— by Eric Francis, for Daybreak

WHITE RIVER JUNCTION - An adult bald eagle that turned out to be more stunned than injured brought Maple Street to a stop for a half hour on Sunday morning while Hartford police consulted with wildlife authorities across the region, trying to figure out what they could do to help the majestic animal.

Hartford resident Michael Copp came across the eagle lying, well, spread-eagle in the middle of Maple Street just before 8 a.m. He immediately stopped his car and got out to try to assist it.

“When we found him he was out cold,” Copp recalled. “He was on his back and he had his wings out.”

Michael Copp of Hartford (arms outstretched) explains to police how he came upon the bald eagle, which was initially lying spread-eagle in the road. Eric Francis photo

Copp didn’t see any cars in the vicinity, but he suspected the bird had been struck by some sort of vehicle while trying to grab a dead squirrel that was a few feet away, on the edge of the pavement by a length of guardrail.

As the bird began to recover slightly and tried to roll over, Copp had the presence of mind to throw the animal a sweater he had in his car.

“I was told by a professor once that if you give them a towel it helps them stand up,” Copp explained.

Even as the eagle began to recover some composure, it still seemed befuddled to Copp and the Hartford police officers who began arriving to keep the bird from getting hit a second time. They shut down the section of Maple Street just west of the Shady Lawn Motel.

Hartford police officer Coriander Santagate kept vehicles from approaching the stunned eagle. Eric Francis photo

‘He had his eyes closed for a while so it seemed like it was more than having the wind knocked out of him,” Copp said, adding “I think it was a collision with a car but there was a big swarm of crows overhead.  It was really weird.  I don’t know if they were chasing him or what.  I don’t know if he came down here to get the squirrel or maybe there was some sort of bird war going on.”

With no injuries visible, the eagle eventually began a long series of slow blinks as a small crowd gathered around the intersection of Maple and Credit Court to watch. Hartford police officers tried calling experts in the area for advice.

Vermont Fish & Game dispatched a game warden, but about a half hour after the bird’s discovery—while the warden was still en route—the eagle suddenly seemed to notice the people standing nearby.  After quickly turning its head to take in the onlookers, it launched itself toward the nearby guardrail, clearing it with several smooth symmetrical flaps of its enormous wings before diving down the embankment toward the White River.

It took just a moment for the eagle to dive down the embankment to the White River and turn to fly out of sight amongst the heavy riparian brush. Eric Francis photo

The police officers on either side of it only had a few seconds to glimpse it in flight before it was out of sight, but they were pleased that it looked like a normal takeoff and said it appeared that the bird had a full range of motion as it got back in the air

6/21/22