Page 8 - e-news 2020

Nate Mathews “The Eagle Guy”

I was born and raised in Wichita, Kansas. My lifelong passion for birds of prey and the natural world migrated into
falconry and raptor biology during college. After several years as a falconer I wanted to do more for the raptor world and
so I began my raptor rehabbing career working with 100’s of injured raptors as a tech at one of Kansas’s larger rehab
groups. It was here I learned my true skill is with Eagles, Falcons and Hawks. It was after 10 years into my rehab career
that I received my own federal and state Eagle Rehab permits to rescue birds in our area of the state. I am now one of only
a few in the state that can care for Eagles, Falcons and hawks properly. In addition, I’m at the top of the list with the
Kansas wildlife and Parks for all Eagles that are found state wide due to our ability to take the rehab of these birds further
than the average eagle rehab specialist. Below is an example of a situation that required the specialized care that we can
offer to save an eagle’s life.

2015- A female adult golden eagle was found tangled into a barbed wire fence. There was no injury to her wing, but all
her feathers where shredded rendering her flightless unable to be released. See the pic below.

The eagle needed new feathers. But how could this be done in the middle of
winter? Eagle fathers grow very slow and take months to grow in during the
summer. So, the bird was put under my care and with the help of a vet the
Eagle received new feathers without even having to be put under anesthesia!
Molted Eagle feathers from past eagles cared for where cut to the right length
and bamboo rod where epoxied in place for support. See below.