HASTINGS, Minn. — An attempt to save three fallen eagles in Hastings ultimately ended in tragedy early this week.
The three were nestled in a tree along the Mississippi when high winds broke the tree branch they were sitting on.
Scott Northard noticed it from his window – having watched the eagles hatch and grow with a telescope placed from the cliff above.
“I came down – kind of saw the heads sticking up as they were being fed by the mother – about 15 minutes later the nest was gone,” he said.
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Northard, who sits on the board of the Carpenter Nature Center, immediately called his contacts there, unsure if the eagles had survived the fall.
Scott Northrad
A group quickly mobilized and began searching.
“We all went to the area of the nest – which is very difficult to get to because it is in a swampy area along the Mississippi River – between Lake Rebecca and the Mississippi River,” Northard said.
Unfortunately, they found two baby eagles that were already dead. Northard was unaware of a third baby until he heard chirping nearby.
“We got down on our knees and started looking around all the rubble. Buried underneath was an eagle that survived and was screeching,” he said. “I had never seen all three heads sticking out of the nest – I didn’t know that was the case
three this year.”
Northard and his group managed to get the eagle to the University of Minnesota Raptor Center, but the damage was simply too great. The baby eagle suffered five broken bones, internal bleeding and trauma to internal organs. It died shortly afterwards.
Still, doctors there credit Northard and members of the Carpenter Center for their quick work.
“I think the most important thing for this individual family of bald eagles is how many people cared,” said Dr. Dana Franzen-Klein of the Raptor Center. “How many people put in their time and energy, they dropped what they were doing to help this animal because they cared.”
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“It was definitely an emotional moment for us, we will remember it for a long time,” Northard said. “If there is an animal in need, especially an endangered species like eagles and others, there are many, many dedicated and committed people who will come to their aid and do what we can.”
Adam Duxter
