After five months of rehabilitation for that broken wing at the Tamarack Wildlife Center, the eagle nicknamed “Regal” is back home.

She was released Tuesday afternoon.

“It is not clear what caused Regal’s fractured wing,” Carol Holmgren, executive director at Tamarack said. “Some eagles are injured by collisions with vehicles but Regal was not discovered by a roadway and may have had an accident while hunting for food.”

As a mature adult, she’s at least six or seven years old but Holmgren said she could be older. Eagles live up to 30 in the wild.

“She was found in this general area,” she said. “She knows where she is.”

Holmgren credited the people that were involved with the rescue effort.

And there were quite a few.

“Kudos go to Mike Hornburg and Ryan Christy who found her and made sure she got assistance,” Holmgren said. “She would not have survived without treatment.”

But Regal, who weighs 5.2 kg or about 11.5 pounds, didn’t give herself up easily.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission responded first but were unable to capture her – she was still able to run and hop, even with the broken wing, and evaded that first search effort.

Trained volunteers with Wildlife In Need ultimately captured the eagle and took her to Tamarack.

Her first stop on the road to recovery was a consultation with a veterinarian where it was revealed that the break was close enough to Regal’s wrist that surgery was not an option, Holmgren explained.

The wing was first splinted followed by a person of physical therapy and reconditioning.

Holmgren said the therapy was essential so that the radius and ulna in the wing did not fuse. If they had, Regal would have not been able to be released.

Times Observer photos by Josh Cotton An adult female bald eagle - nicknamed Regal - was released Tuesday on the top of Brown Run after five months at the Tamarack Wildlife Center for treatment and rehabilitation for a broken wing. Weighing in at about 11.5 pounds, “Regal” is at least 6-7 years old but possibly older. Staff from Tamarack Wildlife Center and the Pa. Game Commission helped with the release and the believe she’ll know where she is.

Physical therapy for an eagle is eerily similar to PT for a person. The process starts with passive PT where staff “work one joint at a time” while several “stabilize” the eagle.

Holmgren said the work is often done in silence and it’s important for the people working with the eagle to enter a peaceful state beforehand.

“If we’re feeling agitated,” she said, “the eagle picks up on that.”

Once it’s time for the eagle to do some of the rehab work, they’re placed in progressively larger aviaries and their perches are moved higher and higher.

Holmgren said Regal didn’t want to move much when first in the aviary but “when they’re ready to go, you can’t hold them.”

The nickname came from her personality.

“She’s just got it,” Holmgren said. Even when she wasn’t moving much, probably because it was painful, she “still had attitude.”

Tamarack, which operates on grants and donations and does not receive state or federal funding, cares for about 15 eagles each year – 1/3 hit by vehicles, 1/3 suffering from lead-related issues from eating the remains of animals that are shot and the remaining 1/3 for a variety of reasons, she explained.

Anyone who finds an eagle that needs assistance in our area is asked to call the Game Commission and Tamarack rather than try to capture the eagle themselves.

As for Regal, she passed a physical and a flight test before Tuesday.

Because of their protected status, she isn’t banded so Tuesday likely marks the end of the road for those who have spent months working with her.

“We know she’s ready to go,” Holmgren said. “(Our) goal is to set them up for a lifetime of success.”

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