Rescued Bald Eagle Soars Sky Again After Release On Long Island

LONG ISLAND, NY — Liberty, the injured Bald Eagle, found stranded on a busy roadway in Coram has been released into the wild, the Strong Island Animal Rescue League said Wednesday.

The bird is believed to have been clipped by the sideview mirror of a truck and was found in distress last Thursday by some good Samaritans who notified Suffolk police. The police then turned to Strong Island Animal Rescue, and founder Frankie Floridia snatched it up in a towel and placed it in a carrier. It has been recuperating under the watchful eyes of the volunteers at Sweetbriar Animal Rescue in Smithtown.

The bird, which has a bloodshot third eyelid covering an eye that does not dilate properly, appeared to be blind, and had been scheduled to have an eye exam on Tuesday.

"We got some amazing news from our friends at Sweetbriar today," Floridia announced Wednesday morning on Strong Island Animal Rescue's Facebook page.

"It was determined that it's an old injury and that it was able to hunt and fly even with that injury, so keeping it was not going to make it any better," he told Patch.

That said, the rescuers wanted to get it back with its family, so it was taken back to the spot where it was found and released, according to Floridia.

It's a little bit of field, about a couple hundred feet away," he said.

The animal was deemed by veterinarians to have just been stunned by the collision with the truck last week, and took to the flight cage with no issues at all, according to Floridia.

When it came time for its release, there was no problem and the bird was more than ready for its release, stretched its wings and just took off, soaring away into the sky, he said.

It was originally believed to be a female, but veterinary staff were unable to determine its sex.

The bird weighed in at about 9.5 lbs, which is about the size of a full-grown male, but also the size of a small female.

"It fits right on like, it's like right there," Floridia said. "Like how are we going to determine?"

Floridia said he is happy to see the bird up and about again.

"Teamwork made it happen and that we're happy to see that [its] flying the skies again," he said.