup.org.

l Comments: (319) 368-8536; michaela.ramm@thegazette.com