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In a touching ceremony Saturday, a bald eagle rescued from Sumner County took flight in honor of a fallen Sedgwick County deputy as hundreds watched from the banks of the Arkansas River.
Injured from a gunshot wound, the juvenile bald eagle was found by Wellington resident and Kansas Wildlife and Parks Officer Chris Stout north of Geuda Springs near the Arkansas River in December. Stout took the eagle with its injured wing to the Eagle Valley Raptor Center in Cheney, where Program Director Kenneth Lockwood spent months rehabilitating the animal with the help of Goddard Veterinary Clinic Veterinarian Josh Alberg.
The year-old bird was down for about six weeks before he could try to take flight again, Lockwood said.
“After his injuries healed we did exercises with him and he was ready to go,” Lockwood said. The raptor center saves around 150 birds a year with 18 birds currently taking up residence in Cheney.
“We were hopeful from the start,” Alberg said of getting the eagle back into the wild. “We took some x-rays and it was in one of the smaller wrist bones so it wasn’t one of the major bones that were stressed during flight and it was a clean break too.”
The injury would be the equivalent of breaking a finger instead of your whole hand, he said.
“I think we knew right away that if we gave this bird some TLC that he would make a good recovery,” Alberg said.
The decision to set the eagle free in honor of fallen Sedgwick County Deputy Brian Etheridge who was shot and killed in September 2009 was natural, Lockwood said, as both stood for the same values.
“Through history and especially after we released one last year...people are pretty passionate about these birds,” Lockwood said. “The Bald Eagle is what America stands for. The way Brian Etheridge died last year defending our freedom, I felt that I had to do this in his honor and for his wife and his daughter.”
Lockwood echoed that as he was presenting the eagle to Etheridge’s widow Sarah and his daughter, Natalie.
“The Bald Eagle means a lot to us. It means a lot to our military and a lot to our police department, fire department, sheriff’s department because the eagle stands for a lot of things. It stands for courage, pride, freedom, safety. And Sarah your husband stood for all of that,” Lockwood said. “Your husband Brian fought for those freedoms here in Sedgwick County, so thank you Sarah for allowing us to do that.”
Etheridge’s daughter, Natalie was able to go up and touch the feathers of the eagle, though she was timid at first to do so.
“This is what I want you to know, Natalie,” Lockwood said as the little girl retreated back to her mother. “That as you grow up, every time you see an eagle fly in the sky...that’s your daddy up there watching over you. Sarah, if you ever see an eagle, that’s Brian watching over you too,” said Lockwood.
After the eagle was presented to the crowd and to the Etheridge family, the hundreds of people gathered moved north to the banks of the Arkansas River to see it’s release.
Sedgwick County Sheriff Robert Hinshaw and Stout removed the hood that was blinding the bird and after a brief countdown, the eagle flew fast and away from the site, soaring above the Keeper of the Plains before heading westward out of sight.
Stout had a huge smile on his face as he and his daughter watched the eagle fly back to freedom.
“It feels great. I’ve taken in three this year and this is the first one that has survived. I just can’t believe that someone would shoot it,” said Stout.
In a touching ceremony Saturday, a bald eagle rescued from Sumner County took flight in honor of a fallen Sedgwick County deputy as hundreds watched from the banks of the Arkansas River.
Injured from a gunshot wound, the juvenile bald eagle was found by Wellington resident and Kansas Wildlife and Parks Officer Chris Stout north of Geuda Springs near the Arkansas River in December. Stout took the eagle with its injured wing to the Eagle Valley Raptor Center in Cheney, where Program Director Kenneth Lockwood spent months rehabilitating the animal with the help of Goddard Veterinary Clinic Veterinarian Josh Alberg.
The year-old bird was down for about six weeks before he could try to take flight again, Lockwood said.
“After his injuries healed we did exercises with him and he was ready to go,” Lockwood said. The raptor center saves around 150 birds a year with 18 birds currently taking up residence in Cheney.
“We were hopeful from the start,” Alberg said of getting the eagle back into the wild. “We took some x-rays and it was in one of the smaller wrist bones so it wasn’t one of the major bones that were stressed during flight and it was a clean break too.”
The injury would be the equivalent of breaking a finger instead of your whole hand, he said.
“I think we knew right away that if we gave this bird some TLC that he would make a good recovery,” Alberg said.
The decision to set the eagle free in honor of fallen Sedgwick County Deputy Brian Etheridge who was shot and killed in September 2009 was natural, Lockwood said, as both stood for the same values.
“Through history and especially after we released one last year...people are pretty passionate about these birds,” Lockwood said. “The Bald Eagle is what America stands for. The way Brian Etheridge died last year defending our freedom, I felt that I had to do this in his honor and for his wife and his daughter.”
Lockwood echoed that as he was presenting the eagle to Etheridge’s widow Sarah and his daughter, Natalie.
“The Bald Eagle means a lot to us. It means a lot to our military and a lot to our police department, fire department, sheriff’s department because the eagle stands for a lot of things. It stands for courage, pride, freedom, safety. And Sarah your husband stood for all of that,” Lockwood said. “Your husband Brian fought for those freedoms here in Sedgwick County, so thank you Sarah for allowing us to do that.”
Etheridge’s daughter, Natalie was able to go up and touch the feathers of the eagle, though she was timid at first to do so.
“This is what I want you to know, Natalie,” Lockwood said as the little girl retreated back to her mother. “That as you grow up, every time you see an eagle fly in the sky...that’s your daddy up there watching over you. Sarah, if you ever see an eagle, that’s Brian watching over you too,” said Lockwood.
After the eagle was presented to the crowd and to the Etheridge family, the hundreds of people gathered moved north to the banks of the Arkansas River to see it’s release.
Sedgwick County Sheriff Robert Hinshaw and Stout removed the hood that was blinding the bird and after a brief countdown, the eagle flew fast and away from the site, soaring above the Keeper of the Plains before heading westward out of sight.
Stout had a huge smile on his face as he and his daughter watched the eagle fly back to freedom.
“It feels great. I’ve taken in three this year and this is the first one that has survived. I just can’t believe that someone would shoot it,” said Stout.
