Eagle Hit By Car Heals and Takes Flight (ICYMI)

Potomac, MD — Trust, the bald eagle likely struck by a car, has healed from her internal injuries and is again flying over the Potomac River, experts say.

The female eagle was named by the Montgomery County Animal Services Division officer who rescued the bird March 3. Trust was cared for at the Owl Moon Raptor Center, a wildlife rehabilitation center in Boyds specializing in birds of prey.

In May, two months after Trust was injured, the eagle flew off into the woods near the center.

“She definitely took off, no looking back,” Suzanne Shoemaker of Owl Moon Raptor Center told WTOP.

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Staffers at the raptor center said on its Facebook page that Trust was likely hit by a vehicle on River Road, probably while feeding on a nearby roadside deer carcass. A veterinarian at Bennett Creek Animal Hospital determined Trust had a fracture in her left shoulder. A bone that supports the shoulder during flight was broken, “therefore, the prognosis for her returning to full flight is guarded,” center staff wrote in March.

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Caretakers wrapped the injured wing to the eagle’s body to immobilize it for at least three weeks, so the fracture could heal. It took longer than expected for the bone to heal, and it was April before the raptor's wing could be flexed without showing signs of pain.

There was also trauma to Trust's cranial air sacs from the impact with the car, which affected her breathing. But she began to eat fish and venison in the early days at the sanctuary, a sign of healing.

The raptor center is a nonprofit entity, and donations are accepted to help care for the animals. You can donate via the center's website.
» Trust recuperating at Owl Moon Raptor Center, courtesy of its Facebook page