Photo courtesy of Bob Bodemann A Bald Eagle dangles from the top of a tree Sunday after fishing line ensnared the bird to the tree. The City of Naples Fire Department rescued the Eagle and it was able to fly away under it's own power.
A bald eagle that was dangling from a tree over the weekend is back in its nest after a team of first responders helped free the bird from a piece of fishing line.
Naples resident Bob Bodemann called local authorities when he noticed the bird Sunday morning in his yard off 14th Avenue South. A mating pair and their two young occupy a nest in a Norfolk Pine.
He had first seen the bird sitting on his lawn that morning.
"It's leg was chewed up," Bodemann said. "I thought 'Oh man,' but it flew off."
Then he saw it a second time — entangled in fishing line with a lure in its back.
"I was about to leave the house," Bodemann said. "When I looked up, the baby was just hanging there."
Naples Firefighters, city beach patrol officers and a wildlife team from the Conservancy of Southwest Florida arrived to help around 9:30 a.m. Firefighters scaled a 70-foot ladder to get to the eagle. For 45 minutes, rescuers struggled to untangle the bird, which beat its wings and swung out of reach.
"The bird obviously started hesitating and freaking out severely and trying to get out of the situation," Beach Patrol Specialist Casey Bollenback said.
Bodemann said the eagle was "huge."
"The talons were as big as (the firefighters') hands," he said.
After the struggle, the fishing line snapped and the bird flew off, wrote Joanna Fitzgerald, director of the conservancy's wildlife hospital, who pens a weekly column for the Daily News.
Bodemann said about 150 feet of fishing line was taken off the animal but rescuers believe the lure might still be stuck in its back. Bollenback said a scan from the ground using binoculars didn't show a lure.
Neighbors, are keeping an eye out for the bird in case it needs more help. But Bodemann said he believes the eagles are all in good health.
"I've been seeing one of the pair and the babies," Bodemann said. "I think I'm seeing different ones."
Bodemann applauded authorities who arrived in less than 20 minutes.
"They just shot down here," he said. "I figured this was an attaboy for the fire department."
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Comments » 15
HAP writes:
Thank you to everyone, especially Bob, for caring to stop a moment and do the right thing by calling for help. These days our wildlife are dying in massive numbers, from those on their cell phones and everything else. LOOK UP PEOPLE, LOOK AROUND, THERE IS LIFE THAT LIVES OUTSIDE OF YOUR GATED COMMUNITY AND ROLLED UP CAR WINDOWS.
Snarky writes:
Anyone who like this, will also like this -
http://www.ustream.tv/SouthwestFlorid...
np writes:
What an exciting read about caring people for our wildlife! Its makes my day reading this .
WizeOlMarco writes:
Three kudos to everyone's effort...now for the fisher that cast the lure that inadvertantly landed on the eagle or was taken by the eagle...Where is your report sporty?
theabyss writes:
Well done!!
swfl_ff writes:
Good job to all involved. Nice to know that some people still care.
Exposer writes:
How about Pinwheel's day? Why hast thou forsaken it?
gil_vulgarity writes:
more than likely the victim of a careless Naples pier fisher-person as they are notorious for simply cutting their lines when an entanglement incident occurs. great job by those involved in the rescue!
yourmama writes:
interesting...8 comments (9 now) about an eagle...and everyone coming to its rescue (kudos by the way) yet none about a mom and 2 daughters who died in a canal...while bystanders watched
FLFF21 writes:
Naples News disabled the comments for a reason. Let the poor children and mother rest peacefully. Some moron will find a reason to make stupid comments about the incident. It was horrible for everyone on scene.
ArrowII writes:
Great job taking care of the birds! I had a one legged bird once, named it Eileen. (I lean) Sweet bird.
JoeLunchbox writes:
Good job to all.
Nplschick writes:
Result of more careless fisherman.
Great job to everyone involved in the rescue.
wentfishn writes:
Nice job! How about building some water treatment plants to clean the water of fertilizer and save thousands of fish. I know. naaa we wont talk about that. Conservancy what a joke. Remember the oysters, clams and blue crabs that used to be here, sea grass in Naples Bay??? huh? All gone. Thinkaboutit
pipito writes:
most fishing poles come with mono, if they changed the laws, perhaps safer lines were mandatory, you could buy a pole with a safer line. it wont eliminate the problem, but reduce it.
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