JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A 14-week-old male eaglet has found a new nest to call home.
The Naval Air Station Jacksonville (NAS Jax) Environmental Department helped save an eaglet earlier this month after it fell from its nest near a shopping plaza on San Jose Boulevard in Lakewood.
The Audubon Center for Birds of Prey took the eaglet in to nurse it back to health. The eaglet’s shoulder popped out of the socket and he was dehydrated. The positive news was that it had no broken bones.
“So, usually if it’s a foster nest for a bird, foster parents are very quick to take on an orphan baby,” said Kristen Kosik with Audubon Center for Birds of Prey. “We joke that they can’t count. So, usually when you plop another baby in a nest or around a nest around the same age as it’s children, it’s just takes it on as a tone.”
After he healed fully, the center released the bird at the golf course at NAS Jax on Wednesday. Thomas Morris, who found the eaglet, was there when the bird took flight.
“It was very nice to watch. So strong, the wind is very impressive. They’re a good symbol for the nation,” he said.
The new location has a nest holding a family of two adult eagles and another eaglet.
The bird could not return to its original nest because it was deemed unsafe.
An Eaglet fell from nest in early March & can’t be returned its original home. It’s been released @NASJax_ active nests at golf course! Eagle Audubon Watch says the eagle is a male & about 14 weeks old. There’s a family of 2 adult eagles and another eaglet at this nest! @wjxt4 pic.twitter.com/6cOCQ3SlBQ
— Brittany Muller (@BrittMullerNews) March 31, 2021
There is goes! 🦅 making its way to its new nest @NASJax_! @wjxt4 pic.twitter.com/hxecjpy2iv
— Brittany Muller (@BrittMullerNews) March 31, 2021