6 shotgun shells later: the miraculous recovery of an injured bald eagle from rescue to flight

Barren River Lake

GLASGOW, Ky. – Though flying might seem routine for America’s symbol of freedom, one particular bald eagle fought long and hard to be back in the skies Thursday, after enduring a cruel fate.

“We came up to him. He was obviously not doing well, so it wasn’t moving real fast,” recalled US Army Corps of Engineers Dam Operator Richard Hatcher. When Hatcher rescued the eagle one month ago at Barren River Lake, “He had blood all over its beak. We got a cardboard box, some welding gloves and an American flag to pick this bald eagle up. It doesn’t get any more American than that.”

An American flag, brought home from Hatcher’s 22-year-long service in Iraq, helped transport the bird to Raptor Rehabilitation of Kentucky.

X-rays revealed that six shotgun pellets had traveled through the bird’s body, indicating that the trigger had been pulled less than 25 feet away.

“Oh, my goodness, this bird is an absolute miracle bird,” praised Raptor Rehabilitation of Kentucky Board of Directors President Dave Dicks.” He had a major injury under his left wing pit. And for him to recover from the amount of blood loss and retrain his flight muscles, this bird definitely had a will to live.”

Time quickly proved the odds were no match for this bird of prey.

“We have a large flat enclosure that he finished his rehab in,” told Dicks. “That allowed him to be able to really spread his wings and fly. He perched a perch, and once that was occurring, we knew he was ready to go.”

Here, once again, at the Barren River Lake, this eagle takes to the skies… most likely heading back to his awaiting mate.

“I was proud that it was able to survive. This is a very powerful symbol of our country,” said Hatcher.

Bald eagles are federally protected, and shooting one is illegal. Violation of the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act could result in a fine of $100,000.