Young bald eagle soars again following rescue

Twelve-year-old Ryder Craemer was showing a friend his mountain bike when, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed what he thought was a baby turkey in his yard.

Ryder went and got his dad, Jack, who also thought it was a turkey. It was soon discovered, however, it was actually an adolescent bald eagle that had fallen out of a nearby nest.

The Craemers called Birds of Prey Northwest, a non-profit based out of St. Maries that rescues and rehabilitates injured and orphaned birds of prey. The organization’s goal is to return all its birds back into the wild once they are healthy again.

“Teriann Poutre got here so fast after I called; I asked her what kind of lights and sirens she had hidden on her car because her response time was insane,” Jack said.

Poutre is a long-time volunteer with Birds of Prey and was happy to help the young eagle out, who was only roughly four weeks old and weighed less than five pounds when she was rescued.

“There’s a big nest up in the trees, and we’re assuming it fell out on one of those hot days when all the birds were stretching out their wings to try to cool off,” Jack said.

When she was rescued, the young eagle was too young to fly, so Birds of Prey took her in to make sure she didn’t have injuries and to ensure she would be able to fly by the time she was released back into the wild.

“Now, she weighs over 10 pounds and has more than tripled her size since the day we picked her up,” raptor biologist Jane Veltkamp said.

The eagle, which the Craemers were calling “Sir Chix-A-lot” before they found out she was a girl, was released at 12 weeks old — plenty old enough to fly away and reconnect with her family and her nest.

And she took no time at all in doing just that. As soon as Veltkamp released her, she took off, flying into the trees and hopefully back to her siblings.

If you encounter a bird that may be injured, reach out to Birds of Prey Northwest at (208) 245-1367 or www.birdsofpreynorthwest.org.