Golden Eagle Takes Flight Once Again Workers Took Bird Under Their Wing

A blustery north wind gave Russ a lift home Sunday after more than a month of rehabilitation in captivity.

The golden eagle floated momentarily in an updraft to survey his location between the Spokane River and the Factory Outlet mall. Then, turning his 10-pound body into the wind, he gave onlookers an impressive low flyover before taking shelter in a nearby pine.

“That’s what it’s all about,” said Farragut State Park ranger Lonnie Johnson. “Helping the bird heal and then watching it fly.”

The eagle clipped a power line near here in January, rupturing the radius in one of its wings. A woman witnessed the collision and reported the bird’s location to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. The eagle then was taken to Prairie Animal Hospital in Hayden, Idaho.

Russ eventually was transported to Washington State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine in Pullman, where raptor specialists diagnosed and treated the injury. Over the last month, the bird has been undergoing rehabilitation at the Pend Oreille Birds of Prey Center at Farragut. His release coincides with the eagles’ February courtship season and March nesting time.

“He’s fat, he’s healthy and the wing’s healed. We’ve done everything we could,” said Farragut ranger Tami Johnson. “We get pretty emotional at these things because it’s truly a product of our hard work.”

The eagle, believed to be resident rather than migratory, was named after Russ Perry, a Heyburn State Park volunteer who was critically injured in a car accident Tuesday in Spokane.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 2 Color Photos