Eagle Can't Have Surgery, Faces Long Recovery In Basking Ridge

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — A juvenile bald eagle that was found injured and unable to fly last weekend in Neshanic Station in Readington Township is eating on its own but likely faces a long recovery, according to the rehabilitation center where the eagle is being treated.

The Raptor Trust Rehabilitation and Education Center in Basking Ridge posted on social media Thursday that the eagle — which was found by local animal control officers over the weekend — sustained a fractured coracoid bone, which is the bone that connects the cranial edge of the bird’s sternum to its shoulder joint complex.

The Raptor Trust characterized the injury as being serious and "not good news" and said that surgery would impractical be too dangerous to attempt. Only time can truly heal the injury, officials wrote but said that the fact the eagle was eating on its own is a positive sign.

Handling such a species can be difficult, the Raptor Trust wrote in the Facebook post, especially when stabilizing the left wing is necessary to not adding to the injury. Officials from the center said that the routine in treating the eagle likely will not change for some time.

Local animal control animals said earlier this week that sightings of bald eagles are still extremely rare in New Jersey despite a growing population of the species around the state.

The state and federal bands around the bird's ankles indicate that the eagle fledged on June 22 before being found on Sunday unable to fly. Anyone wishing to make a donation toward the bald eagle's recovery may do so here.