‘The miracle is complete': U.S. Steel eaglet that swallowed a hook flies from the nest for first time

A precarious start for one of three eaglets at the U.S. Steel Irvin Plant nest in West Mifflin ended in success Thursday as the juvenile bird took his first flight.

In a tumultuous bald eagle season in Pittsburgh, the bald eaglet was two weeks old in April when he swallowed a fishing hook and was rescued. The young bird underwent surgery, was returned to the nest and then flourished with his two siblings.

Known as Hutch, the youngest of the three followed his siblings several days after they fledged successfully.

All three juvenile eagles were spotted cavorting together above the nest on Thursday. They will continue to fly free with their parents for the next few months before striking out on their own.

"The miracle is complete," said Don German, the recently retired Irvin Plant manager who is an advocate for and speaker on bald eagles in the region.

"It was a miracle to rescue Hutch and get him back into the nest. And he had a beautiful first flight."

Prospects had been bleak for Hutch.

Since the nest is livestreamed by PixCams of Murrysville, webcam watchers saw the 2-week-old bird swallow a hook and a synthetic worm - and immediately reported it to PixCams, German and U.S. Steel.

"All the stars aligned to have prompt recognition of the problem and secure all the permissions to rescue the bird in a timely manner, especially on a weekend. It was somewhat of a miracle case," said Carol Holmgren, executive director of Tamarack Wildlife Center in Crawford County and a licensed wildlife rehabilitator.

Holmgren secured permission from government agencies, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, for arborists to climb and rescue the bird.

Human intervention is forbidden with bald eagles, unless the bird is injured by a verified human cause.

German and volunteers drove the bird to Dr. Jesse Fallon, director of veterinary medicine at the Avian Conservation Center of Appalachia in Morgantown, W. Va., for treatment.

"This was a challenging surgery to do, and, fortunately, we had an outstanding surgeon," Holmgren said.

Also working in the bird's favor was that he was healthy and well fed.

"The fact these eagles in this vicinity are doing so well is testimony to the abundant supply of fish," she said.

The loss of the two eaglets at the nearby Glen Hazel nest in May, Holmgren said, was likely due to the avian flu, from eating waterfowl brought to the nest.

"That was not a preventable issue and is something out in the environment now that the eagle population has to deal with."

The adult Glen Hazel parents are doing well currently, according to reports Holmgren received.

Eagle supporters rallied to raise donations for Holmgren's Tamarack Wildlife Center, which specializes in treating bald eagles and other birds.

A naming contest for the U.S. Steel nest eaglets garnered some sports hero monikers for the young birds - like Maz (Bill Mazeroski), Sid (Sidney Crosby) and Hutch (after German and his grandson).

The contest raised $10,000 for Tamarack, plus another $8,000 was donated for the Avian Conservation Center of Appalachia, German said.

The donations will support the treatment of four bald eagles and other wildlife currently at Tamarack, Holmgren said.

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