We are sad to report that Three Rivers Avian Center (TRAC) out of Brooks, West Virginia, received a call on March 18, 2014, that a bald eagle was spotted in a ditch along River Road across from a bald eagles nest that for several years has been home to two bald eagles called Whitey and Streaky. Wendy and Ron Perrone, who run the avian center, went to the spot and found a thin and underweight Streaky in bad shape and unable to walk. Presumably she had been hit by a vehicle. This was just 10 days after she had been struck by a train. TRAC took her to their staff veterinarian in Princeton, WV, who found that she suffered from a broken beak, head trauma, and acute injuries to her right leg that prevented her from walking. Tests revealed that she had elevated levels of lead in her system.
Streaky was taken to TRAC and treated for her injuries and the lead poisoning, given fluids and ample food, which she ate with relish. Unfortunately, she remained unable to walk. In midApril, it became clear that she was suffering from liver failure and after attempts to improve her condition failed, she died peacefully. “Fly well in blue skies winged one,” wrote TRAC on their Facebook page.
Eagles and other birds in the area continue to thrive, however. A new female bald eagle had been sighted “mating and taking up” with a male eagle, which close observers believe is Whitey. “There are still 2 eagles at Brooks Island and surrounding area,” writes Wendy Perrone. “It will be interesting to see how they behave in the coming months.”
Read a profile of the Three Rivers Avian Center and more on Whitey and Streaky in the spring/summer 2014 edition of the New River Gorge Adventure Guide.
The operation of Three Rivers Avian Center is costly. To make a donation to the non-profit organization, go to www.tracwv.org.
Photograph by Sam Richmond
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