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MOLALLA PIONEER 100-YEAR ANNIVERSARY
On a Wing and a Prayer
Dr. Janette Ackerman
releases the female
bald eagle, left, she
has been treating for
the past 10 weeks at
her American Wildlife
Foundation shelter in
Molalla.
The release, at the
James Farm in the hills
above Colton, took
place Wednesday.
Photo by Hardy James
Peggy Savage
Molalla Pioneer
T
he day couldn’t have been better for finding a new lease on life. It
was Wednesday, and the sun was shining. Veterinarian Janette
Ackerman, who operates the American Wildlife Foundation off
South Highway 213 in Molalla, chose that day to release a female eagle
she had rescued from near-death 10 weeks earlier.
Trained in wildlife medicine, she specializes in treating sick and injured
wildlife and provides veterinary and rehabilitation care at her shelter until
they are ready to be released back into the wild.
About 10 weeks ago, Ackerman got a call from a woman in Mulino who
had been observing an eagle that stayed on the ground for a day or two.
Another eagle came by every now and hovered. The woman assumed it
was the eagle’s mate, making sure it was all right. It wasn’t until the
woman pulled out her binoculars that she realized the visitor was killing
the grounded bird, pecking and clawing at its head and body.
“When I went out to get her, she was almost blind in one eye and her
foot was nearly paralyzed and her head was bloodied from talon cuts and
pecking,” Ackerman said. “It seems to have been a territorial dispute. The
other eagle didn’t want her encroaching on her territory.”
Once she got the huge bird back to the shelter, Ackerman examined the
bird and treated the injured eye, a broken talon, concussion and massive
bruising and lacerations around the head. The bird was in such bad shape,
it took more than 10 months before it was well enough to release back into
the wild.
“I want to release it near Colton,” she said Tuesday morning. “I have
friends with a farm there — 50 acres, ponds and trees. I’m hoping it’s far
enough away from Mulino that she can stay out of trouble there. Of course,
she could fly back to Mulino.”
Ackerman was assisted in the release by friends Kammie and Hardy
James, who own the farm. Kammie helped Ackerman carry the crate down
near a large pond. Ackerman opened the crate door, and with a whoosh, the
eagle took flight. She landed on the branch of a nearby fir tree and gazed
out over her new home looking unruffled by her experience.
Over the weekend, Kammie James sent an email, saying, “Was out for a
walk this morning and was about a mile from the house (as the eagle
flies...) and a big bald eagle flew low right overhead in the direction of my
house. Pretty sure it was our girl!”
James said Ackerman has released quite a few of her rescued birds at the
farm and it’s gratifying to help give the animals a second chance.
“It makes you feel great that they are out there,” James said. “It’s really
good work she’s doing. I don’t think there is anyone else around Molalla
that does this work.
“She’s amazing My kids and I have volunteered a couple of summers, and
to see how she brings these animals back is amazing. Especially with the
big birds.”
Photo by Peggy Savage
Above: Within milliseconds of bursting from it’s protective carrier
crate, the eagle soared over the James Farm pond, free once more.
Photo by Peggy Savage
Above: After a short flight the regal eagle came to rest in a tower-
ing fir tree.
Photo by Hardy James
Right: Veterinarian Janette Ackerman, in goggles, treat-
ed the eagle at her shelter while it recovered from its
injuries.
The bird has a 6 to 8-foor wing span.
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