Multiple California agencies and wildlife experts convened for a noble cause on Saturday — rescuing a baby bald eagle who had fallen from its nest.
The new eaglet was hatched in Orangevale in late March and had been followed closely by local station KCRA 3, when disaster struck.
The Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District said the baby bird had fallen out of its parents’ nest that was in a tree about 100 feet up over the embankment on the bluffs of the American River. While the eaglet was saved by the branches from plummeting to the ground, it was trapped in a precarious spot where the parents could not help or feed it.
The baby was likely to starve or fall even further if not for the intervention of firefighters, State Parks, Fish and Game, California Wildlife Encounters and an arborist from Sierra Pacific Tree Services.
Rescue operations were underway at around 3:42 p.m., with a video shared by the fire department showing the arborist making the “amazing” save.
An avian veterinarian from Bird of Prey Health Group is set to examine the eaglet to see if it can be re-nested, or if it needs to stay in the care of the Gold Country Wildlife Rescue where it is currently being housed.