Wildlife Rehabilitation & Release
Help Keep Wildlife Wild
(530) 432-5522
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Socorro flies free again
By Dave Moller, davem@theunion.com
September 23, 2007
Mike Furtado, left, and Galen Chaney, members of the regional group Wildlife Rehabilitation and Release, work with Socorro, a golden eagle they will release today in Placer County.
Nursing a golden eagle back to health is one thing, but seeing it fly back into the wild is the goal that regional volunteers of Wildlife Rehabilitation and Release will attain today.
In a private exercise at Hidden Falls Regional Park in north Placer County this afternoon, the group will release Socorro.
The golden eagle was found, stumbling with a foot injury, in June by a Placer County parks employee, who turned it over to a state game warden and the group for nurturing.
"It's important to get them back out into the wild and not caged," said new member Bev Myers of Penn Valley. "They need to be free."
The group rehabilitates and releases all kinds of animals under state and federal game authorities' rules, Myers said, including song birds, raptors, fawns and other wild critters. Members learn how to handle the animals, administer medicine and feed them.
"We've been flying (Socorro) every morning and evening for several weeks, getting her ready for Sunday," raptor team leader Kim Franza, of Grass Valley, said earlier in the week.
The preliminary flying has been done with a 500-foot tether so the bird does not go into the wild until it is strong again.
"It builds up their flight muscles," Franza said. "They don't get their exercise in rehab, and if you just release her, she would have trouble hunting because she's weaker."
The golden eagle is back up to 12 pounds. It will probably take her four to five days before she catches her first meal, Franza said.
The group has rehabilitated and released several bald eagles, which are a bit larger than golden eagles. Both are federally protected but are not on the endangered list.
"They are spectacular, magnificent athletes of the sky," Franza said. "It's fascinating work."
Call the group at 432-5522 if you find a wounded wild animal, and the group will dispatch someone to get it, Franza said. If you must pick one up, put a blanket over it and take it to a cool, calm place before calling the group, Franza said.
A full public release of a juvenile great horned owl and a fundraiser for the group will be held Oct. 7 at the Winchester Country Club in the Meadow Vista area. Call the group for more information.
To contact Senior Staff Writer Dave Moller, e-mail davem@theunion.com or call 477-4237.
