WASHINGTON — The bald eagle that was found soaking wet and unable to fly In Southeast D.C. this weekend may be Justice, the male half of the pair of 聽bald eagles that established a nest on the grounds of the D.C. Police Academy. That鈥檚 according to local wildlife officials who鈥檝e been monitoring the big bird.
Dan Rauch, a wildlife biologist with the D.C. Department of Energy and the Environment, said it鈥檚 impossible to say for sure whether the eagle is Justice or the female, Liberty, but that it鈥檚 almost certainly one of those two eagles. That鈥檚 based in part on how close their nest is to the area where the eagle was found: less than a mile away from the grounds of the police academy.
Other than doing a side-by-side comparison — the females are larger than the males — Rauch said distinguishing the sex of a bald eagle is a challenge. There aren’t any distinctive markings, and it can put added stress on a wild animal to do the kind of close physical exam needed to be sure of the gender. As Rauch says 鈥淚magine handling an angry, stressed bald eagle to determine the sex — do you want to do that?鈥�
But the eagle is starting to show signs of recovery.
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Goldberg said the eagle has been kept in a large enclosure in a quiet area of City Wildlife鈥檚 facility. 鈥淚t actually ate [Sunday]鈥� — a good sign, Goldberg said. 鈥淲hen birds are sick and down and out, they won鈥檛 eat. They are very similar to people: When you don鈥檛 feel good, you don鈥檛 really want to eat.鈥�
Preliminary blood work shows no signs of lead poisoning, a real problem for many birds of prey who typically ingest lead from carcasses of deer, pheasants or other wildlife that may contain lead slug or bullet fragments.
The next step is to get the eagle to another facility where more tests 鈥斅爄ncluding a flight test 鈥� can be conducted. If and when the bird, whose gender hasn鈥檛 been determined, is given a clean bill of health, Goldberg said, it would be released near the area it was found.
