The fireworks along the shores of Appletree Cove on the Fourth of July mark the end of Independence Day, but they also rattle the tender nerves of youngsters taking in the sight – and explosive booms – for the first time. Last month, just as evening was falling and the fireworks displays were beginning to crescendo, a 12-week-old eaglet, shaken by the noise, lost its footing on the edge of its nest and fell down over 100 feet off a grand fir tree, landing in ivy below.

Nearby, Donna Hammermeister was hosting a party at her home off South Kingston Road, overlooking the cove. Her neighbor was outside and heard a loud, rustling noise in the branches above and saw something land at the base of the tree. They went looking for what had fallen and came upon the eaglet that looked a bit dazed and confused, but unharmed and flapping its wings.

“He looked so wonderful, so gorgeous,” Hammermeister said. They called 911 and were referred to West Sound Wildlife Shelter on Bainbridge Island.

“We were worried that something would get it,” she said.

Mike Pratt, director of wildlife services at the shelter, came out immediately to assess the bird’s health.

“He was like a bird whisperer,” Hammermeister said. “The baby eagle was putting its wings out and hissing, and he just calmed him down and picked him up.”

Fledglings don’t normally come down on the ground on a regular basis, Pratt said, and it wasn’t an option to leave it there once he determined it could only fly a little bit.

Pratt decided to take the eaglet back to the shelter to closer examine it for injuries. Meanwhile, up in the nest, the eaglet’s twin endured the rest of the night’s explosive noise alone until its parents came home.

Pratt said he thinks the eaglet was balanced on a branch, walking along the edge of the nest, when big booms scared it and it tumbled down. The eaglet was a fledgling, just about ready to fly for the first time.

At the shelter, they ran tests on the youngster, and fed him a diet of dead rats, fish and quail while Pratt arranged for a tree climber to take it back up to its nest.

Over the weekend, Pratt said they checked out the nest from below and heard one of the adult eagles in the tree making vocalizations. Neighbors went down on the beach to get a better look, where they spotted both parents and the twin.

Less than one-third of eagles have twins, Pratt said. Adult eagles will return to the same nest each year, dispersing their five-month-old juvenile offspring in the fall before heading up rivers to congregate and feed on salmon.

Pratt said North Kitsap has a healthy population of eagles and they are seeing more and more babies. But with increased populations, there is more fighting between the bald eagles.

“This is the busiest year we’ve had with babies and adults,” Pratt said, rescuing eight so far. “I don’t know if it’s an unusual year or if this will be a trend.”

Staff at the wildlife shelter is always on call on the Fourth of July, Pratt noted. “We get a lot more deer hit running into the road. That weekend is definitely a busy time for us.”

Re-nesting the eaglet: first you have to climb the tree

When Ryan Walsh started climbing trees 14 years ago, he was following limb by limb the work his grandfather had done for 60 years. Now, at 29, a seasoned tree climber himself with Peninsula Tree Service, he received the call asking him to help put the 9-pound eaglet back in its nest. This was his third eaglet re-nest and the biggest one yet.

He re-nested an eaglet on Jefferson Point about nine months ago. In that case, the eaglet fell out of a tree, probably knocked out during a fight from a rival for the nest, and was found by the property owner.

Initially, Walsh said he had volunteered to work with arborist Jim Trainer climbing record trees to collect cutting and cones, but now Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife pays him to help with re-nesting.

Arriving back at the tree off South Kingston July 9, Walsh met Pratt, wildlife rehabilitation assistant Kristen Washer and seasonal employee and volunteer, Lynne Webber, who together took the eaglet, wearing a head piece to cover its eyes, from a crate and gingerly put it into a bag, keeping a firm grip on the fierce talons. Pratt said luckily eaglets aren’t yet aware of the power of their talons. Newspaper was packed in to cushion the bird.

The bag with the eaglet and another bag full of fish were attached to a rope and the rope attached to Walsh who began climbing the 250-year-old tree and figuring out a straight shot through the branches. He got up about 15 feet and realized for the eagle to come up behind without knocking into branches, he’d have to change his path and switch to the other side of the tree.

The nest was lodged between large branches, not quite at the top of the tree that had two separate tops growing above, giving Walsh a good position to get up and around the edge of the nest where he put some fish heads to help entice the eaglet out of the bag. He removed the headpiece and the eaglet came right out onto a thick branch, looking hot but perking right up when it realized it was back home.

“He just sat down with a huff and was making a bunch of noise,” Walsh said.

Luckily, both parents were gone from the nest though Walsh said he saw one nearby in a tree watching what was going on.

“Usually they don’t bother me – it’s the osprey that make more noise,” Walsh said. It’s only when he’s up in an old-growth tree and in the open that there’s more of a chance of being dive-bombed by a bird.

“You just have to be careful and make sure you get ‘em in the nest.”

To report injured wildlife, contact West Sound Wildlife Shelter at (206) 855-9057.

SIDEBAR

Competition for waterfront intensifies

Sandy Fletcher, a wildlife scientist technician contracted with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, monitors and keeps track of bald eagle populations in Kitsap, Jefferson and Clallam counties, reporting to state and federal agencies on productivity and the location of nests, and helps developers and property owners create management plans for bald eagle habitat on their property.

She also receives reports of rescued and re-nested eagles such as the eaglet handled by West Sound Wildlife Shelter last month in Kingston.

Though eagles were removed from protection under the federal Endangered Species Act in July 2007, Fletcher pointed out they are still listed as a threatened species in the state and well protected under the federal laws of the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

The eagle population in Western Washington has been “improving quite remarkably,” Fletcher said. “But as the population increases, competition for territory and good nesting trees will become more intense.”

Declining numbers of good old-growth and second-growth trees on the waterfront are the biggest factor in shrinking eagle habitat, she said. “Eagles want that habitat and so do people – so competition is becoming more intense.”

She emphasized the value of waterfront trees and “even what they used to call ‘junk trees’ – Douglas fir, Grand fir and white pine.

“Part of my job is to work with folks to get what they want and at the same time get bald eagles what they need.”

For more information on bald eagles, their protection and Bald Eagle Management Plans, go to http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/diversty/soc/baldeagle/index.htm.

Kingston Community News Editor Rebecca Pirtle can be reached at editorial@kingstoncommunitynews.com or (360) 297-2875.