Setting Bald Eagles Free in Juneau

Alyx and I heard about two bald eagles that were going to be released back to the wild yesterday and we thought, hey...it isn't every day that you get to see that! So...off we went to the parking lot by Brotherhood field that overlooks Mendenhall Glacier at 7:00 pm to see Montana & Bully being set free.

Here is a photo of Alyx with a crowd of people waiting for the release:This is the view of the field. The fireweed has lost its purple flowers and is seeding out now with a cottony white tops. Kids were picking these flowers (up to 6 feet tall) and running around with them and it looked like a feather pillow fight with all the white pollen/seeds flying around. So funny :)Montana is an adult female bald eagle that was found on the Montana Creek Trail in July 2009. She was very sick with lead poisoning. She apparently ingested lead shot from eating an animal that had been shot. After treatment for the lead poisoning, some antibiotics and a healthy salmon diet, Montana was ready to be released. Here is a video of her flight back to freedom:

Bully is a female juvenile bald eagle that was found on South Shelter Island in July 2008 suffering from malnourishment. She was brought to the Juneau Raptor Center where she was nursed back to health. When she became strong enough to fly, she was placed into the 'flight mew' where she promptly broke her tail. After being tasked with growing a new tail, she was ready to return to the wild too. The reason she was named 'Bully' was because she gained a reputation for beating-up other birds in the flight mew. I am sure they were all happy to see her go too! Here is a video of Miss Bully as she flies into the trees near Mendenhall River: