Lonely bald eagle who incubated rock during mating season becomes foster dad to eaglet

This is a touching story about a bald eagle. He was flightless due to a severe injury, and all he could do was hop around on the ground inside a large enclosure he shared with five other injured eagles according to media reports out of St. Louis and the World Bird Sanctuary.

He was apparently lonely, not having a mate and not likely to find one in his current condition. His keeper, Kerstin, felt sorry for him. She named him “Murphy.”

Then, one day in late winter, Murphy began acting strangely. There was a slight depression in the floor of the flight cage, and there was a rock in the center of the depression. And Murphy, for some reason, began “sitting” over that depression. It didn’t take his keeper long to figure out that Murphy was “in season,” and he was brooding that rock as if it were an egg.

Well, after several weeks with Murphy diligently working and brooding his “egg,” the keeper had a big and very heart-warming gift for him. It seems that a nearby bald eagle nest had blown down in a windstorm. There were two eaglets in the nest. One was killed, but the other was unharmed. That tiny bird was rescued and brought to another part of the same facility, the World Bird Sanctuary in Missouri, where Murphy lived.

After nursing that rock, a “pretend nest” was constructed and Murphy, who is 31 years old, began “nursing” the rock that he considered as his egg in that nest. The sanctuary director, Roger Holloway, explained that Murphy’s behavior might seem strange to humans, but the adult eagle was just following his natural drive to nurture offspring. “It’s not unheard of that they would do this,” Holloway told reporters in early May. “Even if they don’t have eggs, their hormonal surge in the spring is to parent and incubate something, even if it’s not an egg.

Murphy has become so invested with the rock-egg that his keepers named it “RockBaby.” And Murphy had become so protective of that rock that he screamed and charged at any bird that came near the nest. The other eagles were getting stressed by his behavior, so it was decided that Murphy and RockBaby would be relocated safely away to their own private enclosure.

Soon after being moved, the rehabilitation department of the sanctuary came up with the idea of introducing Murphy, who was showing stronger nesting and parental behavior, to the eaglet whose nest had fallen. However, the introduction of the eaglet to his new foster parent was done gradually since the sanctuary also wanted to see how it would all work out.

The eaglet was placed in a “baby jail,” which is a box that is constructed with wood framing and wire siding. Additionally, soft blankets covering a heating pad was placed in the bottom before adding the baby to the jail. The jail was then placed in the larger enclosure where Murphy was now housed. This is done to help the adult eagle going from egg mode to baby mode while also preventing the risk of any physical injury to the baby.

Murphy showed a little curiosity but at first it wasn’t much. Then he showed curiosity but no aggression. There was more curiosity, toward the mini version of himself, the baby was moved to a nesting platform. Perching on the edge of the platform, the two of them stared at each other. Soon Murphy embraced his role as a full-time parent and began feeding the little tyke. What a joy that was!

Murphy and the baby eagle are both doing great now, and they have settled right in. Murphy is even standing guard on his own feeding platform protectively watching over the eaglet as he lies flat in the nest with a belly full of food.

And, one day soon, another young bald eagle will take to the sky. Thanks to Murphy he will have a better than normal chance of surviving, growing and successfully mating to continue his species.

If you would like to observe bald eagles in our part of the wild, Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge near Seneca Falls offers a great opportunity. There are several active eagle nests on the refuge, and several more on or near the Montezuma Wetlands Complex reserve that lies just North of the refuge. A good pair of binoculars and/or a spotting scope, along with a pair of comfortable walking shoes (and a bottle of insect repellent) is about all you might need for such a trek.

Actually there are a lot of potentially good eagle viewing areas within a comfortable driving distance. Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge, combined with Tonawanda and Oak Orchard Wildlife Management Areas near Basom, Genesee County, are about half way between Rochester and Buffalo, and just North of Interstate 90. And the entire Lake Ontario shoreline is another fun place to enjoy a picnic and a chance to observe eagles and all sorts of other birds.

Eagles are present around all of the Finger Lakes, too. All that is required is to select a suitable public parking area near the shoreline, spread out a blanket, and watch for the birds flying nearby.

We are blessed with the presence of many mated pairs of bald eagles in western New York. And past offspring that have not yet reached breeding age but still hang around large bodies of water. They may not yet possess the “bald” (white) heads, but there is another sure way to identify them either in flight or perched on some tree or snag. Bald eagles all possess large mandibles (beaks). It is easy to spot them with only a glance of that beak.

Good luck, and good eagle watching,

Len Lisenbee is the Daily Messenger’s Outdoor Columnist. Contact him at lisenbee@frontiernet.net.

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This article originally appeared on MPNnow: Murphy the rock-incubating eagle takes orphaned eaglet under his wing