Long Island man hopeful to reunite baby eagle with its family
FORT SALONGA, Long Island (WABC) -- With the Fourth of July just days away, one Long Island family has been watching a symbol of freedom grow up in their backyard.
But after a young bald eagle took a dangerous fall from its nest, a rescue mission began and now there is hope she'll soon return home.
The bald eagle is a symbol of freedom and strength, and about four months ago, a nesting pair in AJ Caro's backyard welcomed three eaglets, including a female affectionately named "Stars and Stripes."
Janine Bendicksen, the director of Wildlife Rehabilitation Sweetbriar Nature Center, said she was the third baby and probably the runt of the litter.
Stars and Stripes fell out of the nest a few weeks ago and Caro called the Sweetbriar Nature Center for help.
"Unfortunately, she wasn't able to fly, and so I had to net him, catch him - when we brought her back to the hospital we saw she was completely emaciated," Bendicksen said.
The eagle has been flying during her rehabilitation, and the hope was that she would be strong enough to make her way back to her nest.
"For weeks we have been waiting to see how it does and if it regains its strength and starts flying," Caro said.
On Wednesday, rescuers attempted to release the eaglet but she did not soar into the sky as planned.
"In wildlife rehabilitation, you never know if you are making the right call," Bendicksen said.
Bendicksen says they will continue to care for the bird until Stars and Stripes is ready to be released again.
"We'll bring him back and he should just fly right up into the sky," Bendicksen said.
It's estimated that there are 30 nesting pairs of bald eagles on Long Island. This pair lives on the property of a home that was built before the Revolutionary War.
"It's got a great history to start with, and then you have bald eagles that settle in your backyard, so it's pretty amazing," Caro said.
And with the Fourth of July just a few days away, Caro said there is nothing quite like having a family of eagles in your backyard.
"Symbol of America and freedom, so to have a pair like this come back for a third year in a row now and they keep having more and more offspring, I think it's pretty special," Caro said.
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