Frozen bald eagles rescued along Susquehanna River

(Bloomsburg) — Two bald eagles were saved along the Susquehanna River bank near Bloomsburg on Sunday thanks to a concerned citizen. 

Rebecca Weaver, from Almedia, said her daughter Alyssa heard a strange screeching sound when she was outside. Weaver and Alyssa found the two birds locked together, shivering from the cold water. 

Weaver said Scott Township Police came to the property under the impression that they were supposed to collect two dead birds. When police realized the birds were alive, Columbia County Game Warden Rick Deiterich was dispatched. 

“The eagles were likely fighting in the sky over territory and dropped to the ground near the river where they continued their battle,” said Deiterich in a Pennsylvania Game Commission Facebook post. “They seem to have tumbled into the water and would not, or could not, let go of their grip on one another.”

The post continued to say the birds were probably in the water for over two hours, locking up their muscles. Deiterich and police had to use snare poles to lift the eagles to land. Afterward, they were dried off and sent to the Espy Fire Department building.

The PGC Facebook post said the birds released their talons — which were clutching mostly feathers and skin — after being in the warmth for about an hour. Both birds flew off “to the cheers of those who helped them through their ordeal.” 

Although the Weavers weren’t able to witness the birds’ release, they did get an update the following morning from the Espy Fire Department. 

“Our family is avid in the outdoors, hunting, fishing, hiking,” Weaver said. “We understand about letting nature take its course, but this was one of those times that we couldn’t let them suffer that way, and won’t ever allow any animal to suffer.” 

This story comes to us through a partnership between WITF and The York Daily Record.