How Facebook post about injured bald eagle, distressed mate brought Delawareans together
Tom Cush didn't initially think much when he spotted a slowdown on Route 16 near Delaware's border with Maryland last week.
There were a handful of people on the shoulder of the Sussex County road and a few cars had pulled over. Cush assumed there'd been a fender-bender or something of the like.
As he drew closer, however, he saw something in the middle of the road – a bird, it looked like. He soon realized it wasn’t just any bird. It was a large, “beautiful” bald eagle.
“I was like, ‘Holy smokes,’” Cush said of the encounter, which occurred on Dec. 28 as he was headed to his Annapolis home. “I was astounded by how big the bird was.”
Slowing down, Cush intended only to snap a photo or two of the eagle from his car. But his awe won out and he pulled over to get a better shot.
That’s when he realized that local residents had set up a “quasi-roadblock” to ensure the eagle was safe from passing traffic. The animal was clearly injured, he said, its mate “anxiously” circling above.
Bald eagles mate for life unless one dies or they’re otherwise separated, according to the National Audubon Society. The birds’ nesting season began in Delaware last month.
In the few minutes he spent outside his car, Cush overheard someone say that they’d been in touch with a bird rescue organization that was coming to get the eagle. At least one person also called 911, it was later learned, and a dispatcher contacted Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research.
Satisfied with his photos – and given it “certainly seemed like the people that lived right there were on top of it” – Cush returned to his car and drove home, forgetting about the images for about a day.
He had no way of predicting, when he finally posted the photos online, just how much attention the encounter would receive.
‘I pray it’s OK’
Cush, who is no avian expert, had initially taken the photos for his wife, whom he calls a “semi-serious birder.” His mother-in-law, by contrast, is a “serious birder.”
Still, he appreciates the animals and had previously joined a Facebook page for Delaware birding. While he’d never posted before, he assumed group members would also enjoy seeing his snaps of the eagle.
Within minutes of sharing the photos, Cush’s post began receiving attention.
“Hope all's OK now,” one person wrote.
“Oh no, I pray it’s OK,” another commented.
Just more than an hour later, a volunteer at Tri-State Bird Rescue who works downstate wrote that she had taken the bird to the Newark-area rescue that morning.
Lisa Smith, the nonprofit’s executive director, told Delaware Online/The News Journal this week that the woman and another volunteer are trained and experienced in transport and had kept the eagle overnight until it could be driven two hours north. The clinic began caring for it immediately.
At the time, however, the volunteer didn’t know much about the bird’s condition. “No update yet,” she wrote.
The lack of details led to intense speculation about what had happened – as well as concern for the eagle’s mate.
“I feel sorry for the mate left behind not knowing what happened to its partner,” one woman wrote. Others echoed her.
Three days after Cush’s post, which had by then received hundreds of interactions and dozens of comments, Tri-State Bird Rescue’s clinic director entered the comments section.
The eagle was alive, she said, but its injuries were complicated. It was not yet out of the woods.
'Nesting real estate is fierce'
Nearly a week after Cush’s encounter, some details about the eagle remain elusive.
Smith, Tri-State Bird Rescue’s executive director, said the bird is likely female based on its size, though the nonprofit hasn’t yet taken exact measurements. Females are usually larger than males, she said.
While it’s not precisely known what happened to the bird, its injuries are consistent with being hit by a car. It doesn’t have any broken bones, Smith said, but does have internal injuries and harm to both its eyes.
TRI-STATE BIRD RESCUE: Tour the Newark-area center and learn about the group's work
During surgery, the clinic’s wildlife veterinarian repaired several external wounds.
Blood tests also showed the bird suffered from elevated levels of lead, which Smith said is common in bald eagles. Like other birds or prey, they’re scavengers and can ingest fragments of lead ammunition from animal carcasses or gut piles.
The exposure to lead ammunition is especially common during the hunting season.
A neurotoxin, lead can affect a bird’s perception and coordination, Smith said.
She added that it’s possible the elevated blood lead levels contributed to the eagle being hit by a car, though “we can’t know that for sure.”
Smith said though the eagle was moved to an outdoor enclosure Wednesday, it is “somewhat high-strung” and hasn’t been eating well in captivity. This, however, may be more because it’s breeding season than the injuries.
“As an adult bird, she is ready to defend territory and breed,” Smith said.
While it‘s not yet clear how the eagle will progress, Smith said the rescue is “guardedly optimistic” about the bird and hopes to release her to the wild.
It’s impossible to know, though, what will happen to the mate.
“If she is released soon, they may pick up where they left off,” Smith said, noting that she would be released on-site. The bird, she reiterated, is high-strung and there would be a significant risk of injury to the animal if it had to ride in a carrier for two hours.
She added that the bird could make it back down to the Sussex County/eastern Maryland area within two days.
“But it’s also possible her mate will have already found a new mate,” Smith said. “The bald eagle population has rebounded tremendously in the past 30 years … (and ) there are now more adult bald eagles in the area than there are suitable nesting territories.
“Competition for prime bald eagle nesting real estate is fierce.”
Though it’s unlikely that the nearly 8,000 people who have interacted with Cush’s post will ever receive closure in this case, Cush said he’s found the whole experience particularly remarkable.
“I wish I was, like, an influencer – I could make a couple of nickels off this,” he joked.
Growing serious, his tone changed to one of awe.
“I was so amazed at the outpouring of concern,” he said. "It was nothing other than, 'I bet there's people that would appreciate these pictures.'"
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Got a tip? Send to Isabel Hughes at ihughes@delawareonline.com or 302-324-2785. For all things breaking news, follow her on X at @izzihughes_
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Injured Delaware bald eagle, distressed mate garner online concern
