Boys Rescue a Bald Eagle in Upstate New York

A fishing trip turned into an amazing rescue mission for a couple of boys and their fathers recently near the Mohawk River in Upstate New York.

There isn't anything more American than hearing stories about a father and son heading out for a full day of fishing. Oftentimes, those stories will involve someone catching a big fish or missing out on the big one, but what happened to a group of people in Upstate New York was completely unexpected.

Bald Eagle Gets Stuck

According to WTEN, it all unfolded when a couple of boys and their dads were fishing on Goats Island near Lock 7 on the Mohawk River, near Niskayuna, NY. One of the boys, Tim "Cash" Ferrand, told News 10,

"I see a bird, I didn’t think much of it. I just saw like a bird and then I look at it again because then I just realized what it was."

 

What Ferrand and his friend Trevor Eggleston discovered was a rare bald eagle that was tangled up in what appeared to be a fishing line. Ferrand explained that the bald eagle was on one end of the fishing line, while a large catfish was on the other end.

Ferrand's father, Tim, assessed the situation, saying, “I assume the eagle saw it flying over and decided he was going to swoop down and get himself some easy dinner. And it turned out it didn’t work out that way for him."

Bald Eagle Rescue in Upstate New York

Once the group realized what was going on, they jumped into action to rescue the stuck eagle. One parent grabbed a fishing knife, and Ferrand used it to free the eagle.

"We found the best way to cut him loose without hurting his foot or getting caught by the talons. He was wrapped around, like, three or four times."

 

Once the eagle was free, the group noticed that it appeared to need more help as it was limping and didn't appear to be able to fly.

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The concerned group contacted the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, which dispatched a couple of Encon officers to assist. Upon arrival, the officers enlisted the boys' help once more, instructing them to try and cover the eagle with towels so it couldn't run away.

Soon after, the officers were able to safely capture the injured eagle and take it to the Friends of the Feathered and Furry Wildlife Center in Hunter, NY, where it's reportedly doing well.