Photo by Terry Stevens

After months of rehabilitation and preparation, a young bald eagle will soar free today at the Windy Hill Recreation Site near Roosevelt Lake. Found in the Needle Rock area near Fountain Hills, this juvenile bald eagle rejoins Arizona's treasured bald eagle population. Arizona Game and Fish Department biologists and rehabilitation specialists from Liberty Wildlife Rehabilitation released the bird.

A member of the public found the young nestling out of its nest in poor condition in May. It was taken to Liberty Wildlife Rehabilitation in Scottsdale for medical treatment. After recovering from its injuries, rehabilitators there worked with the bird to rebuild muscle strength for flying and trained it to capture and kill live prey. Now after six months of preparation, the young eagle is ready to return to the wild.

"It is very rewarding to take a bald eagle that may not have otherwise survived and rehabilitate it to the point where it can be released back into the population," says Kenneth Jacobson, head of the Arizona Game and Fish Department Bald Eagle Management Program. "Even though the bald eagle was removed from the endangered species list earlier this year, they still benefit from the cooperative management of many organizations to help maintain the species in Arizona."

The bald eagle was federally listed as an endangered species in 1978. The birds recovered enough to be removed from the list in August 2007. Part of the reason for the comeback in our state is the Arizona Bald Eagle Nestwatch Program, which contracts with volunteers to monitor breeding areas, educate the public about breeding area closures and identify situations where intervention might be needed to save an eagle's life.

Photo by Terry Stevens

"This young eagle needed a second chance. Liberty Wildlife was honored to be able to provide it with the things it needed to return to the wild," says Jan Miller, animal care coordinator for Liberty Wildlife Rehabilitation. "To positively impact something so grand is what we are about, and it means everything to us. A release like this never loses its electricity, its awe, its power."

Arizona currently has 48 breeding pairs of bald eagles. Courtship and nest building begin in October and November, and the bald eagles lay eggs from December to March. During the spring, many areas are closed to protect breeding bald eagles around the state. Additional information on the bald eagle closures can be found at www.swbemc.org.