Golden eagle takes flight following rehab at Vermont Institute of Natural Science

QUECHEE, Vt. (WCAX) – A golden eagle was released back into the wild at the Vermont Institute of Natural Science in Quechee on Friday. Rehabilitating birds is part of VINS’ mission but this eagle was unusual because of the data it brought researchers.

Over the past year, VINS has released approximately 400 rehabbed birds back into the wild. But Friday was a first-ever for the facility.

The golden eagle is a powerful, apex predator. The roughly 10-pound raptor, which can have a wingspan of more than 7 feet, started its journey back home Friday morning.

The eagle was at VINS for a little over a month after being spotted in Bethel. Overeating prevented it from taking flight.

“It took about five days for him to be able to completely process all of that food. He also did have a fairly elevated lead level in his blood,” said Grae O’Toole, who leads rehab efforts at VINS.

Golden eagles are much more common out west. VINS currently has two of eagles in captivity on its Quechee campus. But the one set free Friday was unique in that it already had a GPS tracker on it when it arrived at the facility.

“Able to see him making his way from Canada all the way into the Central Vermont area and then going over to New York for his migration and then coming back in February up to his nesting ground,” O’Toole said.

The Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change in Quebec first tagged the eagle back in 2007 and then added an additional backpack in 2014.

“This is the first time we have encountered an eagle with one,” said Charlie Rattigan, the executive director of VINS.

The data collected helped VINS learn more about the bird while it was being rehabbed, adding to the research and educational missions of the organization.

“The whole data collection gives us information about what’s happening with the environment, what’s happening with climate, and VINS is very active in this data collection area,” Rattigan explained.

At full speed, the golden eagle is hard to keep up with but VINS will know exactly where it goes.

At approximately 20 years old, this eagle is at the tail end of its typical lifespan. However, VINS researchers will continue to monitor it as long as it stays on the move.

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