Young bald eagle returned to nest after rescue in Victoria, B.C.

A young bald eagle is back in its Beacon Hill Park nest after City of Victoria crews used a bucket truck to return the bird to its family.

The fledgling was found on the ground beneath the well-known nest earlier this week, prompting parks staff to contact the B.C. SPCA’s Wild ARC rehabilitation centre for advice.

A full examination found the eaglet was in good body condition. Aside from a case of feather lice, a common and easily treated condition, it had no significant injuries.

“The bird was actually in really good body condition,” Wild ARC manager Ashley Currie said.

Returning the bird to the nest required co-ordination between Wild ARC staff and the City of Victoria, which supplied a bucket truck to carefully lift the young eagle back into the tree.

It’s the second year in a row city workers have rescued a young eagle from the same nesting site.

Currie said returning the bird to its own nest rather than releasing it elsewhere gave it the best chance of surviving in the wild.

“This young eagle was just learning how to fly, and it’s very likely it just fell from its nest while it was practising its flight,” she said.

Even after they leave the nest, young bald eagles continue relying on their parents to teach them how to hunt, find food and survive on their own.

“Whenever possible, we want to reunite them with their family because they have a higher chance of survival and success in the wild,” Currie said.

Currie also hopes the rescue helps dispel a common myth about wildlife.

Many people believe birds will reject their young if humans have handled them, but she said that’s generally not the case.

Instead, Wild ARC keeps handling to a minimum to reduce stress before returning animals to the correct nest whenever possible.

In this case, Currie said staff are confident they returned the eaglet to the same pair of bald eagles that has nested in Beacon Hill Park for several years, and likely the same pair involved in a similar rescue last year.

The birds have become a familiar sight for park visitors, often seen perched atop the park’s tallest totem pole.

The successful rescue means the young eagle can continue learning from the same parents that have returned to the Beacon Hill Park nest year after year, exactly where wildlife rehabilitators hoped it would be.

Currie said anyone who finds an injured, orphaned or distressed wild animal should contact the B.C. SPCA Animal Helpline before intervening.