[Bristol-Birds] South Holston eagle was found at Dandridge, TN

The following is a portion of the report sent to the federal Bird Banding Lab 
at Laurel, MD:

On Saturday, October 4, 2008, Mr. Ledford Dockery, an employee of the Tennessee 
Valley Authority (TVA),  reported a mature Bald Eagle (leg band 629-39613), 
with a badly injured wing, had walked into his home yard at XXXXXXXXXXX, 
Dandridge, TN 37725 on English Mountain (telephone 423-XXX-XXXX).  The site is 
1.8 miles south of U.S. Highway 411 and 3.3 miles SE of the nearest embayment 
of TVA's Douglas Reservoir.  

The eagle could not fly.  An officer of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency 
delivered it on October 4 to the American Eagle Foundation (AEF) for possible 
rehab at its Pigeon Forge, TN facilities.  One wing was badly injured, possibly 
due to impact with wire. 

AEF President Al Cecere (cell phone 865-XXX-XXXX) reported they immediately 
(October 4, 2008) took the injured eagle to the University of Tennessee 
Veterinary Hospital in Knoxville, TN for examination by Dr. Mike Jones, a 
raptor vet specialist (865-XXX-XXXX). The entire humerus bone was exposed, with 
additional complications. Dr. Jones recommended the eagle be euthanized, since 
he would have had to amputate the entire wing, which is not allowed any more by 
the USFWS.  Dr. Jones then euthanized the eagle. 

TWRA records, which I maintained at the time and still retain, showed that this 
Bald Eagle:
  a.. had originated from a wild Wisconsin nest in 1994 (courtesy of WI 
biologist Chuck Sindelar); 
  b.. was hacked on South Holston Reservoir, east of Bristol, TN during June 17 
- July 29, 1994; 
  c.. was found injured on October 4, 2008 approximately 84 miles southwest of 
its hack site of 1994; 
  d.. was determined to be a female (ratio of halux claw length to beak depth) 
and weighed 11.3 pounds at release; 
  e.. had telemetry (151.150) mounted on a central tail feather; 
  f.. had patagial tag 97 (orange digits on white oval on green background) 
mounted on its left wing; 
  g.. was last reported in the vicinity of the South Holston hack site on 
August 8, 1994; and 
  h.. had no further sighting report, but it may have nested in the general 
area.
The South Holston eagle project was sponsored by the:  Tennessee Wildlife 
Resources Agency, U.S. Forest Service, Tennessee Tech University.  The Bristol 
Herald Courier helped raise hacking funding, including donations from employees 
of the nearby Bristol office of the Virginia Department of Transportation, who 
named this eagle, Zeus.

 Please advise any of the involved principals if further clarification is 
needed.

Robert M. (Bob) Hatcher
Retired TWRA Nongame & Endangered Wildlife Coordinator (1978-2001), and
AEF Eagle Consultant and Correspondent (since 2001)
Brentwood, TN 37027

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