Page 367 - Hand rearing birds second

358 Hand-Rearing Birds

placed on the floor or on logs accessible to the eagles. Food items including opened carcasses of
deer (donated from deer farms or car hit and pre‐evaluated for lead fragments by radiographs),
rabbits, rats, salmon and other fish, or other natural prey items that the eagles will encounter in the
wild. Domestic animals including road‐killed dogs, cats, or whole chickens should never be fed to
young eagles, as those items will become incorporated as part of their search image as natural prey
choices. Natural prey items may be augmented with trimmed commercially purchased beef heart
or other lean meats. A large part of an eagles’ diet in the wild consists of carrion. Exposure to
natural prey is an important aspect of training for young eagles, not only teaching them to recog-
nize carrion in the wild, but also providing the experience of gaining confidence while being com-
petitive during interactions with other eagles around food. A young eagle that has not been exposed
to these conditions will not be prepared for life in the wild.
Bald Eaglets leave the nest between 10 and 14 weeks of age depending in part on the individual
and geographic location of the nest site; however, adults continue to provide support for the young-
sters post‐fledgling. The adults act as a safety net when the youngsters are learning how to maneu-
ver, how to fish, and whenever they need assistance. Usually, youngsters stay relatively close to
their parents, but not always. Releasing a young eagle because it can fly is akin to letting a human
toddler live alone. The use of a conditioning flight where young eagles can experience and learn
from other aged eagles including other adults is important. It has been documented through band-
ing and satellite tracking that immature Bald Eagles return to their natal area in the years follow-
ing fledging and occasionally until they become sub‐adults (Gibson et al. 2005)

­ Preparation­for Wild­Release

Flight­Conditioning

Flight conditioning is imperative to develop the muscles needed for flight as well as agility.
Conditioning is vital to the successful release of any bird, including eagles. No eagle should be
released unless it has been actively flying and has demonstrated the ability to turn and maneuver
well in flight.
The most successful way to exercise an eagle is in a large flight aviary. This technique has many
advantages including the fact that the bird can self‐exercise and interact with others of its own spe-
cies, gaining socialization experience as well as flight training. Free flight is recommended for at
least several weeks to a month or more in the case of body trauma or wing injuries to ensure the
birds’ muscles are back to full use.

Creance­Flying
Creance flying is a falconry technique used to exercise birds with the use of a line attached to the
leg jesses. It is used when exercising raptors for release in situations where no conditioning flight
is available; however, creance flying has its limitations. It is a labor‐intensive process for the han-
dler, stressful for the bird, and has limited ability to demonstrate ability in flight.
The bird must be 100% capable of flight, maneuvering, and landing. A bird’s feathers serve many
purposes. They are its means with which to fly and provide waterproofing and insulation from the
elements. Birds that come into rehabilitation often present with feather damage either from a
trauma incident or nutritional deficit. Flight and tail feathers must be present and full length.
Imping feathers into the tail is possible if only a few are damaged and the remaining feather shafts