A very young eaglet was found on the trail at Stillwater Bluffs. It had apparently fallen 80 to 100 feet from the visible nest above and sustained some injuries during the fall, probably hitting branches on its way down.
Easy to catch in a sheet, it was put in a kennel at Powell River Orphaned Wildlife Society and caught the last Pacific Coastal Airlines flight to Vancouver that week.
At Orphaned Wildlife Rehabilitation Society in Delta, the raptor specialists confirmed it definitely had issues and needed to be there. It was fostered by another Stillwater Eagle sent there a few months earlier.
After a month of care, PROWLS president Merrilee Prior picked it up at the airport on a return flight, ready for release.
Obviously restless during the drive out to Stillwater, it was surprisingly slow to leave its cage. Suddenly it stormed out, then calmly looked all around, finally taking a few steps on the rocky bluff. This was its first taste of life outside the nest: freedom and confidence.
Gazing over the vast space before it, with a few big beats of its mighty wings, it soared out over the ocean. Making several ever larger circles as it settled into itself, the eagle soared ever higher and farther, finally landing over a kilometre away in a large tree, to survey its newfound home.