Difficulties of a young bald eagle

10 August 2022 HY22 bald eagle rescued near the south edge of Hubbard in Hardin County, pictured here in the 60′ flight pen. This eagle is building stamina here before moving to the much larger 100′ flight pen.

Several concerned citizens noticed a young bald eagle sitting on the road, sitting on the edge of the road, and on the edge of a cornfield near the town of Hubbard, Iowa, and made phone calls to SOAR and to other individuals. The eagle could walk and run, but no one saw it attempt to take flight. A conservation staff member drove there, but could not find the young eagle. The dark feathers of a juvenile bald eagle do make them hard to see in an August cornfield or a grassy ditch. Another call came in and later same day, this person was able to find the bald eagle for a SOAR volunteer to pick up. This hatch-year 2022 eagle simply didn’t have enough weight, stamina, nor conditioning to fly.

Now this young eagle has has many good meals, gained weight, and is now building muscle and stamina in the 60-ft flight pen. This picture was taken 20 September.