Bald Eagle Hit By Vehicle Nursed Back To Health, Released In Ocean County

TOMS RIVER, NJ — A bald eagle that was hit by a vehicle in Monmouth County in mid-March has been released in Ocean County, after a month of care at an avian rehabilitation facility in Toms River.

Toms River Avian Care, operated by Dan and Karen Bonica, has been providing care to injured birds for more than 45 years, Dan Bonica said Friday.

The bald eagle, which released Thursday at Cattus Island County Park on Fischer Boulevard in cooperation with the Ocean County Parks and Recreation Department, is one of thousands of wild birds that have been rehabilitated at the center, Bonica said.

The eagle was found injured on March 14 along the side of Route 18 by Neptune Township police, who called the Monmouth County SPCA for assistance. The eagle was able to walk but unable to fly, the police department said, and the SPCA contacted Bonica, who is a state and federally licensed avian rehabiliator.

"You need a federal license to care for birds," Bonica said, because nearly all are protected under the Federal Migratory Bird Act. That license, and his state license, allow the center to care for everything from robins and sparrows to raptors such as bald eagles, he said.

The center assists more than 1,000 birds, including six or seven bald eagles, each year.

"Over the first 15 years I never cared for any (bald eagles)," he said, but as their numbers have increased, there have been more each year. Last year, the center rehabilitated nine bald eagles. So far this year they have had four, including the one released Thursday.

That eagle was a female about 3 years old, he said. When she arrived at the center they treated her for stress and shock, giving her IV fluids and keeping her in a heated environment to support her body temperature. Eagles are normally about 105 degrees, he said.

The eagle had suffered some soft tissue damage, comparable to when a human suffers a sprain. As she recovered, the bird was moved to a 20-foot by 20-foot cage, and then to a 75-foot flight cage to see how she was faring and whether she would fly straight.

Once she was back up to strength, it was time to release her, Bonica said.

Blake Alan of the Conserve Wildlife of NJ Bald Eagle Project, who helped Bonica release the eagle, shared additional photos of the release taken by Donna McKnight, a local bird photographer. They can be seen here.

"Today was another day I will remember for a long time," he said.

There is another eagle that has been receiving treatment at the center since early February when it was severely injured in a territorial fight with a nesting pair of eagles in Brielle, Bonica said. That eagle was treated by veterinarians at Barnegat Animal Clinic, giving the bird more than 50 sutures. Bonica is hopeful it will be healthy enough to return to the wild in the coming weeks. When they do, it will be released well away from the site where it was injured.

Another eagle at the center has been there for 35 years, he said.

"There was definitely a need for additional support for the environment" when the Bonicas moved their family, including two young children, from North Jersey more than 45 years ago. They did a two-year apprenticeship before launching the Toms River Avian Center.

"It got a little bit bigger than we thought it would," he said with a laugh. "But it's rewarding."

Bonica said there are two ways people can help, if they are so moved: they can help provide fish, or they can learn how to catch birds that need assistance.

"We have nobody left in Toms River to catch these birds and bring them to us," he said.

As for the fish, of special interest is menhaden, also known as mossbunker or bunker. The eagles eat two to three bunker at a time, up to 10 to 12 of the fish per day.

Anyone with questions or who would like to help can call the Toms River Avian Center at 732-255-9270.