Eagle Blog
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It's been more than 24 hours since Harmon was removed from the nest. We're doing our best to recieve information from the Raptor Center and report it back to you. Here's the latest on what is happening and what we believe will happen next.
As we learn more about his condition and any attempts to place Harmon back in the nest, we will notify you here and our facebook page. Please stay tuned. Thank you for your patience and for your support.
- The Minnesota Bound Team
The events that unfolded today were not anticipated, and they were not pretty. But, because of the great teamwork from a large group of people, we were able to get up into the tree and bring down the young eaglet, known as Harmon. If you are new to this site, or this eagle family, here's an official update on what has taken place at our nest.
Stay tuned for more updates as they become available. We hope to see return Harmon back to his nest as soon as possible.
Many people often ask, “Where were you when Kennedy was shot?”, or” Where were you when the first plane hit the Twin Towers on September 11th?” While watching the valiant efforts of the rescue team today checking in on the eaglet, I felt this weird feeling come over me, similar to what I felt while watching the second plane hit the Twin Towers.
My fellow educator Joe Krumrie was conducting our 3:00 program in our first floor classroom. There were about 30 people in the class. The class had learned about eagles and were in the process of watching Harriet The National Eagle Center’s thirty one year old Bald Eagle eat her lunch. Then the rope was tied around the tree, and all eyes turned towards the big screen television located in our classroom. I was in the back room watching the events unfold, but when I saw the rope, I too wanted to watch on the big screen. So I joined the folks in the classroom and did some commentary on what was going on in the nest to the visitors. Then I looked at Harriett. There she was eating her lunch, and no one, not even her handler Joe, was watching her. Harriett has been on The Jay Leno Show, The Colbert Report, The Bonnie Hunt Show, The Today show several times, and most local media outlets, but for once in her career as an Educational Ambassador, Harriett was being upstaged!
It was riveting to watch!
I don’t think Harriett really cared. She had her lunch!
That’s when I started thinking, “I bet I will be telling my grandkids someday, that I remember where I was, when the baby eaglet that folks call Harmon, was rescued.”
As an environmental educator, this will be a story that I will reference for a long time, but as I write this, I do not know the ending to the story. Whatever it is, we have, and will continue to learn a lot about this magnificent creature, that we just happen to call our National Emblem, the Bald Eagle.
It is now up to The Raptor Center to do, what they do best, take care of our magnificent raptors.
I remember the times that my dad would go under the knife for surgery to remove cancerous tumors on in his intestines. My mom, sisters and my brother would all be at the hospital for support. We would all be sitting in the waiting room and worrying. We really did not need to be so worried, as my dad was always under the best of care from the Mayo physicians. We still worried.
It has been a worrisome day for many today.
For me I have been involved most of the day today doing what I do here at the National Eagle Center, teaching and educating about eagles and their habitat. We had two school groups today, a fourth grade and class of second graders. For me it was like being in a waiting room, I wanted to help, to be able to do more. The reality was, that there were lots of folks involved in trying to figure out what to do, well trained folks, who would know exactly what to do.
Just before my first class today, I talked with Mark from Broad Band, gave him some options and then went to start my class. I asked one of my colleagues, here at the National Eagle Center to take over on our end. Eileen Hanson was able to get a United States Fish and Wildlife official in contact with the folks at Broad Band and Minnesota Bound. The first step was to be able to get a permit from the USFWS to be able to enter the nesting territory of the eagles. State officials had to be contacted relating to this entry as well. Once that was in process, the next step was to figure out if the boom truck would be able to get to the nest. When the camera was installed the ground was frozen, but now that is not the case. If the truck could not get there, is there someone who can climb a tree to a dizzying height of 70 feet to get into the nest, and more importantly, know how to handle an eaglet. Also important, being able to deal with parent eagles that may try to intimidate the nest intruder. Thankfully the folks at The Raptor Center had a tree climber. Tree climber Jim has experience climbing very tall trees and dealing with irate raptor parents. The Raptor Center is World renowned for treating injured raptors, so if the eaglets needs medical assistance they will be nearby to help.
We must all now patiently wait in our waiting rooms, rest assure that the experts are there and will do what they can. We all can get support from each other.
I think we all also realize that there are a lot of people that care about the wild creatures around this state and beyond. It has been great to see all the folks from across the country showing their care and support and sending their prayers. Eagle web cam watchers from the Raptors Resource Projects Decorah nest, watchers of the eagles4kids.com web cam and others from across the country have been sending their support. Thanks for your concern!
We have received our permit through USFWS and are heading to the nest location with a professional climber, a boom truck, and an Eagle Expert through the Raptor Center. We hope to free the eaglet and do what is best. Of course, all of this will be done if this is humanly possible and safe. Thank you for your patience. Check facebook for instant updates from the site.
http://www.facebook.com/Minnesota.Bound.Live.Eagles
Thank you for your patience. We are doing all that we can at this time.
Ron Schara, and his trusted black lab, Raven, began sharing stories of the outdoor lifestyle back in 1995. Minnesota Bound is the show that started it all for Ron Schara and he quickly found a passion for putting his words onto the television screen. Today, it remains a trademark program and is now running over 600 episodes strong. We seek characters that have a story to tell. We seek out destinations and find out what makes them special. We share the love of outdoors and those that enjoy it. Yes, it's fishing and hunting, but it's also camping, hiking, canoeing, archery, bird watching, ice climbing and so much more. Minnesota Bound is a fan favorite winning several hundred OWAA awards during its lifespan, including 11 Emmy Awards.
Ron Schara Productions | 1000 Boone Ave. N. Suite #1200, Golden Valley, MN. 55427, United States
